A few days ago I found these two Lennox mini-mono boxes at my local Goodwill.Though not specifically listed,a check of my database 2.0 would seem to suggest this model as a mono version of the Lennox ct-725 seen here:
Both of these models look to be styled after the Sharp QT-50 from 1984.I've always considered that Sharp as a really nicely styled radio.Evidently so did Lennox as they produced these very similar looking designs.
As you see my pink version has discolored slightly in some areas from age or heat exposure.Seen here on the back is the hole for it's built in electric cord.The antenna is only twice as long as it is when fully collapsed.There is only one extending section.
Under the units back battery cover are two separate compartments.Though one is labeled for batteries and the other for the electric cord,the cord actually needs to occupy both compartments to fit inside when the cover is closed.Perhaps Lennox realized this late in the design phase as you can see the channel linking both compartments for the cord to pass through.
The information backplate shows this box was marketed as the "Street Beat".This would seem to be a backhanded reference to the movie title "Beat Street",the hiphop culture movie released in 1984.At 4 watt power consumption this box definitely fits in the "mini" category.Interestingly,I've heard radios consuming a bit more power that aren't as loud as this one.Of course the sound though loud for its size is not very dynamic and lacks any bass.If not using the tape section,I would imagine it running for a long time on the required 4 "C" cell batteries for cordless operation.When also taking into account it's rather short carrying strap,the radio was obviously marketed towards kids,particularly young girls.
Wow!That logo is so early '80s looking!Unfortunately both radio's tuner window plastic are scratched up.I tried some PlasteX polish but it didn't seem to help things.Does any one know of a slightly more aggressive plastic polish I could try?Below are controls as seen from the top.Again it has a very Sharp QT-50 look to it.
I'm not seeing this one in my database 2.0.Of course we all like seeing and hearing stories of M70s,rising 20/20s,Sharp 777s,etc..,but I have always been very interested in the rare or unusual models no matter how small they may be.For me part of the fun of this hobby is trying to help reconstruct the lost history of the boombox.This is a model I've never seen which makes it all the more interesting.
i like them! they look a bit cheaply made, but they are something i could see using all the time as a kid. and that pink is great.
jovie -- yes, the sharp QT-50 looks almost like the AKA for that stereo model --its almost always sold for peanuts on ebay --i like mine alot --so these are the types of fun boxes that can be won at thrift store prices
Great review, Jovie! Finding boxes I've never seen or heard of before (or that no one else cares about collecting), whether they're big or small, is lots of fun. A few years ago, I stumbled on a bunch of boxed QT-50's, one of each color, at an antique radio show. I didn't even have the nerve to deal on them, they were so cheap. I still feel lucky to have found them... and instantly acquire a complete collection of all colors!
(Most common QT-50 flaw: missing colored ball on antenna tip.)
Like you, part of my QT-50 collecting is trying to snag as many of the look-alikes as I can find. As RBJ mentioned, these things are almost never expensive, whether they're on eBay or in thrift stores or at flea markets (or radio collector shows), and they're still pretty plentiful.
Some of the highlights of my QT-50-and-related collection include:
1. a QT-50Z, the int'l version with SW bands
2. a couple of QT-5's, the mono version
3. a yellow Street Beat mono
4. Realstic SCR-34 and SCR-40 look-alikes
5. Soundesign 4617 and 4616 (mono) look-alikes
6. a couple of QT-F60's (skinnier, wider, and ribbed all over) along with a Crown and Tenkai look-alike
7. a couple of QT-V40's, ribbed with top covers
Still looking for a Japanese domestic QT-50 (all Japanese writing, and, of course, the Japanese FM band). This was the first QT-50 I ever saw, at the Chicago CES show in '83. Back then, reps were allowed to sell demos when the show was over, but, despite my desperate pleading, the Sharp rep wouldn't do it! I haven't seen one since.
One more thing...
Since the AM expanded band (up to 1705kHz) didn't open up until 1995, the Street Beat look-alike, which includes the expanded band (and is from China), was either way ahead of its time or is actually a more recent tribute to the mid-eighties QT-5/50.
