Amana's Radarange- Good and Bad Points...Please tell me what your thoughts are!!

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programcomputer

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 20, 2003
Messages
409
Location
Ann Arbor Michigan, USA
Hello,

A very good freind of mine Ken, recently gave me a new MIB Amana Radarange. He knew that my old single dial JCPenney microwave was too small for many cooking bowls that I have, and that it was literally taking myself or Martin FOREVER to cook anything, especially when he comes to dinner, which is of late often...

Anyway's, he decided to give me the "other " Radarange that his parents never opened or used. It sat literally in a shelf in their basement since March 19,1985 according to the reciept.
They had bought two...one for their main home and one for the summer cottage that they have in the upper western part of the Michgan Mitten. They never took it there, for whatever reason...and apparantly promptly forgot about it...damned rich people...

It's not like we couldn't afford a new one. Quite the contrary. Marty and I have been shopping for a larger one and found one that would suit our needs, a Westinghouse badge engineered Salton Products design at my local Meijers for $89.95 for example.

However Ken was over and said that It would fit prefectly the "Retro" theme of my house...as my kitchen is decorated in 1970's colors and theme. The model # of my unit is located on a small silver sticker that denotes it as model

: RR-810.

On a much LARGER quality control sticker it's printed that it was also manufactured on

: June 9, 1984.

My question is to you out there that may have had experience with Radarange's....Do they have any major faults that could occur like radiation leaks? DO you think that after sitting all these years in a basement using it as much as I have in the last three days could do any damage? Did these earlier style microwaves draw huge power amounts, and if so could time and age, even tho just sitting in a dusty box get worse?

The box WAS open when he brought it to me, becasue the only thing that they ever apparantly wanted from it was the meat thermometer cord and probe thing. I would never cook a turkey in there let alone a roast, so I really don't need it anyways.

What are the experiences here from those whom know. I really would like to get a decent synopsis before I am really comfortable with not buying another "newer" one just in case. The old JCPenney went with Ken. He sent it to his son up in College..so I'm kinda caught now. It was what he wanted in trade for the nearly dead one...?

Anyway thanks guy's in advance...

Chad
 
Radarange

Those are EXCELLENT microwave ovens. There was a whole thread on them here, but I don't see it now. There are collectible, built like tanks. I wouldn't hesitate to use one in everyday service. I'm still using a 1978 Montgomery Ward (built by Sharp) microwave myself.
 
Radarange

Hi Chad,
I just found a 1979 RR a couple of months ago. It was VERY used unlike your "new in the box". I like it very much,however there are a couple things I don't like about it. 1) The door that is hinged at the bottom. It's in the way,and you have to be careful not to let anything spill in the hinge.(hard to clean) 2) The interior light won't come on unless you open the door,or turn the switch on first. 3) for some reason the mw seems to "steam up" inside more that any other I have seen.I usually have to wipe the interior out with a paper towel. 4) the plastic fan guard at the top inside the mw is VERY hard to clean with all the slots cut in it. I make sure I cover food that is being reheated to make sure nothing "pops" splashing that guard.
Other than those minor things the mv is great,and those mentioned things are picky.I would not worry about being "nuked" with it,these are very well engineered The design is retro,attractive,and very well built. I intend to keep mine forever,as it will prolly last into the 22nd century!!
 
sorry Chad,I forgot the picture....

Here is my 1979 Radarange. I have a much larger investment here. Mine cost $10.00 at a thrift store. LOL!!

Rick
 
Thanks everyone....

Rick,

Mine is similar in design, excpet mine is just a Touchtronic NOT a Touchtronic II as some people have and I have seen before.

Mine is like yours, the 10 buttons to select the time;under this is the two touchbuttons RESET and CLOCK. Under this is a single touchbutton that allows you to select the different powerranges from the Cookmatic Selector.

And then under that, is three pushbuttons that are Start Stop and Light. And the name is painted on the glass Radarange in script....and made only by AMANA.

I agree that the light thing is annoying. And that you manually have to shut it off or turn it on. I'm indifferent however on the way the door opens. And yes, I can see where spillage would cause a hassle of a cleanup job.

I also noticed, that it puts out a fairly strong stream of air from the vent on the upper right side...that puts moisture and smell into the room. It's not a problem by any means, but it is a definite change from my old Micro.

It has power that I have never seen from a microwave, and I have had three since 1996 when I moved out on my own. This newest addition being the third.

Im glad that those who responded gave me some insight into this machine. I have had freinds who's parents have had them, but never heard hide nor hare of what they thought of them.

Thanks Agian guys

Chad
 
Touchmatic

Rick,

Does your Touchmatic have the ability to use the plug-in temp probe? I didn't see a button for it on the control panel. If you do, there would be a hole on the inside of the cabinet, and when you are looking in, it is on the right side, about 3/4 of the way up the wall. It will look like a head phone jack would go in there --- thanks!

(I've never need the button set-up as yours, so I'm trying to see if it has the same 'guts' to the RR9/RR10 models)
 
I got my Radar range Touchmatic II out of a trash pile on neighborhood cleanup day. I believe it was sitting outside for a few weeks in the weather, so I opened it up after rescuing it. Nothing in particular was wet or damaged inside, so I plugged it in. The radarrange microwaves are some of the best built most reliable microwaves out there. The chrome is cool on them too

My radarrange really cooks good! It's a VERY powerful oven! One of the things that has always annoyed me about newer microwaves is that they are terribly uneven in their cooking. Some manufacturers put in turntables, which help a little bit, but not much. The Radar-Range has a metal "stirrer" which is like a rotating fan inside the plastic cover at the top. Rarely do I get food scorced on one side, and still raw on the other.

You've really got a nice find there!
 
Radarange touchmatic 2

I just looked and mine does have the "jack" thing on the right interior wall. I do not have the "probe" however. Or the manual for that matter. I still haven't figured out how to cook on anything but "P1". How does one program these anyway? I fooled with it for awhile one evening,and it just kept flipping back to "P1" when I pushed start. I got HUNGRY,said to hell with it,warmed my leftovers on "P1" again and ate!! LOL!

Rick
 
Interesting

Rick, that is a very unique machine. That control panel layout is very much like the later units in the squarer de-chromed cabinets. And even stranger, I've now seen Touchmatics, Touchmatic IIs and this model, all from '79 vintage. It looks like this one has a Start Time button like a timed oven that would be unique to the earlier RR's. Interesting...

Cory
 
Dang it!

Okay, all this talk and the cool pictures is making me want a vintage Radarange! Just got the tax refund, so it's time to start shopping! Never seen one in the thrift stores, though. And ideas for likely sources?

Here's a stupid question, though (surprised?): since the door opens down, does the oven have to be right at the edge of the counter? Or does it open within its own height?

veg
 
Program 1 & 2

You can program your RR to do many different functions in series. Set time and power level for the first stage of cooking, then switch to higher power level for stage 2. I'm sure you can also combine these with the temp probe as well.

I'm in the process of making room in the kitchen for my Touchmatic RR, I can't wait to use it! Pics soon...
 

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