what years is this radio from, ko prop kp3kw

[junkman]

Have had this radio for a while, and for some reason I really like it, never had used it, just think that it looks cool. Have 2 servos, and the reciever to match. I was wanting to use it in a runner, and figured I'd put it in somthing close to the same years. I got one running and actually played with it today, and now I wanting to get another one going.



and while I'm at it, here is the one I played with today, pretty much box stock, I was looking on the internet at work one night on here. A guy that works with me recognized some of the pictures and said he remembered his uncle having one of those, a few days later, here it is and mine

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[templeofspeed]

That radio is from the mid/late 80's. It was also sold in the US market branded as a Kraft. Good radio for a vintage RC10 IMO.

[Eau Rouge]

EARLY 80s, in fact. Definitely a Kraft, not KO Propo, as that company didn't exist in the US at that time. KO bought the Kraft outfit in the late 80s, which is why many of the early KO radios look like that radio. That's the daddy...

That was my very first radio in 1983, and I know it was around for a lot longer than that because the individual that had gotten me into racing had been using that very radio for many years already.



IMO, it's one of the very finest radios made before the advent of FM and PCM technologies. It even has a module in the back to change between 27, 45, 72 and 75 band frequencies, very cool stuff for that era.

Super solid radio. I still have mine sitting right here with my SRP-1 dirt oval car.

[junkman]

sweet, Thanks for the info. I was thinking to put it in a jrx2, and get one of them going.

[Eau Rouge]

I've mentioned this before, that AM radios are low tech, and haven't been really made for race cars in a while. Toys, yes, but not mass market competition level cars. Which means that the radios, receivers and crystals you find will probably be OLD.

If you are making a car as a runner, screw period-correctness and put in the good stuff. You can buy Spektrum DSM and other VERY good quality radios for less than that radio sold for in 1983, and the performance of the new stuff is infinitely superior to anything vintage—range, battery life, reception, adjustments. Everything basically.

In my opinion, R/C radio stuff has the least use in the vintage market because it isn't going to be used very easily, and short of the quick photo-op, it has little purpose for a collector.


Clean it with some WD-40 and wipe it down with some denatured alcohol, brush the dust out of the nooks & crannies, then stick it on a shelf behind your favorite RC10 queen, and you have a wonderful topic starter.


I think you'll save yourself a lot of headaches in the long run, but that's just me.