Would like Radarange Input

[Versatronic]

I entered into an agreement to purchase the Radarange pictured below. For any Radarange fans here, if this thing were in pristine condition, worked perfectly and had all the original manuals, what would you think would be a fair price for me to pay for it? What's the going rate for Radaranges anyway? The one below is a 1979 Radarange.

 

[Versatronic]

Correction

It's actually a 78, not 79.

 

[gansky1]

I've paid an average of $10-15 at thrift stores, but I've seen a little higher prices at estate sales, maybe as high as $50 if they are minty-fresh condition.

 

[swestoyz]

Greg's right on the money. Looks like a 7A or 7 series unit; very nice! Unless it is an original RR up to a RR3, $10 to $30 dollars is a fair price. For Cory and I they range from Free to as much as a whopping ten dollars. Quite a deal if you ask me, these things have been going strong for 25+ years, and will out do most newer models!

Ben

 

[petek]

I've gotten 3, two of which I paid less than $20 and one I think I paid not much more. The only thing missing from two of them was the cookbook and the temp probes. Still in all if it's clean and in great shape why not pay a little more. I've run across some pretty groady ones in the thrift stores you'd want to wear gloves handling.

 

[toggleswitch]

Plug it in, plug it in.

Mike:

I'm pretty sure it's electric.
Not gas. Definitely not oil.

 

[Versatronic]

Thanks

Somehow that's the kind of feedback I was expecting. I'm probably overpaying for this thing. The thing is, on the rare occasion that I see an old Radarange at a flea market, they're computer controlled. I don't know why, but the old dial models never show up here and there's practically no chance of me finding one at flea market or at a salvation army.

The digital readout and the digital buttons just don't fit in with the rest of my kitchen. And when appliguy Patrick visited me, he gave me demerits for the microwave I currently have. I don't take these things lightly.

So, this is what I wanted, there was little to no chance of me finding one here, so I ponied up the money for it.

 

[rickr]

Mike,what do you think of this one?

I found this 1974 Radarange on ebay a couple months ago. I was the only bidder and got it for $20.00. It weighs 85LBS ,so the shipping was $90.00 though. I do love it,and to me it was worth the extra money for the shipping.
I can understand why you are willing to pay a bit extra for this model. Have fun with it.

 

[rickr]

close up

I like the lighted knobs!

 

[Versatronic]

I love it.

That's a great Radarange. Thanks for sharing those pictures. I can't wait to get mine. If you search on eBay right now, there are no Radaranges for sale. I mean, there's one, but it's not "vintage".

This guy put the beautiful speciman I showed up on eBay with a starting bid of 99 dollars with a reserve of 199. Quite a difference between that and 20 bucks. I wasn't willing to fork over 200 bucks for the thing, so I contacted him and said if he didn't get any bids I'd make him an offer. I did and he accepted. But he keeps telling me what a great bargain I'm getting. Why would he think that? I guess every seller thinks his junk is worth a fortune.

When I moved into this place, the previous owners did leave an old Radarange behind. The thing was enormous. It didn't have a chrome front and it didn't have the dials. It had the touchpad. I used it for quite awhile. I gave it away to a friend and used my more modern one. Than I started missing the old one and when I ran into my friend, I asked if they still had the Radarange and they said they gave it to someone else. But this one is much more to my liking and I can't wait to get it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4421958394&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

 

[petek]

Good lord can that guy string a lot of BS LOL

 

[Versatronic]

Yeah, his B.S. is off the map

I'm sure you're talking about the seller but that could just as well apply to me right now as I attempt to rationalize the cost of the Amana.

But anyway, the seller continues to sling the B.S. through email.

 

[rickr]

It really does look like a nice Radarange. I like the fact that the cabinet is a solid tan,and not woodgrained. Congratulations on your "new" find.

BTW: that ebayer sounds like a used car salesmen!! LOL!!

 

[drmitch]

Did they ever make any in colors other than brown?

 

[rickr]

.

off white on this 1974,any other colors guys?

