REDI RAD

[serb]

Has anybody purchased and installed the RediRad that is advertised in the Bugle? The unit hooks up to an old time AM radio and allows you to play other devices through the old radio.

Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated.

Stevo

[Guest BJM]

Hey Stevo, I just noticed that too. No I have not but am interested.

[WWS]

I ordered one last summer and installed it in my 46, worked pretty good! I took it out last fall. I was going to install it in another car, but sold the car.

Very simple to install, and as long as your radio is working, and has a decent speaker its not a bad alternative, to boring old AM. I even wired in for an I phone so I could listen to other music.

Is it as good as having a radio rebuilt into am/fm, maybe not, but its a heck of a lot cheaper, and way simpler. The 46 only has one speaker anyway so I wasnt going for concert hall quality to start with.

I'll give it a thumbs up

Edited April 15, 2010 by WWS (see edit history)

[Guest BJM]

Mark,

It may be folklore - I can't say because I have never listened to a tube radio - but the rumor is that properly working tube radios sound pretty good if not better then newer (say 1970's era) speakers.

What do you (or others) say / comment ?

Edited April 16, 2010 by BJM (see edit history)

[NTX5467]

By observation, AM radios that are ONLY AM radios will sound better on AM than 1970s (and later) AM/FM radios. I'm not sure why, but that's what I've noticed. Something in the circuitry must have been done differently after the main listening choice became FM, but I'm not sure how that would be.

Tube radios, as home table radios, usually had a "warmer" sound than later transistor radios, whether on AM or FM or Shortwave. The tuning might not benefit from the latest "phase lock loop" electronic tuning circuits, but it was worth getting the station tuned in "on the spot". Remember, too, the "Signal Strength Meters" that some had?

In the DFW area, one of the dwindling number of "Legends" stations is still on AM and doing well. They know the sound quality is not what FM might have, but it was also noted that that is not really as important as where the music takes the listeners . . . which is accurate. KAAM 770 AM. At least in this market, there IS an AM station that is NOT TALK! And plays music that you have remembered the words to, with real musicality in it--at least if you're old enough to have listened to these same songs on a 1950s AM car radio originally.

Usually, the 1960s factory AM radios just needed some better speakers to sound good (with their earlier circuitry) . . . even MULTIPLE speakers. Remember how good they sounded with just a touch of Reverb? "Concert Hall Realism" (especially in a larger car! before FM Multiplex, not "stereo", was in cars) . . . was the claim . . . even with one front and one rear speaker.

BJM, not completely "folk lore".

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[Thriller]

Some high end stereo systems still have tubes (or did a few years back).

[bhclark]

I own a Redi Rad installed into my '59 right before the trip to Colorado Springs last year.

Installed in under an hour, completely hidden with a jack to hook up the MP3 player in the glove compartment.

sound is very good!

2 thumbs up!

I plan on picking up another as soon as get the radio working in my '65.

[Guest sintid58]

I have one, first I had it in my Riviera, then switched it to my 55 when I got the radio working on that car. I like if very well the 55 has a recored speaker and it sounds pretty good, I used my phone as an mp3 player and hooked it up putting it in the glove box. Cant see a thing, will also work with a CD player. I plan on buying another one to put back in the Riviera. The previous owner put a cheap AM/FM cassette player in the Skylark that looks really tacky. I am thinking that because the car can't be judged anywhere but driven or modified anyway that I may install a new AM/FM CD player with speakers in the rear package shelf and just be done with it. That car will most likely be our traveling car when we can get back to touring with the BDE.

Edited April 17, 2010 by sintid58 (see edit history)

[Dandy Dave]

Some high end stereo systems still have tubes (or did a few years back).

I recently bought an electric guitar after playing acoustic's for many years and was quite supprized to find that the best Amps for sound quality are Tube Amps. I thought in this modern age that anything tube was a thing of the past. Not so with the Wide World of Electric Guitars. With that said, I can see where high end electronics would still be Tube sets. Dandy Dave!

[serb]

I guess the unit is pretty much all that they advertise..ie easy to install and works and sounds tremendous.

How large is the plug? I have small mp3 players that I use, would the plug be too large to fit or is there a step down plug available?

[Guest sintid58]

There are step down plugs available. The plug on the Redi Rad is pretty much standard for most CD and MP3 players but my phone uses a smaller jack and I had to get a step down adapter for that and it works fine.

[serb]

Thanks Sid, as long as I can get a step down, I think I will go for it.

Thanks to all for their input.

Stevo