Imperial Blue 1961 Rincan Model KFA-W71 Vacuum Tube AM FM Radio Beauty and Sounds Great!
DESCRIPTION: The ultimate low and sleek modern looking AM and FM vacuum tube radio! Looks like the dash of an early sixties Chrysler New Yorker or Imperial! Tabletop vacuum tube AM and FM radio manufactured by Kyowa Electric Chemical Co of Japan in 1961 in excellent working and physical condition. This model is the pinnacle of vacuum tube design and function. Not a single transistor. It is one of the last all vacuum tube electronic designs. After this, virtually all electronics to this day are more or less semiconductor based.
SOUND QUALITY: The sound quality is unsurpassed. Clean clear sounding dual speaker audio with outstanding frequency selectivity across the spectrum. Very little hiss between stations and no humming or buzzing on FM. Picks up AM and FM stations clearly and loudly across the dial. There are two antenna wires coming out the back for AM and FM. Switch to AM or FM using the front band selector switch. High, medium, low tone selector works!
CABINET CONDITION: Cabinet is original factory molded medium blue color plastic in very good to excellent condition. The top has some heat warping but not melted anywhere. No cracks, chips or major scratches anywhere. Not repainted. No touch up. No over spray. Original factory front clear plastic and aluminum trim is in excellent condition with no cracks, chips, or major scratches and securely attached. No rust or oxidation stains. There is an earplug jack on the right side which should work. Earplugs not included.
KNOBS: Original matching knobs are securely attached. All 4 knobs center metal caps are not missing. Incredible. No broken mount shafts.
LOGO: Missing Rincan logo badge on the upper front left. Has original "2 Speaker AM FM" badge on the lower front right securely attached.
DIAL LIGHT: No dial light. Not designed with one but can be added for an extra charge. Gas bulb behind the FM front blue dot is working but it's hard to see. The gas bulb behind the AM front orange dot is not working. Not sure where to find these replacement gas bulbs.
INTERNAL ELECTRONICS: All paper and wax capacitors have been replaced with modern equivalents so this radio has another 50+ years or more of playing time! The tubes are working fine. Uses commonly available tubes: 12BA6, 12BE6, 12DT8, 12AV6, 50C5. Isn't that consumer friendly to American market? Take note Telefunken. All out-of-spec resistors have been replaced with modern correct value and voltage equivalents. There is no loud or pervasive hum. There is no loud or pervasive static between stations. The set has been aligned according to factory specifications. All wiring has been thoroughly checked for possible bridging and weak solder connection. The radio has been thoroughly cleaned and inspected.
POWER CORD: The original power cord and plug are in excellent condition with no cracks, or splits. No exposed wiring. Power cord needs to be pressed securely onto back power input pins for the radio to work.
BACKING BOARD: Original backing board is intact, excellent condition, and securely attached. Nice consumer friendly thumb screws are used throughout to mount chassis from the bottom and backing board. All 6 original thumb screws are present. None are missing. Wow.
FACTORY LABELS AND STICKERS: Bottom label is intact but yellowed.
DIMENSIONS: Approximately 17.5" x 6" x 6" (l x w x h)
WEIGHT: 6 lbs 7 oz
COLOR: medium blue
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ADD BLUETOOTH MP3 See info here
ADD SMART SPEAKER: See info here
ADD DIAL LIGHT See info here
Product: antique radio, vintage radio, retro radio, vacuum tube radio, AM radio, art deco, mid-century product.
Category: radio
Cabinet construction: plastic
Period: 1960s
Country of manufacture: Japan
Electronics: Mounted circuit board or chassis. Vacuum tube circuit.
Vacuum tubes: tested and working. Amplifier, converter, detector, pre-amplifier, rectifier