BB -you sure have some cool wicked/pissa stuff --
every box is interesting --
if you posted a collections page-
would it be a 15 page catalogue ?
quote:
Originally posted by redbenjoe:
BB -you sure have some cool wicked/pissa stuff --every box is interesting --
if you posted a collections page-
would it be a 15 page catalogue ?
Well, I guess it depends on the size of the pages!
Not all grails, that's for sure. I like to think of my boombox collection as "eclectic." My wife, on the other hand, likes to think of it as "clutter"!
fatboyrafe-they really are cheaply made.I'm sure the Sharp QT-50 from which it drew its styling influences was much more of a quality build.The idea of using color is one I wish manufacturers would have embraced in a much bigger way.For me at least it would have been great for even the larger classic models to have been made in a variety of colors.This would give blastaficionados like us more variety to look for when collecting a specific model.
redbenjoe-Actually I don't have a Qt-50 as of yet.I'm sure I'll get one eventually.However,budget of late has restricted me to scouting thriftstores.I was lucky to find my Street Beats at a place a couple of miles from my house.
babyboomer-Your posts alway continue to amaze me!The QT-50 simply shouts '80s style at its peak.Having boxed versions of each color is quite lucky.To clarify,are you saying that your Street Beat also has an extended AM band?When I saw the "Made in China" printing I did sort of wonder if it was a post '80s issue with retro style.The plastic used really doesn't seem to me to be a type I remember from back in the '80s but I could be wrong.However it just doesn't seem reasonable to me for a manufacturer to put out a retro styled box with a name that is a vague reference to an early '80s movie if it truly is a more recent offering marketed towards children.I just don't see a child a decade (or decades) after the '80s understanding a possible "Beat Street" movie reference.Personally I tend to think an attempt to associate it's name with that movie was a deliberate intention on the part of it's manufacturer Lennox.Of course I suppose with its short strap there's a possibility it could have been geared more to nostalgia loving middle aged women in it's Oriental markets than to children.
quote:
Originally posted by Jovie:
babyboomer-Your posts alway continue to amaze me!
Wow... I hope they amaze you in a positive way!
Yes, the AM band on my yellow Street Beat, like on your two, goes to 1700kHz.
I agree with how the Street Beat's design and logo scream eighties. However, I don't think radios in the mid-eighties anticipated the expanded AM band. When you add in how this box is made in China, how we've both found examples lately at thrift stores, how the plastic isn't quite right, and how my battery compartment foam is still squishy, it makes me wonder if maybe what we're dealing with here isn't a more recent (mid-nineties?) "tribute" to the eighties rather than an authentic piece of eighties gear. I suppose we could always email Lenoxx and try to find out. Like I said, it's also possible that Lenoxx was ahead of its time.
My best recollection is that the advertising for these small, colorful radios was geared mainly to women, so your explanation that the Street Beat might be a later attempt to reach the "ladies of the eighties" makes sense.
I just did a "basement search" (to check if my Street Beat went to 1700kHz, which it does) and discovered that I lied about buying every color QT-50 in a box back at that radio show. I bought lavender, green, blue, red, and pink (actually, the seller had two pinks!), which I thought at the time was everything. Turns out there's also yellow and white, which I've since managed to find (not in boxes). And it's the white one that's multi-band for the world market.
I need to visit my basement more often!
Just thought I'd post photos of some of the boxes I've mentioned...
My very own yellow Street Beat, backed up by a real Sharp QT-50 and two Realistic look-alikes, the SCR34 & 40
The Soundesign 4617 look-alike
And the two QT-50's I didn't know existed until I found them: the white (which is a QT-50Z, multi-band) and the yellow
I agree Jovie, I wish they would have made the bigger iconic boxes in colors back in the day too!
These are fun, and due to their size, easy to collect!
Amazing QT-50s "2die4"
!Thanks babyboomer!I'm seriously needing to find me a QT-50.It will probably fit my current budget even if from Ebay.My next acquisition 2 b sure!
Very cool find!
Guess the mystery is solved!
