Grundig Model 95U Radio

I actually found this radio some time last year at an estate sale, where I picked up several other items. Since pickings have been slow lately and I was recently able to get this guy working, I thought I'd talk about my fix.

Immaculate Wood Finish

So when I got home with the radio I foolishly plugged it in - a huge spark flew and the breaker kicked. Looking carefully at the cord there was a break right where the cord melded into the housing. I took the time to take the cord apart and open up the case, mostly to see how bad the paper cone was deteriorated. Amazingly the interior was very clean and the paper still intact - no brittleness that you usually see in old radios and speakers.

So this is what the cord looks like:

And you can see the culprit here:

I made a few inquiries online with various radio "experts" - one guy I found specializes in restoring old Grundig radios. I related the cord issue and asked if there were any replacements available - his reply was that there weren't. At that point I was resigned into cutting the piece apart, rewiring and epoxying everything back together - so it became a back-burner project.

Fast forward to yesterday - I was at my local Goodwill and looking for an externsion cord to test a piece of outdoor equipment - I came across this old appliance cord and thought "this looks just like the cord on that old Grundig radio!" It came home with me for $1.91

And viola! A perfect fit:

Here's the test - plugged in for the second, hopefully successful time:

I put together this short video as I tested the stations and controls:

Another cool, useful item saved from the landfill!

-- John

Kona Kai Volcano Tiki Fogcutter Mug

Slim pickings recently, but I did manage to score this unusual glazed ceramic vase mug for a dollar at an estate sale. It has the Kona Kai tiki figure molded on the front and "Kona Kai" on the back. It also has a "MOC Japan" sticker on the bottom. I believe this was made sometime in the 60s. I researched Kona Kai and the chain of motels (the most renown were the locations near Disneyland in California and Disneyworld in Florida) seem to have mostly disappeared by the mid to late 70's. There were also Kona Kai Motels in other states. While researching, I only found images of regular figural Tiki-shaped drink glasses, menus and post cards. I didn't find anything like this vase (I'm calling it a vase as there's a lip around the top and it's just not finished like your typical drink glass, but I could be mistaken). turns out this is a "Fogcutter" mug (see below). Something unusual to add to the tiki collection. This is the third tiki I've managed to find - previously I found a more recent tiki at Goodwill for a buck and a neat figural tiki glass at an estate sale for $3.

Back

Bottom

On the counter

Good luck in the hunt! John

Addendum:
I also posted photos on flickr and a user identified this object for me:

sputnikhousewares said:

Nice find Johnny! You've got yourself a Kona Kai Fogcutter mug from Philadelphia PA! The mug was made in Japan by the Otagiri Mercantile Company.
Kona Kai info: http://critiki.com/location/?loc_id=282 and mug info: http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=3332

Thanks to you sputnikhousewares!