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- Vintage 1950s Loewe Opta radio - converted to wireless speaker with 8Gb storage
Vintage 1950s Loewe Opta radio - converted to wireless speaker with 8Gb storage
This Loewe Opta Bella Luxus radio has been converted into a wifi speaker. It now works on 12V DC and can be operated in any country or on any network with the included power supply.
You can play music wireless from your phone or tablet through the radio, listen to internet radio or use the preinstalled APPs for Spotify, Youtube and other streaming services.
You can see how it works on Youtube.
What I have done:
I installed a new sound board with three speakers behind the genuine speaker grill. All speakers are now powered with a Sony 50WRMS (100W peak) amplifier and controlled with a micro computer.
Because of the micro computer, you can now listen to radio in HD quality without going manual through the station. There are more than 500 radio station preinstalled and you can add as any as you like.
No more light bulbs change, because I have replaced them with long life LED lights!
On the back you can find 4 USB ports, here you can connect your usb sticks, hard drive or mp3 player.
Next to the USB ports you have a LAN socket, here you can connect the radio via cable to the broadband or a network drive. - This is very practical if the WIFI signal is a bit weak or if you would like to use the radio as a soundbar for your TV.
Because I do all radio conversion myself here in my workshop in London, I can incorporate also additional function like touch screen display, DAB radio and more.
Please note this is a genuine Loewe radio from the 1950s in great condition, but this is now a wireless speaker only not a working tube radio.
Dimensions: (WHD): 360 x 230 x 165 mm / 14.2 x 9.1 x 6.5 inch
Weight : 6 kg
Voltage: 12V
Power: 60W with external power supply, this can be operated any country or on any network.
THE LOEWE STORY
It all began in 1923 in Berlin, when Dr Siegmund Loewe and his brother David Ludwig Loewe established a radio manufacturing company called Radiofrequenz GmbH. Their work with the young physicist Manfred von Ardenne in 1926 led to the development of the triple tube, which was first used in the Loewe OE333 radio receiver. This tube prompted Loewe’s multi-tube production and is today lauded as the world’s first integrated circuit.
Television development began at Loewe in 1929. The company worked together with British television pioneer John Logie Baird. In 1931, Manfred von Ardenne presented the world’s first fully electronic television to the public on the Loewe stand at the 8th Berlin Radio Show.
When Hitler came to power in Germany, Siegmund Loewe had to emigrate to the USA in 1938, where he developed friendship with yet another forced emigrant, Albert Einstein.[citation needed]
In 1949, Siegmund Loewe regained possession of company property and took over as chairman of the supervisory board. In the 1950s, Loewe began producing the Optaphon, the first[citation needed] cassette tape recorder, and manufacturing televisions in Kronach. 1961 saw the first[citation needed] European video recorder, the Optacord 500, enter mass production.
In 1962, the family company tradition ended with the death of Siegmund Loewe. Subsidiaries of the Philips group took over the majority of shares. Under this management, which continued until 1985, the company increasingly specialised in the development and production of televisions.
In 1963, the first[citation needed] portable television, Loewe Optaport, was launched. It had a 25 cm screen and built-in FM radio. The first Loewe colour televisions were launched along with the introduction of colour television in Germany. In 1979 Loewe introduced a fully integrated chassis (everything on a single board) television production. The first[citation needed] European stereo television followed in 1981.
You can control all function with the web interface find out more here.
The Volume control works via app, or with the genuine control knob on the radio.
Simply connect the radio to your network through WIFI or LAN cable to play web radio, Spotify, you tube, Last Fm with the preinstalled apps. You can use your smartphone, tablet or computer as a remote control.
Dimensions: (WHD) 46 x 28 x 23 cm / 14.2 x 9.1 x 6.5 inch
Weight : 7 kg
Voltage: 12V with external power supply (included)
Because the radio has been converted to low voltage, it can be operated in any country.
As with all my radios, you have 6 month warranty for peace of mind.
THE LOEWE STORY
The story starts in Berlin in 1923 with the launch Radiofrequenz GmbH, by the Loewe brothers. Working with inventors such as Manfred Von Ardenne and John Logie Baird, they developed pioneering radio technology and the world's first electronic TV. Exiled from Germany in WW2, Siegmund Loewe returned in 1949 and began producing the world's first cassette tape recorder (the Optaphon), the first European video recorder (the Optacord) and of course, the wonderful Opta radio series.