In a Nutshell
It's the second one made by Standard only 1 month after the ultra-rare first SR-F31
Introduction:
The Standard Radio Corporation of Japan (after 1975 Marantz) made some of the most collectible Japanese transistor radios - including the 1965 "Micronic Ruby" line of micro transistor radios. Their first two transistor radios SR-F31 and one month later SR-F21 from 1957, like earliest SONY, were never exported to the States (no civil defense marks), which makes them very rare. They both were offered in Japan with an optional external speaker, the Hi-Fi Adaptor SR-EX71. The SR-F21 "Flying Wedge", also dubbed the "Macronic Ruby", according to Alan Kastner of tabiwallah.com (ref.1), won an award at the "5th Annual New Japan Industrial Design Concourse". This was for the bold streamline design, and Standard honored it with an extraordinary workmanship: super reliable 6 transistor chassis - also OEM produced by Standard for other companies - and an "indestructible" cabinet made from Urea - most radios at that time were made from polystyrene. Urea, like plaskon and catalin a prewar plastic, is extremely hard, which makes the radio very scratch resistant, even on the bottom (pict.16). The radio was made in the 3 colors red, green (mine) and grey. End of last year the red version sold for US$ 2712.16 on eBay (refs. 2 and 3). That radio came with its original leather case, which together with old advertising guided me to hand-craft a case myself (picts.30-33).
Additional information:
ref.1: http://www.tabiwallah.com/radiowallah/standard/srf21a.html
ref.2: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/standard_sr_f_21stf2.html
ref.3: www.ebay.ca/itm/263336805148
ref.4: https://youtu.be/bLDlV0BddlA
About my Radio:
According to dating information on the parts used and subtle design changes my radio was made in mid 1958. It is in mint condition with no chips, cracks and even without a single scratch (Urea!). As for the GE P716 I had again to replace two leaking electrolytic capacitors by ELNA, the KADOMAX one's are fine. The radio plays fine with strong volume, no static and no noticeable distortions. Convince yourself by watching a youtube video (ref.4, or click on thumbnail 38), showing the radio playing in downtown Vancouver, where there are plenty of AM stations. The case, hand-stitched by myself along the scarce information on the internet, is from soft leather. If I would have to do it again, I would chose a stiffer material. If you do it, the template I made (pict. 31) may be helpful. The radio is for sale on eBay. Please e-mail me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.
|
Here are the specifications:
| Technical Description of Item |
| Manufacturer |
Standard Radio Corp.Ltd., Montreal |
| Model |
SR-F21 |
| Type |
AM/BC transistor radio |
| Production Year |
1957/58 |
| Serial number stamp |
1801848 |
| Cabinet |
Urea formaldehyde green and white |
| Chassis |
Standard 6-transistor |
| Dial and Knobs |
Rare clockwise = lower frequeny dial |
| Tuning Range |
AM/BC 1600-550 kHz |
| Controls |
Tuning, on/off-volume |
| Speaker |
2.5" PM speaker |
| Transistor Lineup |
TEN (Kobe Kogyo) 2NJ8A, 2NJ5A x 2, 2NJ9D, 2NJ9A x 2, + diode SD-46 |
| Size (WxDxH) |
6" x 3.5" x 2.1" = 148mm x 90mm x 53mm |
| Weight |
1.3 lbs = 0.6 kg |
| Comment |
Mint condition, decorated early and rare Standard transistor radio with custom made leather case |
 |
Shipping and handling:
EBay's shipping calculator is not working. You can estimate shipping costs with the help of CanadaPost's shipping calculator.
Take my Canadian postal code V2R5P6 and remember yours, take size and weight from the above table, add estimated box padding and weight and choose between the different shipping options. Don't forget insurance! |
 | |
|
