Ed from Canada Shares His Info of the Panasonic RF-7270 Royal Aire Radio Recorder

Addressing Dan's restoration of his Panasonic RF-7270 Royal Aire Radio Cassette Recorder, Ed M from Canada writes:

I too have 3 of these RF-7270 radios around all in good working condition. 2 of them which I purchased off of ebay some years ago and one that my dad purchased new in 1969- 1970 for almost $200.00 at Eatons. 

From what my dad told me many years ago is that the RF-7270 is a Phillips/Norelco cassette tape recorder adapted with an fm am radio and this RF-7270 unit was first available in late 1968 which would put it at 42+ years.Really you could say that this radio is the inception of the first real ghetto blaster.It came with a microphone and stand, ear phone and 5 blue Panasonic Hi top batteries and instruction book, warranty card and a demo cassette tape which i still have. This was standard with Panasonic during those days to include batteries, a cassette tape, microphone and earphone. For my dads unit he had also purchased which was an option at the time a multi voltage AC adapter from Panasonic as so the unit could be powered from 120 volts ac outlet to 7.5 dc volts in the house instead of using the batteries.

I recall that this radio was a pig on batteries when using the cassette deck with the volume turned up and the tape speed would change as the batteries went weak.Also available was a car mounting bracket in which you could use the radio in the car and then remove it from the car and use it as a portable. When you would use the radio in the car the round fm/am station numbers would light up blue in color when you turned the radio on in which you could see the station dial in the dark. This also being possibility the first car stereo radio even though this is a mono unit it has superb sound and tone quality and sensitivity. 

I will also mention that the Panasonic RF-3100 cassette player recorder uses the same cassette design as the RF-7270 and the RF-3100 was made in 1967 a year earlier which was Panasonic first small potable cassette player recorder in 1967.

Also in my collection I have an RF-7280 circa 1969 which is the same as the RF-7270 except it has a weather band for listing to weather reports also instead of the one control knob for the cassette player as in the RF-7270 the RF-7280 incorporates the piano key type of operation for the cassette deck also along with this I have 2 RF-7490 stereo cassette radio recorders which are in working order all units use the 4`x6`powerful speaker.I also have service manuals for all 3 models RF-7270,Rf-7280 and the RF-7490.

Also as you mention there is a large, printed copy of the RF-7270's schematic -- carefully folded and tucked between the chassis and the case which is true as is the same for my units.The speaker is a powerful 4`x6`oval speaker
All of these units at the time were top notch in there class and were built very well to be enjoyed in the many years to come.

Best Regards,

Ed M.

Comments

[Angelo]

Ed M.: Instead of saying these Panasonic radios were built very well to be enjoyed for "years to come" you could have made that "decades to come."
Reading Dan's description and your account of these sets and looking at the photos, it's clear that these tanks have the build quality and materials to go for the long haul. The fact that your Dad paid $200.00 for one of these radios----40 years ago----that does indicate that these were an investment for people who cared about their listening. It's now easy to say "In today's dollars, it would cost too much to make a radio like this." or "This is why you can't compare yesterday's radios to today's---we can't expect the same quality." etc. I disagree. Technology gets cheaper. A pocket calculator in 1975 cost over $100.00. Today, many pocket calculators are GIVEN AWAY as premiums/promotions----and they are far more sophisticated, and do more, than those from 35 years ago. The "guts" of today's STANDARD BROADCAST radios: transistors, "technology" has been paid for many times over. Materials? I can buy a chrome toaster oven which is all metal for around $35.00-$45.00. You mean to tell me a radio manufacturer can't put chrome trim and knobs on a decent quality vinylized plastic cabinet for under $200.00? Like anything else, it's a commodity. It's about profit. There was a competition in the late 1960's to build a better radio tank. Even the lower end players got into the mix, providing heavy duty rigs with very nice quality cabinets and trim---I know it because I've picked some of these up. You can do a clean-up like Dan did, and bring these to "almost new" standards in appearance. After some contact spray and a few hours of use, they work pretty much like new too. Contrast that with my Sangean CC radio and there is no comparision.

[Radio Russ]

Speaking of calculators: While working for DuPont Engineering Department I well remember the introduction of the Texas Instruments SR-50 scientific calculator in 1974. This was the first to have trig and log functions and sold for $170 back then. This was the holy grail for engineers and was highly sought after. Now you can get one that has more functions and is programmable to boot for under $20.

[Dan Somers]

I really appreciate the additional information you provided about the Panasonic RF-7270 Royal-Aire radio/recorder and its cousins. I'm enjoying my 7270 very much and can't believe how heavy it is every time I pick it up to move it.

I'm not surprised that the RF-7270 will consume batteries quickly if played loudly. The cassette mechanism's motor and the audio amplifier's power transistors (with heatsinks!) combine to pull several hundred milliamps from the five D cells.

Before your article, the only info I could find about these radio/recorders is in a photo caption at the top of page 75 of the February, 1971 issue of Popular Mechanics. If you're interested, click on this link and scroll down to page 75:

http://tinyurl.com/rf-7270

Yesterday, I was goofing with my Panasonic RF-1150 and comparing its AM performance with that of my RF-7270. Surprisingly, the RF-7270 held its own, even though the RF-1150 has a much larger, gyro-style ferrite antenna. I've got to do more testing before I'm convinced that the RF-7270 is as good on AM as the RF-1150.

Thanks again for your good work, Ed.

[Walter]

Anybody know where I can get a microphone for this piece of equipment?
Thanks.

[Jeffrey M. Martire]

Great article thanks. Jeff