Saturday, July 19, 2008

NOS Blaupunkt Frankfurt US AM/FM/shortwave radio



I've been keeping my eyes open for Blaupunkt radio knobs and other small parts that the radios I have are missing. What I didn't expect to find was a new Blaupunkt radio still in the box. It's a Frankfurt US model, which is nice because it has the longer American FM band (the European FM band stops at about 104 or so). According to information I found on an informative Porsche 356 Blaupunkt radio site it was probably made in 1966. It's an all-transistor radio.

So let's say you bought a new Blaupunkt radio in 1966. What would you have found inside the box?








This radio comes complete with the outer metal knobs that are often missing on second-hand radios.


Blaupunkt radios can be switched between 6-volt and 12-volt by way of this card. This one came set up for a 12-volt system, which by 1966 would have been right for almost every new car except a few 6V holdouts like VW and BMW.


The paperwork that came in the box is in German, English, French, and Spanish. Here are some of the English-language pieces.

Operating instructions:



Warranty card (which for some reason substitutes Swedish [I think] in place of Spanish):




Service providers directory (for the US it just gives an address and phone number for the Robert Bosch US headquarters in New Jersey):




Schematics and printed circuit board diagrams:





With this radio, the VW 1500/1600 Karmann-Ghia installation kit I found recently, and an NOS Bosch antenna I've had for years I should have everything I need to enjoy high-fidelity sound circa 1966.

9 comments:

Abakus said...

Hi Scott, I've googled to find a schematic for my Frankfurt US radio but no success. Saw yr post must be quit unique with an all "new" radio from 1966. My question; U wouldn't happen to have any high res photo/copy of the schematic in Yr post. If You would be able to make a copy I'll gladely pay U for the trouble.

Best Regards
Mikael Baaz / Jaugar E-type / Sweden

Scott said...

Let me know your email address and we can discuss it further.

amazing58 said...

I have just purchased a Blaupunkt Frankfurt US "X" series radio and I am also looking for the install and schematic images. Please let me know. Thanks

Scott said...

In my post on the Blaupunkt installation kit you'll find the complete installation instructions for a 1500 Karmann-Ghia. Click on the images in the post for a readable view. These instructions should generally apply to other cars as well. There are a number of sources for schematics online.

Anonymous said...

scott, how can i get ahold of you, i have a question about the same radio,. I dont seem to have any volume control.....i do get the odd crackle from the speaker.....but not sure not what to do.

jason

Scott said...

Sorry Jason, I'm not able to help you troubleshoot your Frankfurt, but there are a number of people who specialize in the repair of old Blaupunkt radios. Not sure where you're located -- there are several specialists in Europe but here's one in the US: http://web.me.com/stokester/Dub~Tunes/Home.html. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Might you have documents outlining how to connect an X series Bluapunkt?
Not sure where and which the power and ground wires are and where/how to connect speakers, etc. Thanks

Scott said...

Other than the documents posted here there's also this post:
http://vwplusvw1500.blogspot.com/2008/05/blaupunkt-radio-installation-kit-for-vw.html
that has installation instructions for a VW 1500 Ghia that should give you the basic information you need.

Frank V Effenberger said...

I bought a Blaupunkt Frankfurt for my 1959 Volvo 544. I cut a hole through the sheet metal under the rear window for a 6 1/2 Pioneer coaxial speaker and had sound that would knock your sox off. I moved that radio into 63 and 65 Volvos. I'm sorry I gave it away. It had tubes in the signal part of the radio and a transistor power oscillator in place of a vibrator for the B+. I think the audio power output was also transistorized.