Buying the Radio.
The SABA Wildbad 100 was produced in Germany in 1959 and 1960.
The radio was one of a range designed by a famous designer Albrecht von Goertz, who also designed the BMW 503 and 507 models, among other things.
I have restored a number of tube radios by now and have some experience with knowing what to look for in the plethora of items available online.
Most importantly the radio should have all of its parts and should at least light up when turned on. If it plays, even badly or makes some noise, you're on the right track.
Sometimes you buy with your heart and not your head.
That's what I did this time..
At first glance it looks like I got a good deal. Well yes I suppose I did. 30 Euro doesn't get you much these days so no complaints. On the front the ON/OFF button is missing, but the switch still works.
The tweeter cover on the left side has some heat damage..
The back panel begins to hint at what lies within.. see the dust and cobwebs..
The famous SABA Greencone speakers dominate the baffle, with a pair of tweeters radiating out the sides.
This radio pretends to be a stereo system and even has a "STEREO" button and light on the front panel. This is a bit of sneaky marketing from SABA. The speakers are all wired up in parallel, with the "Stereo" switch simply connecting the speakers to an input on the back. Even then they are hardwired in parallel, so the speakers serve as an extension cabinet for one channel of an external stereo amplifier.
All this notwithstanding, it is a handsome radio, albeit very dirty and dusty and a few scars from its long and probably interesting life.
There's 60 years of smoke, soot, dust and dirt accumulated in there.. The tubes are all original and this far in it looks like this radio has never been worked on...
Some cleaning will be required...
The directional antenna dial cord is broken. Everything else looks intact, even if it is very dirty back here. All the tubes look good.
If you think you can buy a valve (tube) radio for 30 bucks, plug it in and enjoy, think again.
There are a lot of components under the chassis that have deteriorated over the years and will certainly need replacement. The capacitors should be replaced without thought. They become conductive and upset the biasing of the tubes which has disastrous consequences on them as well as the output and power transformers. This is typically characterized by an accompanying loud hum and/or distorted audio from the speakers. Turn off immediately and fix!!
The radio was one of a range designed by a famous designer Albrecht von Goertz, who also designed the BMW 503 and 507 models, among other things.
I have restored a number of tube radios by now and have some experience with knowing what to look for in the plethora of items available online.
Most importantly the radio should have all of its parts and should at least light up when turned on. If it plays, even badly or makes some noise, you're on the right track.
Sometimes you buy with your heart and not your head.
That's what I did this time..
At first glance it looks like I got a good deal. Well yes I suppose I did. 30 Euro doesn't get you much these days so no complaints. On the front the ON/OFF button is missing, but the switch still works.
The tweeter cover on the left side has some heat damage..
The back panel begins to hint at what lies within.. see the dust and cobwebs..
The famous SABA Greencone speakers dominate the baffle, with a pair of tweeters radiating out the sides.
This radio pretends to be a stereo system and even has a "STEREO" button and light on the front panel. This is a bit of sneaky marketing from SABA. The speakers are all wired up in parallel, with the "Stereo" switch simply connecting the speakers to an input on the back. Even then they are hardwired in parallel, so the speakers serve as an extension cabinet for one channel of an external stereo amplifier.
All this notwithstanding, it is a handsome radio, albeit very dirty and dusty and a few scars from its long and probably interesting life.
There's 60 years of smoke, soot, dust and dirt accumulated in there.. The tubes are all original and this far in it looks like this radio has never been worked on...
Some cleaning will be required...
The directional antenna dial cord is broken. Everything else looks intact, even if it is very dirty back here. All the tubes look good.
If you think you can buy a valve (tube) radio for 30 bucks, plug it in and enjoy, think again.
There are a lot of components under the chassis that have deteriorated over the years and will certainly need replacement. The capacitors should be replaced without thought. They become conductive and upset the biasing of the tubes which has disastrous consequences on them as well as the output and power transformers. This is typically characterized by an accompanying loud hum and/or distorted audio from the speakers. Turn off immediately and fix!!
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