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January 22, 2008
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About a week ago we had a pretty good little thunderstorm, lightening, downpour, high winds, etc. The power blinked one time, twice in rapid succession. Sitting in the den, I got up went around turning various equipment off and waited out the storm. After it was all over I went around resetting clocks and checking things. I didn't give any thought to the bookshelf stereo in my bedroom until I went to bed that night. The panel was all lit up, but dead. Nothing works, radio, CD, Cassette; it won't even turn off! Don't know if it would be worth the trouble to open it up and check it out but, in the mean time I need my daily fix of talk radio!
Oh, well. Time to pull another trusty tube baby outa mothballs. I got this Olympic-Opta down from it's perch where I only occasionally turned it on to enjoy the warm full bodied audio that only tubes can provide. It was an import for the U.S. market made by Loewe Opta Fabrik in West Germany. This model was made in 1957-58. It reminds me very much of the old Grundig radios, which I cannot afford.
It took me most of my rare childless afternoon to get her down and clean her out as well as the top of the armoire that always seems to collect various valuable junk (cause it's out of the kids reach). Here she is after a good vacuuming (tubes attract a huge amount of dust).
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/SANY1923%2030_zpswmdorsag.jpg
It has one large full range speaker in the front panel and two other mid range speaker on either end. It sounds great.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/SANY1918%2030_zps0pnxszns.jpg
So, this will be my bedroom radio until I decide what to replace it with, which may just take a long time because I've been enjoying the hound out of it! Now to find some kind of timer to plug it into so I can use it as wake up call.
It has AM, FM and shortwave from 6 to 18 Mhz; I love the push button controls!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/SANY1921%2030_zpsd1jm0tf4.jpg
…he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36 Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project http://www.irenasendler.com/
USN-Vet, NRA, GOA, JPFO, SC-GRGR
January 22, 2008
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http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/SANY1920%2030_zps0gwaoiih.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/Back%20Board%2030_zpsq1s0me5t.jpg
Thankfully when I received this radio it still had the connector in the back for the FM antenna hook-up. I soldered it to an indoor TV ribbon antenna and ran it up the wall, works great. The AM/shortwave antenna hook-up is just a screw on the back panel for a single wire.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/SANY1924%2025_zpsaxztiddp.jpg
…he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36 Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project http://www.irenasendler.com/
USN-Vet, NRA, GOA, JPFO, SC-GRGR
January 22, 2008
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My now fried 20 year old JVC.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/083105_170500_zpsmfkkge6b.jpg
The green light in the upper right side of the front is a tube tuning indicator that may be familiar to those of you who are my age or older. It was called a "Magic Eye". This one displays from the side of the tube and the green light gets wider as you tune in a station to let you know when you have an optimum signal other than relying on sound only. Others had a tube that shown from the top of the tube and it would be mounted to show the end through the panel and it actually resembled an eye. I think the name was copyrighted by RCA but many makers of the day licensed it for their own radios.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/SANY1925%2030_zpsormzgbrm.jpg
On her newly cleaned perch and ready for duty.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/rba660/Radios/Olympic%20Opta/SANY1929%2030_zpsimqdyjkj.jpg
…he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36 Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project http://www.irenasendler.com/
USN-Vet, NRA, GOA, JPFO, SC-GRGR
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DWF Supporters
February 16, 2013
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That's cool Boss Dog! Nothing like the sound of Tubes!
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Range Officers
Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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Now you have me wanting to start a new type of collecting! To bad we can't hear!
February 20, 2008
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If you're going to drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.
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Dans Club
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Members
July 2, 2011
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Those are some beauties. Many of my distributors/customers were started 2 or 3 or 4 generations ago as radio sales and repair shops. You would lose your mind if you saw some of the stuff they still have sitting around!
To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers:
if you find one...what's your plan?
August 17, 2015
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Very cool gear. I have been a tube aficionado ever since I became a ham over 40 years ago, and
have worked in the tube based audio industry years ago. Nothing sounds like the tonal qualities
of tube gear.
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