Travel Radios from Panasonic
Panasonic's first multiband travel radio appeared in 1980, the RF-085 competed with Sony's ICF-7600, had three barely spread shortwave bands from 2.25 - 18.6 MHz and it's price was only half of the Sony set. In Europe, the RF-788L was available in a comparable design with two shortwave and longwave ranges. With ten spread shortwave bands in addition to FM & MW, the RF-B50 was able to catch up with Sony's competitor and excelled by covering tropical bands up to 13 m broadcast band. The RF-9L in miniature format had 6 spread bands from 49-16 m. The unit was soon followed by the RF-B10 with similar specifications, the RF-B20 was an analogue double conversion set, and the RF-B40DL was a small PLL double conversion receiver with direct frequency entry and full microprocessor control. The RF-B60L with slightly larger dimension had finer tuning steps, a higher number of station memories and additional clock functions. With the RF-B65 as the top set of the series, a BFO for SSB reception and fine tuning were added to the already successful radio.
Whether this or the Sony ICF-7600D, which was in the same price range, should be preferred as a mini travel receiver, remained a subject of discussion for some time. In the meantime, Panasonic has withdrawn from the world receiver business; some of the devices are still available second-hand.
Travel portables from Panasonic
RF-085 | 1980 | Single Conversion | FM, MW, 3 x SW (2.25 - 18.6 MHz) | analogue dial | |
RF-788L | 1979 | Single Conversion | FM, LW, MW, 2 x SW (2.25 - 18.6 MHz) | analogue dial | |
RF-9L | Single Conversion | FM, LW, MW, 6 x SW (5.9-18 MHz) | analogue dial | ||
RF-B50L | 1984 | Single Conversion | FM, LW, MW, 7 x SW (49 - 13 mb) | analogue dial, two bandwidths | |
RF-B50 (intl.) | 1984 | Single Conversion | FM, MW, SW1 (120 - 60 mb), 7 x SW (49 - 13 mb) | analogue dial | |
RF-B10 | 1986 | Single Conversion | FM, MW, 6 x SW (49 - 16 mb) | analogue dial | |
RF-B20DL | 1986 | Double Conversion | FM, LW, MW, 6 x SW (49 - 16 mb) | analogue dial | |
RF-B40DL | 1987 | Double Conversion | FM, LW, MW, SW (1.6 - 30 MHz) | Digital display 5 kHz steps, 27 memories | |
RF-B60DL | 1986 | Double Conversion | FM, LW, MW, SW (1.6 - 30 MHz) | Digital display 1 kHz steps, 36 memories, clock/timer | |
RF-B45 | 1991 | Double Conversion | FM, LW, MW, SW (1,6 - 30 MHz) | Digital display 5 kHz steps, SSB, Fine Tuning, 18 memories | |
RF-B65DL | 1989 | Double Conversion | FM, LW, MW, SW (1.6 - 30 MHz | Digital display 1 kHz steps, SSB, Fine Tuning, 36 memories, clock/timer | |
RF-B55 | 1999 | Double Conversion | FM, LW, MW, SW (1.7 - 30 MHz) | Digital display 5 kHz steps, fine tuning, 18 memories VHF and SW, 9 memories LW and MW |