Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

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static
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by static » Wed Jun 08, 2011 9:24 am

"Can you get Duluth on it?"

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JLT
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by JLT » Wed Jun 08, 2011 9:31 am

static wrote:"Can you get Duluth on it?"
Duluth? You can get Tierra del Fuego!
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

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Randy in Maine
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by Randy in Maine » Wed Jun 08, 2011 9:50 am

Don't we do it in the road here at Ralph Spoilsport Motors.
79 VW Bus

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dtrumbo
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by dtrumbo » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:08 pm

JLT wrote:My only quibble is that when the radio is turned off and then turned on again, the volume level always defaults to a low value, requiring me to reset it. But the station presets stay where they are, so go figure.
This is a feature!! Usually there's a menu setting that lets YOU set what the "turn-on volume" is. Check the manual or muddle through the menus and see if there is such a setting. This is quite common on newer stereos. The three I've bought in the past five years have all had it.
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

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JLT
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by JLT » Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:51 pm

Randy in Maine wrote:Don't we do it in the road here at Ralph Spoilsport Motors.
I would kill for a "Ralph Spoilsport Motors" license plate frame.
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

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Randy in Maine
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by Randy in Maine » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:02 pm

Me too.

If you see one for sale, buy 2 and I will take one.
79 VW Bus

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JLT
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by JLT » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:17 pm

dtrumbo wrote: Check the manual or muddle through the menus and see if there is such a setting. This is quite common on newer stereos. The three I've bought in the past five years have all had it.
What? Read the manual?

Seriously, I did, and there was no mention of it. I'll try monkeying with the menus to see if it's an "undocumented feature."

For thirty-seven bucks, I can live with turning the radio up each time.
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

vdubyah73
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by vdubyah73 » Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:37 am

thats a good feature. park it last night when your rocking to some loud Zep or Zappa or whatever your choice of loud rock is. then a t the crack of dawn you turn it on and it wakes the neighborhood, hurts your ears and possibly damages your speakers.
1/20/2013 end of an error
never owned a gun. have fired a few.

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static
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by static » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:53 pm

That's why I don't camp next to JLT anymore. The cranked-up Led Zeppelin at dawn was just too much.

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JLT
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by JLT » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:09 pm

static wrote:That's why I don't camp next to JLT anymore. The cranked-up Led Zeppelin at dawn was just too much.
That was just me snoring.
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

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Amskeptic
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Jun 10, 2011 9:30 am

JLT wrote: My only quibble is that when the radio is turned off and then turned on again, the volume level always defaults to a low value, requiring me to reset it. But the station presets stay where they are, so go figure.
Figure this: that volume reset is a safety feature.

One, no nasty surprise on Saturday morning that makes the dog piddle in the back seat in terror because of forgotten blasting volume level from drunk Friday night drive home.
Two, no ruptured speaker suspension when warm drunk Friday night drive home volume level meets sub-zero Saturday morning cold snap.
Three, do we need three?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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JLT
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by JLT » Mon Aug 02, 2021 4:36 pm

Remember this thread? I started it back in the day, but the Dual radios I've bought since then have both given up the ghost, and it's time to buy a radio again.

My requirements were (and still are):

--radio pre-sets for AM & FM (not a lot of them)
--an auxiliary input, and maybe 15 watts RMS i..e., real watts, not fake ones) per channel (two channels will do, but four would be better)
-- a nice display that's readable day or night (the last Dual unit I purchased really sucked at this).
--easy controls
--a tuner that can pick up stations well
--relatively painless installation into the standard hole in the early bay-window dash (about 7" x 2" and about 4" deep)
--it would be super nice if the radio kept the station presets even when the battery is disconnected.


I do NOT need a CD player or tape player, nor do I need a PITA detachable face-plate. Nor do I have any use for all that optimizing equalizer bullshit, which adds buttons and reduces display clarity, or Sirius, Bluetooth, or any of that crap.

And I'd like to pay no more than $150 for it, including shipping. Suggestions welcome.
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

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skip
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by skip » Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:17 am

I have an older Retrosound remote RF tuner/amp in my bus that I used to have in my GS400 convertible.
Anyway they make a good product, but may be more than $150.

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/?cam ... vFEALw_wcB

Check 'em out.
Complexity is the enemy of reliability.

76 Westfalia
74 Type 181

RinTinTin in Waldorf Astoria 1956

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JLT
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by JLT » Fri Aug 06, 2021 10:24 am

skip wrote:
Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:17 am
I have an older Retrosound remote RF tuner/amp in my bus that I used to have in my GS400 convertible.
Anyway they make a good product, but may be more than $150.

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/?cam ... vFEALw_wcB

Check 'em out.
Thanks for the tip! I looked on their web site and this one may do the trick:

https://www.retromanufacturing.com/prod ... 9772701852

The "Rear auxiliary input for portable devices" isn't clear whether you can leave the connecting cord plugged in when you use the radio, or whether it cuts off the radio when the cord is plugged in. If it's the former, it would probably work fine for me.

Finding radios like this is tough these days, since it isn't a standard size anymore. I've given up looking for radios that are handcrafted by German engineers who work for 3 Euros an hour and guarantee their products for life.
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

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JLT
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Location: Sacramento CA
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Re: Good inexpensive radio for my '71 -- recommendations?

Post by JLT » Fri Sep 03, 2021 2:57 pm

Well, I shopped around for a while, and came up with this one:


It came well recommended by a few folks on the Samba, and it was pretty much in my price range. (The Retrosound one was also in my price range, but required an adapter to fit it into the DIN slot, which raised the price to over $200.) I bought it from an eBay dealer.

https://www.continental-automotive.com/ ... -Bluetooth

It cost me around $170 with tax. Free shipping. I'll install it tomorrow and give you a report.
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

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