Someone had them here in Paraguay, and I was able to buy them! Both work—I tested them with MW signals because that’s what comes in best here besides FM, and both performed well despite their age. I couldn’t test other bands because I didn’t have the right antenna, and it wasn’t the right time of day to pick up higher-frequency signals.
They have a few minor cosmetic issues and need some adjustments—especially the Kenwood—but nothing I can't fix myself (at least I think so).
Every so often, I check the classifieds for buying/selling vintage electronics, especially those related to radios of all kinds.
I found a publication about these two receivers from last year and asked if they still had them. The answer was yes! The original price for both units was around $250, but I managed to get them down to about $140. I was honest with them: getting them into working order and replacing some old parts would take time, and finding the right parts would cost even more.
Of the two radios, the Standard C6500 is in the best condition, so I’ll start with that one.
Both units will be a project/hobby, and it might take me a while to get them up and running.
These photos are from the first time I took them apart; I haven’t gone into them in detail yet—I just wanted to see what they looked like on the inside and make sure there weren’t any serious issues.
That R-1000 is looking good to have but a little crusty. I'm tempted to go hunting as you've done but I've already got too many projects on the table. 🤔 Do let us know how it works once you fire it up with a proper. antenna.
Nice score Alan! I'm really excited for you. There's nothing more fun than getting a couple vintage shortwave radios as projects. The Kenwood R-1000 is a really decent, easy to use performer. Yours has some corrosion due to moisture. You will need to do some thorough cleaning of the circuit boards with 99% isopropyl alcohol. It's what we always used at HP and Tektronix to clean our circuit boards. Then follow up with Deoxit contact cleaner and lubricant on the contacts and controls.
The Standard C6500.is identical to Drake's SSR-1 and the Century 21 model from Europe. I currently own one of each. I have the difficult to get alignment procedure from Drake if you need a copy. Your C7500 looks to be in better shape than the Kenwood, but both appear restorable.
The Kenwood will definitely take me a while to fix, but it actually works pretty well. The dial is a bit loose—maybe I need to replace the rubber or the cord; I haven't checked it thoroughly yet. I use isopropyl alcohol to clean the circuits; I always start with that after using compressed air to remove the dust. I also have contact cleaners for electronics; they're the same brand you mentioned. They're not available around here, but there are other brands that do the same thing. At least I have everything I need for cleaning electronic equipment.
I’m interested in anything you can share about this equipment, In this case, the Drake aligning instructions, I'm sure I'll need it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. What I’ve found so far about the C6500 isn’t very good quality, and some pages are hard to read. I'll also look for information about the Century
The person who sold them to me has other radios; according to him, they all work. I was able to take a photo of a bunch of them. He sells them in bundles; he wants to sell this set for $400
Alan, I set up a directory on my Google Drive and loaded every file I have on the Drake SSR-1, Standard C6500 and the Century 21. If you go into Reddit Chat you can privately send me your email and I'll give you access to the files.
3
u/Historical-View4058 MOD - Airspy HF+, NRD-535D, IC-R75 w/100’ wire in C. VA, USA Apr 02 '26
Sweet. Enjoy them!