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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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24th Mar 2023, 11:31 am | #1 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I am looking for the manufacturer of this radio. It might have been produced in the UK, around 1978.
On my radio it says loud and clear ALTONE solid state – Battery / Mains on the bottom of the loudspeakers; on top it says TWIN SPEAKER – FULLY TRANSISRORISED. – That is all, no more information. Why UK? – Because of the English spelling of ‘transistorised’. And because there has been an ALTONE turntable on offer in the UK, 1978-1980, the ALTONE AU4. The turntable says, it has been ‘made in UK’. Maybe it has been marketed in the UK and was meant to be sold on the German market as well, as the inscriptions on the dial are German / English. Who knows more, about the brand, about the manufacturer, about this specific transistor radio? |
24th Mar 2023, 12:44 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
It certainly does not look British to me.
My first thoughts were Japanese. It looks too nicely finished to be from Hong-Kong of Taiwan, but you never know. |
24th Mar 2023, 1:08 pm | #3 |
Tetrode
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I do agree, it doesn't look very British. Also from the inside one would say Japan, Taiwan or Hongkong
BUT what about the turntable, which says clearly 'made in UK'? |
24th Mar 2023, 2:06 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I saw that turntable. Again, it the control panel has a far eastern look to it, but the overall style of the thing is very similar to the kind cheapo stuff Ferguson etc. were churning out at the time, right down to the BSR turntable. I wonder whether "made in the UK" just applies to the BSR deck, as opposed to the whole thing/
Certainly, some "Waltham" branded stuff was like this, i.e. Hong-Kong or Taiwanese music centre fitted with a UK-made BSR turntable. |
24th Mar 2023, 2:53 pm | #5 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
el cheapo is correct, and the Ferguson line shows some details which look similair to details on my radio... the form of the band-switches for example
Who made the Ferguson 3188? - Was it indeed made in the UK or just imported from somewhere in asia? |
24th Mar 2023, 2:58 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
We had a 3188 when I was little. I think it was Taiwanese. Definitely not UK-made anyway. Full of Japanese-type 2S.... transistors ISTR.
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24th Mar 2023, 10:00 pm | #7 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
One would like to see the inside of it.
My radio has 4 small rounded RF-transistors, 1 x Hitachi 2SB459, 3 x Mitsubishi 2SB178, 1 x no name transistor. Electrolytics: 'trojan' and 'RION'. 2 x speaker foster, Taiwan, 7 cm. |
24th Mar 2023, 10:01 pm | #8 |
Dekatron
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I have a 3188 somewhere but it’s not accessible at present. The Foster speaker sounds familiar.
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24th Mar 2023, 10:20 pm | #9 |
Hexode
Join Date: Dec 2019
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
Hello,
if you look up "Altone Radio India" on google you get some results of recent cheap stuff bearing that badge. Never heard of before! Joe |
24th Mar 2023, 10:47 pm | #10 |
Dekatron
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Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, UK.
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I was immediately struck by a certain resemblance to this Halcyon portable, an odd production reviving the brand name of a small company of the 1930s - it's UK made but with a pair of 3" Pioneer speakers. I'd be fairly confident, though, that any likeness is purely accidental.
The Altone is quite the mystery, but does look more Far Eastern than anything, and to me 1970ish. Paul |
24th Mar 2023, 11:09 pm | #11 |
Moderator
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I have a Ferguson 3188, made in Taiwan by a subcontractor in 1978. I don't think it looks very like the OP's radio.
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/ferguson_3188.html That may be indeed Japanese, but the no-name branding suggests Hong Kong. HK manufacturers did sell related models in different European markets, often as subcontractors to established European manufacturers. https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/rgd_flirt.html https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/graetz_flirt_301.html |
24th Mar 2023, 11:21 pm | #12 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
The India product is very surprising. I didn't think of India at all.
I am still looking in the direction of the Far East, maybe with an UK importer, who has influenced the styling... Then again, only one or two known products on the market, that would be quite surprising. |
25th Mar 2023, 2:38 am | #13 |
Dekatron
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
Have you looked carefully for a small lettering stamped in the plastic on the back or on the bottom? That's how many Japanese no-name manufatcurers marked their goods, in that case it would say JAPAN, possibly followed by a 3 digit number.
On the other hand, chances are those transistors might be the only Japanese parts. I don't think it was made in Hong Kong, because of those transistors. If in the region, Taiwan sounds more likely also because of the origin of the speaker. Electrolytics were often sourced locally, but I have no idea of those brands. I can't rule out India, though if not from Taiwan I would still look more to the East. Some production was done in countries where you would not really expect it. Can you find any components with non-western lettering or graphic marks on them? Are there any stamps or labels with numbers, even if they don't look like plausible date codes? (several East-Asian countries had their own dates). |
25th Mar 2023, 4:54 am | #14 |
Heptode
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
IMHO it looks like a 'Chinese copy' of my Nordmende 'Globetrotter' 7/601.
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25th Mar 2023, 7:42 am | #15 |
Tetrode
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Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
No markings whatsoever... except on the print. If the number would be a date, that would be to nice however...
Not at all similair to the Globetrotter, nor from the oudside nor the inside. The Globetrotter is a very different ligue... |
25th Mar 2023, 7:45 am | #16 |
Tetrode
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
See the sticker on the batterie compartement.
Number on the print, if it where a date? the REAL Globetrotter |
25th Mar 2023, 9:59 am | #17 |
Dekatron
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I wonder if the fact that the cells are referred to as 'UM2' rather than C cells (I think), HP11s, or whatever suggests a far-eastern origin
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25th Mar 2023, 10:59 am | #18 |
Tetrode
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
Thank you for this observation. So probably made in Japan, distributed out of the UK to the UK and Europe... and the style-departement somewhere in EU too...
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26th Mar 2023, 8:30 pm | #19 |
Hexode
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
I would say from the earlier part of the 1970s going by the styling, More 1970/1 ish
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26th Mar 2023, 8:33 pm | #20 |
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Re: Whodunnit? – ALTONE
Honk Kong manufacturers mostly used Japanese transistors.
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