What breaks on these is the detent socket/ball that holds them up. Also watch out for a broken rotating ferrite rod antenna.
I seem to find them needing a serious cleaning more so than the Zeniths. The Panasonic RF-2200 suffers dirty switches in a big way. The carry handle is also the antenna and 5 out of 10 can be found cracked.
#Circa 1966 vintage drum sets and value series
Other than switch cleaning there are none to mention.ġ000 & 3000 series sets suffer pitting and bubbling chrome. Zenith 7000 series sets really have very few issues. Parts sets aren't common and when they do pop up on Epay they usually go for $70+ dollars. Note my pick is the original antenna for reference.
I also find many of the Epay sets seem to lack the original antenna. I've taken the time to contact Sony of Japan for replacements and they're not available. Sony CRF-5100 have issues with the band scale drum warping, WATCH OUT FOR THIS! It's not always evident so if you purchase one ASK ABOUT THIS. They deteriorate with time causing loss of reception The build problems associated with these sets are
The RF-2200, Norelco/Philips & ICF-5900W seem about the same in build quality. RF-5000A all T/Os SHARP FV-1710 and the CRF-5100 I would rate equal in build quality. But, there are known issues with many to watch out for. All sets show generally good to excellent build quality given their intended use & price range when new.
#Circa 1966 vintage drum sets and value plus
Plus I have parts sets for all these radios so I feel I know them fairly well. I've had all these sets apart at one time or another. Now this is probably the most debatable category of them all. BCB/AM performance is about the same as the 1000D Zenith)īuild quality in order from best to worst Zenith Trans Oceanic 1000D & Sony ICF-5900W(sound quality on FM is on par with the RF-2200. Zenith Trans oceanic models D7000Y & 3000(no real difference) This is based on overall sound performance. Some sound better on FM than others but not AM. Sound quality in order best to worst Sound quality for the various sets are close. Not sure why but if you like to nit pick sensitivity, that's my finding. Being I have several sets each of the 1000D & 3000 it's an honest comparison. If anything the 3000 T/O seems to have an ever so slight edge in SW reception. Zenith Royal 3000-1, Zenith Royal 1000D, Norelco/Philips L5W34T are just about equal in every way. Zenith Trans Oceanic D7000Y & Panasonic RF-5000A(the Panasonic loses to the Zenith in image rejection, other than that they're equals in every way). Panasonic RF-2200 & Sony ICF-5900W(the 2200 & 5900W are the only dual conversion receivers in the bunch. Sensitivity/Selectivity & Image Rejection in order of best to worst Here they are in order with these parameters in mind. The main difference I find is image rejection and selectivity. The best is hardly above the worst in sensitivity. Performance wise, these sets are very close to one another. I hate using the term "mint" because that infers they're the same as when new. All these sets are with 90% or better condition. The only sets I haven't aligned because I see no reason are the Panasonic RF-2200 and Sony CRF-5100. The Trans Oceanics have all been thoroughly cleaned and completely aligned starting with the IFs. Here are links to further paper work.Īll these sets perform beautifully. Here we have some of the original paper work. Panasonic RF-5000A thirteen band circa 1968 Zenith D7000Y Trans Oceanic eleven band circa 1972-78(late production on mine) Zenith Royal 1000D Trans Oceanic ten band circa 1960(13m band, no FM) Zenith Royal 3000-1 Trans Oceanic ten band circa 1966(FM, no 13m band) Ray Jefferson model 630-RDF five band circa appr 1975 SHARP Multiband FV-1710 six band circa appr 1968 Norelco/Philips North American model L5W34T circa 1962 four band(FM BC) Sony CRF-5100 Earth Orbiter(late production) circa 1975-80 ten band I also have doubles triples and quadruples of many of these sets.