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Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:34 am

Hi there,

Apologies in advance for being a bit dense about all this...

Can anyone give me some ideas about which radios would be compatible for an old splitscreen bus? My husband has one (his first and truest love, lol) and has been hankering for a radio in it. I wanted to get him one for christmas but noticed that all the ones advertised seem to be 12v, whereas his bus is 6v. Is it best to get a 12v and buy some sort of convertor (seen some advertised but murphy's law tells me it can't be that simple), or would it work to put in a less standard make? I've seen a Javelin sr601 advertised as both 6 and 12v functional which seems the right sort of dimensions. Or is hubby likely to see that as blasphemy even if it does work?

Thanks!

Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:36 am

Most early Blaupunkt radios were 6v or 12v switchable (with some wiring to do on some models). Something like this would be nice...........

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-Volkswagon-Oval-Beetle-Ol...=72%3A1299|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Or perhaps............

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/early-60s-Blaupunkt-radio-4-...=72%3A1299|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Try looking for Rich Oakley on the split van forum (SSVC)

Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:41 pm

A Blaupunkt is probably better given your location but you could also search for a "Sapphire" radio, although these were typically used in the United States.

The following models are 6-volt:
Sapphire I - AM, used through 1965
Sapphire II - AM/FM, used through 1965
Sapphire III - AM, 1966
Sapphire IV - AM/FM, 1966

The AM/FM models can be difficult to locate in working condition and much more expensive than an AM-only radio, although they probably cost similar to a restored Blaupunkt.

Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:50 pm

the FM frequency range is different in europe to america, make sure that you get one with a european range.

Sun Nov 16, 2008 2:29 pm

Mine gets Radio 2, which is fine, but runs out of revs at around a 100. :D

Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:16 pm

PM samba member dstefun for more info on radio stuff, unless he sees this thread in the meantime!

Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:52 am

irishvdubber wrote: the FM frequency range is different in europe to america, make sure that you get one with a european range.

Not totally sure but I think the range is the same just that Europe uses even numbers and US uses odd. With a rotary tuner that won't matter but with digital it does.

Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:00 am

BarryL wrote: irishvdubber wrote: the FM frequency range is different in europe to america, make sure that you get one with a european range.

Not totally sure but I think the range is the same just that Europe uses even numbers and US uses odd. With a rotary tuner that won't matter but with digital it does.

All countries used frequencies ending in odd numbers (.1,.3,.5,.7,.9) but some countries (not the U.S.) also used frequencies with 50 kHz or 100 kHz offsets in addition to the 200 kHz offsets. This gave them frequencies ending in both odd and even numbers like .1,.15,.2,.25,.3,.35, etc.

During the split years the European FM band (U or UKW on the radio pushbuttons) was 87.5 Mhz to 100.0 Mhz, as opposed to the U.S. which went all the way to 107.9 Mhz. The 87.5 to 107.9 FM band is now pretty much recognized worldwide, but that happened in the years after 1990. So if you now have FM stations near you that are higher than 100 Mhz, find a radio made for the U.S. in the split years and you're all set. Blaupunkt models such as the Frankfurt US, Stuttgart US, and Koln US were introduced for export around 1958 and continued through the 70's. US in the model name just indicates they were designed for the U.S. frequency bands of the time.

There are many good European radios (Becker, Philips, PYE, Novak, etc) for UK splits, but Blaupunkt radios are usually easier to find and easier to get repaired worldwide.

Wed Nov 19, 2008 8:35 am

Did you find a radio yet? There's that Germany radio seller guy, www.oldtimer-radio.de. Sheesh did I ever get it wrong. Does Japan have even numbers? I installed a lot of Sony component stereos in the 80's that had a 9-volt battery for the memory of which county the sets were used in. On the setup you had to select odd or even i.e. 99.6, 98.8, etc and it wouldn't tune odd. If the battery went dead then they would scroll through all odd and even, still tune, but slightly off.

Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:44 pm

BarryL wrote: Does Japan have even numbers?

Japan uses both odd and even frequencies now, I don't know what they did in the past. Japan uses 76-90 Mhz for their FM band, with 90-108 Mhz used for TV audio. Some Japanese FM radios are made to cover 76-108 Mhz in order to cover both bands.