Post by Steve on Nov 27, 2021 12:22:20 GMT 12
It was always my understanding that Columbus (Radio Corporation of New Zealand) made one car radio - the (infamous) MC7. They were made in 1947 and advertised nationwide for a few years. RCNZ were thought to have given up on auto radios after this somewhat unsuccessful model (according to John Stokes):
But I've been working through a pile of paperwork that came from one of the Columbus Radio Centres and found two memos with attached hand-drawn sketches (I think these might have been drawn by Ken Duncan who had the K Road Radio Centre)
There is a bit more info, but this outlines the details. They appear to have used the usual miniature lineup Radio Corp used in the mid-50's based on the AQ5 and AV6 drawn on the heater wiring diagram.
So: did Radio Corp venture back into the car radio field one more time? I can't find a single reference to a mid-50's car radio from them anywhere in any advertising but the evidence suggests they existed. And the 506 and 512 model codes don't appear in any of the known model lists created by anyone in the past.
The only brands from Radio Corp would have been Courtenay and Columbus at that time - Courtenay finished up in about 1954 so it's possible they were made for Turnbull & Jones and not Columbus? But then why the memo to Columbus Radio Centres... so its more likely they were a Columbus radio I would think... but where are they? I've never seen one, I've never been asked about one, and nobody I have spoken to has ever questioned the accepted truth that there was only ever the MC7.
So, could I please ask if you have some old car radios laying about - check them for a model number or any appearance of Columbus-like features... I'd like to solve this one.
Cheers, Steve
If any manufacturer had tried to make every mistake possible in the design of a car radio, then Radio Corp did just that! The disastrous MC7 represented the company's only venture into the car radio field, a great blessing for all concerned.
John Stokes,The Golden Age of Radio (p.65)
But I've been working through a pile of paperwork that came from one of the Columbus Radio Centres and found two memos with attached hand-drawn sketches (I think these might have been drawn by Ken Duncan who had the K Road Radio Centre)
There is a bit more info, but this outlines the details. They appear to have used the usual miniature lineup Radio Corp used in the mid-50's based on the AQ5 and AV6 drawn on the heater wiring diagram.
So: did Radio Corp venture back into the car radio field one more time? I can't find a single reference to a mid-50's car radio from them anywhere in any advertising but the evidence suggests they existed. And the 506 and 512 model codes don't appear in any of the known model lists created by anyone in the past.
The only brands from Radio Corp would have been Courtenay and Columbus at that time - Courtenay finished up in about 1954 so it's possible they were made for Turnbull & Jones and not Columbus? But then why the memo to Columbus Radio Centres... so its more likely they were a Columbus radio I would think... but where are they? I've never seen one, I've never been asked about one, and nobody I have spoken to has ever questioned the accepted truth that there was only ever the MC7.
So, could I please ask if you have some old car radios laying about - check them for a model number or any appearance of Columbus-like features... I'd like to solve this one.
Cheers, Steve