 

[Versatronic]

It seems so

Well, if you go to this site, which rumor has it is authored by a member of AW, it appears that some were 100 percent chrome with no brown and no woodgrain. And as I have said a few times here, there's nothing I hate more than fake woodgrain on an appliance. If I had my choice, I'd have a 100 percent chrome Radarange with dials.

It also looks like there are some white and beige versions.

http://www.eldocountry.com/radarange/radar.html

 

[petek]

it's not a rumour it's Corey's website

 

[swestoyz]

Hey Mike,

Its good to see another member falling in love with these machines! Here is the what Cory and I have come to the conclusion on.

The color chart -

Outside Case white/light grey - original RR - RR6 - up to '76
(I may have seen an original RR9 that had a white case too)

Outside case brown/dark grey - anything after 1977/78

Outside wood case - for most units before 1982, the only wood grained cabinet was the RRL10A (maybe RR10) that I have seen; may be wrong, but I haven't seen too many.

You will notice there were two versions of the control knobs. One is the early style like Rick's that are back lit. Those are used up through the RR4 series. Starting with the RR7, you got the revised 'dial' knobs, like yours, with a bit more chrome around the bezel.

Cory picked up a few more models a few weeks ago (an RR8A!, RR9TA series 1, and the RRL10) that we have yet to clean. Don't quote me, but we many be getting close to 20 units. The site really could use an update.

If the guy cut you a deal, then I'd say go for it - from his auction photos, it sure is a looker. These things will eventually dry up one of these days. Wish you luck!

Ben

 

[Versatronic]

Question

I found this book recently called The History Of Housewares and the answer to this question may be in there, but, what was the first year the the Radarange was available commercially, and how many do you think Bob Barker owns?

 

[Versatronic]

Chrome case?

One other question. Is the case on any of them chrome? It appears that that is the case in some of your pictures. But maybe that's the gray you mention.

 

[swestoyz]

House of Chrome

Hey Mike,

As far as I know, there were no chrome cases - just the white/light grey color. The Radarange name has been owned by Raytheon for quite some time. Quite a few months ago I was snipped of an owner's manual from a document that was dated 1957 or '58, pre Amana. The picture on the front of the manual was worth a thousand words. The 'microwave' was comparable in size to a 40 inch Frigidaire Flair with cabinet and range hood! The thing was enormous.

I remember there is a photo gallery in the links section that Greg N took years ago during a visit to a large collection. I think there was a comparable unit in the collection. There wasn't much chrome, lots of white surface area, like the pictures that are provided on the history of microwaves.

Ben

 

[goatfarmer]

ebay

Here's one on EPay,for a buck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMANA-Microwave...424130646QQcategoryZ20678QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Versatronic]

Thanks for the info Ben

That's facinating.

Goatfarmer, that's much like the one I used own. I know Ben likes the touchpads, but I don't care for them myself. I guess some sellers aren't going to use the term Radaranges in their listings.

 

[maytagbear]

The Amana Radarange,

to the best of my knowledge, was introduced in 1967.

My RR700 is from 1986. I love it almost (ALMOST!) as much as I love my cat.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[dalangdon]

Lawrence, it's OK to love your RadarRange, and OK to love your cat. Just don't try to combine the two ;-)

 

[kenmore1978]

touchpad vs knobs

I've noticed that the early microwaves with knobs had the dial markings spread out in such a way that setting the seconds between 0 and 1 minute was relatively accurate, whereas a modern cheapie microwave with a manual dial is almost impossible to set for less time than a full minute

 

[maytagbear]

Dan-

I would never try to pop popcorn in my cat, nor would I play "Catch the bird on the string" with my Radarange!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[petek]

I prefer the dial radarange to the touchpad models. I was hoping to keep two of them in the kitchen, the dial on the counter and the touchpad on the mw shelf above but because of the drop down door it made using it a bit awkward so the big GE is back there up top. I kept the dial model on the counter and use it the most. Seeing as most uses for the mw are only a couple of minutes or less it's much easier to just twig the dial and press the start button than entering a series of keystrokes. It's also easier to give a quick slide of the power shift lever to slow it down again than pressing a series of buttons.