I originally bought this Panasonic RF-1080 on eBay a few years ago for $50 for nostalgic reasons. It was the first radio I had ever really liked, the model my parents took with us during our travels through Europe and Africa in 1973. Now I'm using it off the C batteries in the baby room and I'm very pleased with its AM/FM performance. I can't believe such a small radio receives AM so well, with no noise. Of course, it helps that I'm only running batteries, no AC. The good news? These are fairly common on eBay.
I've got a Panasonic RF-1060 that looks a lot like (actually, exactly like) your RF-1080. Anyone know the difference between the RF-1060 and the RF-1080?
No doubt, these are sweet little radios. They receive well on both AM and FM, deliver decent audio quality, and run forever on a set of alkaline C cells. Much more portable than my RF-2200, too!
Posted by: Dan Somers | June 27, 2010 at 07:12 AM
Picked up a RF-1080 for $7 at a thrift store. After some cleaning and DeOxit treatments, it plays like new. What a superb design; it's made to do one thing and it does it exceedingly well. (And yes sports fans, you CAN straighten a bent antenna so long as it hasn't been folded. Just go slow.) The tuning meter really helps in peaking the signal from the little 5 watt LPFM (KBRP) two canyons away. Could anyone point me to an owner's manual? The RF-1080 is simple to use, but it would be nice to see the instructions!
Posted by: KE7CYT | June 27, 2010 at 10:26 PM
Are you sure this is from 1973? I'm seeing information saying it could be from 1980. I have one of these I just cleaned up for my sister to use at the park she's a director at so they have some form of entertainment. Picked it up sometime before 2010 for $2 at a yard sale, I think. it's a great radio, I'll give it that.
Posted by: D | June 29, 2015 at 11:38 AM
D, you are correct. The 1973 model is the very similar RF-1060. The 1080 is from later. Jeff
Posted by: herculodge | June 29, 2015 at 03:17 PM
I bought my RF-1080 back in 1975. I just bought another one from eBay.
Posted by: Lincoln | August 17, 2017 at 10:01 AM
Electronics a half-century old that still look & perform well: That's Panasonic.
Posted by: Curtiss Cott | October 15, 2022 at 08:55 PM