Grundig 208 (1959/1960)
The Grundig 208 is a compact portable radio from the 1959/1960 model year. Grundig's catalog for that period lists it at DM 148 in Germany. It runs on a 9V battery supply and sits in a bakelite case measuring 260 x 160 x 70 mm. It weighs 1.4 kg.
Past that, the documentation gets murky. The two main sources disagree on the basic circuit design. The German Grundig Radio-Vertrieb listing calls it a portable tube radio with three tubes and a bakelite case, covering VHF, MW, and LW. Radiomuseum.org calls it a "6-transistor portable radio" with FM, MW, and LW bands. A set is either tube-based or transistor-based, so both can't be right, and the fact sheet has no tie-breaker. Given the era and the bakelite case, either is plausible, but the Archive won't guess. The loudspeaker is listed at 13 x 9 cm, which fits a set of this size.
Period Studio Sound classifieds from 1961 (May 1961, p.46) confirm that UK dealers like Croydon Cine Exchange widely stocked Grundig tape recorders and accessories. No review or test of the 208 itself turned up in the available record. No frequency response, sensitivity, or output power figures survive in the sources.
Known specifications:
- Bands: FM/VHF, MW, LW
- Power: 9V battery
- Dimensions: 260 x 160 x 70 mm
- Weight: 1.4 kg
- Speaker: 13 x 9 cm
- Case: Bakelite
- Original price: DM 148 (1959/1960)
If you own a 208 and can confirm whether it uses tubes or transistors, or anything else about how it performs, the Archive would welcome the correction.
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