Hi all,

My dad found an awesome vitnage Studio TR3 valve reel-to-reel tape recorder and player at a local car-boot sale for the grand sum of $5! It's an unusual item, and has a badge reading "Classic Radio Sydney" on the front, so I'm guessing it's Aussie-made.

It is in great condition, though needs electronic restoration (especially as there are wax capacitors inside). It uses five valves and one tuning indicator, and the lineup is as follows:

6BQ5, 6AU6, 12AT7, EF86, 6AQ5 and EM84 (tuning indicator)

Does anybody know anything about the age and value of such an item? I'm guessing it's not worth too much, but I am intrigued about it and its age. I'm especially fascinated by the tuning indicator, as this is the first piece of equipment I've ever found with one.

There is one of these on EBay, so there will be some photos there for a short while:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1940-Classic-Radio-Sydney-STUDIO-TR3-tape-to-tape-recorder-player-/161070242841...

Thanks,

Chris

Chris,

I've sent you something you will find interesting.

The one on Ebay uses a Collaro deck.
As for being from 1940, perhaps add another 20 years!!

Cheers.

Cellulose magnetic recording tape was invented by BASF in Germany during World War II. Everyone else was using magnetised wire recorders or write-once platters at that time. When Germany lost the war, recording tape was one of the technologies "compulsorily acquired" by the US occupation forces. The singer Bing Crosby, then the No 1 pop star, made a lot of money as one of the founding shareholders of Ampex, the US company established to commercialise the BASF tape technology in USA. Wire recorders were still being used in the ABC into the early 1960s.

That Sony recorder looks like a close imitation of the swiss Revox that was a common professional choice in the '70s.

Maven

Chris.

I sent you the wrong ad last night.

Just to clarify things for others on this Forum, I sent Chris an ad from the Radio Television & Hobbies for Classic Radio of 245 Parramatta Rd, Haberfield. The first ad I sent him from April 1960 shows a model TR3, which uses a BSR tape deck - which obviously isn't the one shown on Ebay.

I found another ad just before for Classic, RTV&H April 1963, which shows a model TR3 - TR4. This one has the Collaro Studio deck and looks similar to the Ebay one. It also has the same valve line-up that Chris describes.

Like record changers, tape decks were often imported, mainly from England. Common brands were Collaro, Garrard & BSR. Local manufacturers would use these units in their locally built radiogram & tape recorder cabinets.

One thing that gets up my goat is misrepresentation. You often see this on Ebay. Like for instance, a 1940 tape recorder that is really from 1963. Or a "Rare 1930's Bakerlite (sic) Radio" - when in actual fact it is a common 1950's plastic radio. Does anyone else notice this, or is it just me?

Yeah, some of it is downright deceptive with an over riding disclaimer of 'the photos form part of the description' I also get suspicious of minimalist descriptions, it usually though not always means something's being hidden.

You often see this on Ebay. Like for instance, a 1940 tape recorder that is really from 1963. Or a "Rare 1930's Bakerlite (sic) Radio" - when in actual fact it is a common 1950's plastic radio. Does anyone else notice this, or is it just me?

I see this sort of thing quite often on eBay, Gumtree, etc.

Usually it's a seller who has no idea of the age of the item and "rare" is overused -- no experienced buyers would be fooled by that word.

Occasionally, when the title or description is very wrong, I send a polite message to the seller advising the correction. The great majority of sellers respond positively.

A few get quite narky. One, whose description was patently false, told me to mind my own business. I replied that buying old radios is my business and that if he would like me to report him to eBay for false and misleading listing then I'd be happy to do that. He replied "Go ahead and good luck with that!" ... but I noted that he/she did edit and correct his listing not long after sending me that reply.

I used to have heated arguments with antique shop owners on Parramatta Road around the Stanmore and Camperdown area (none of which exist now - and I wonder why...).

One in particular would put a 1950s timber mantel radio in the window labelled as a 1920s one. Problem is, baseless valves did not exist circa 1920-29 and most domestic radios of that era weighed 10-15 kilograms and had three tuning dials.

His argument was that I was only 20 years old (at the time) and he was in his 60s so he had a better idea of the date of manufacture.

He had a funny way of showing it and the radio wasn't worth $295.00 either. I don't think any radio was worth that much in 1991, let alone a 1950s model.

I'd say most Ebay sellers will alter descriptions when threatened with being reported - they want to shift their gear but they don't want to have to re-write the whole ad.

I used to have heated arguments with antique shop owners

I never bother to argue with antique shop owners, garage sale, etc, sellers over that sort of thing. As Mark Twain said: "Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

... and another thing: descriptions of gear as "art deco" when it's not the slightest bit art deco, not even revival art deco.

Like this 1955 radiogram:

http://tinyurl.com/ovaphdw.

LOL !!!!

I always liked telling them when they are ripping off their punters because many of them were of the belief that it was kosher to blatantly lie about their stock.

In those days I had the energy to do it so it didn't really matter whether they gave in or not.

That radiogram probably should go to the tip, it's been put in a dreadful state.

Re: the tape player; I cannot see a tuning indicator on it and it appears to only be a tape player (without a radio built in). Am I missing something?

At least the one linked by GTC has a realistic opening bid price - 99cents. I'd reckon final price will be not much more, though the unit looks clean if otherwise utterly unremarkable.

Maven

Brad.

Tuning indicators, or magic-eyes were commonly used in early tape recorders as a input level indicator. It seems in those days magic-eyes were a cheaper option than a moving-coil meter.

Interesting. I can't say I've seen magic eyes used that way, though would they have the resolution to act in the way a meter would (bounce up and down in time with the beat) or do they just display a static reading based on the position of the set's controls?

I'd suggest the former would be a bit hard on the eyes, though again, I've never seen it.

Dad had one when we were kids, from memory it only showed the recording level. I was always fascinated by the greenish blue glow and loved yelling into the microphone to see if I could light it up fully.

Yep, I recall magic eyes on the Grundigs used at school. They worked well enough for recording level management. They would flicker left to right like VU meters.