Production Year 1967 at $49.95 The Hallicrafters FM-48 is table top receiver that covers the standard AM and FM broadcast bands. The frequency range for the AM band is 540 KHz to 1600 KHz and for the FM band the radio covers 88 to 108 MHz. This receiver employs 9 transistor and 11 diodes in its circuit. The unit has two I.F. frequencies which are 455 KHz for the AM band and 10.7 MHz for the FM band. The features include an FM AFC(Automatic Frequency Control) with on/off switch, a line cord antenna(see below) for FM reception, and a ferrite rod antenna for AM reception. The FM-48 also has provisions on the rear of the unit for external antenna connections for both AM and FM. The AFC has a hold range of around 300 KHz. The front panel controls are as follows, at the top is the Main Tuning control, followed by the AM, FM and FM AFC control in the middle, while the dual knob on the bottom is the ON/FF and volume control knob in the center, while the larger outside knob is a Tone control. The elliptical shaped, 4 inch by 6 inch loudspeaker faces out towards the front of the unit and is of the permanent magnet moving coil design. Received signals exit through a slotted section on the front of the unit. The Pioneer made speaker is rated at 8 ohms and has an audio output rating of 1.5 watts. The physical dimensions of the FM-48 is 13 1/8 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches tall by 3 1/2 inches deep. The radio requires a 105 to 120 volt AC power source at 60 cycles. The receiver is housed in a wood cabinet that is stained in a Walnut brown color. The receiver sensitivity on AM is 150 uV/M, while on FM it is 5 uV. The AM image rejection is over 25 DB, while on FM it is 37 DB or more. The receiver has an AM selectivity of between 6 to 10 KHz at 6 DB, while the FM intermediate frequency is between 150 to 250 KHz at 6 DB. The Hallicrafters FM-48 was manufactured in Japan. The Hallicrafters FM-48 is identical to the Hallicrafters FM-46 except the FM-46 is housed in a plastic cabinet. The FM-48 is nearly identical to both the Hallicrafters FM-52 and Hallicrafters FM-54 receivers. The difference being is that the FM-52 and FM-54 have the addition of an electronic clock and its associated components. The FM-52 is also housed in a plastic cabinet, while the FM-54 is housed in wood. Here is an interesting thought, In 1967 the Hallicrafters FM-48 would have cost the consumer $50. Can you imagine buying a simple AM/FM radio for that amount of money today? The value of $50 back then is equal to roughly $327.57 today? The picture on the left is of the front of the receiver. The brown grill cloth on the front should cover all of the black area around its edges. I did not replace this cloth, instead opting in this case to leave it alone after I had secured it back in place. The photograph on the right is of the back of the receiver. There is only one connection that is found on the back of the unit which is on the bottom left hand corner. This connection is used for improving reception by adding an external antenna and consists of a 3 terminal antenna strip The screw connection on the left of this antenna strip is for the AM antenna, the one at the right is for the FM antenna, while the center screw is for the ground connection. Text printed on the back cover of the receiver identifies the model as FM-48. Printed on the bottom edge of the back cover is two sets of text. The text on the left reads as follows "Hallicrafters Co. certifies that this receiver complies in effect as of the date of manufacture with FCC rules and regulations part 15 subpart C.". The text on the right reads as follows, "Caution: high voltage inside. Do not open case. Transistorized. Contains no serviceable parts. Refer servicing to authorized personnel.". Both of the above photographs were taken after I had completed the restoration of this receiver. The pictures at the bottom of this web page show the condition of the receiver when it first arrived. This was a rather simple one to restore that required very little electronic trouble shooting to bring it to full operating condition. The refinishing of the wood cabinet took the greatest amount of time. |