Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Tandberg TP41 is a vintage transistor portable radio produced by Norwegian company Tandberg in the early 1970s. This vintage radio was first launched around 1971 and the European version covered the long medium and short wave bands as well as VHF FM - the North American version had a medium and two two short wave bands as well as the VHF FM band.
The radio was aimed at the upper end of the market with its wooden case and it boasted tone controls and an audio frequency response of 40 Hz to 20 kHz. With its 9 by 5 inch speaker the audio sounded good, certainly for a portable radio of its day.
The top panel of the radio had several controls: volume control on the left which put a panel light on when it was depressed. Above this was the extendable antenna and then moving further along were the bass and treble tone controls. The bank of switches provided the On/off, as well as Long medium wave band selection, then the switch for the external antenna - this must be depressed to use an external antenna on the long and medium wave bands.
Next to this switch are the short wave and then FM waveband selectors. When both were depressed, this enabled the external input to be used. Finally there was an AFC or automatic frequency control to keep the radio on tune for VHF FM. The final two controls were the long medium and short wave tuning, and then the VHF FM tuning control which doubled up as bandspread tuning for the short wave band.
The radio came with two sheets of instructions and also a circuit diagram with PCB layout - not something you would get these days!
On the side of the radio there were external inputs and outputs: at the top is a circular DIN socket for external line input and output, a circular power connector, mono earphone quarter miniature jack, two pin old style DIN socket for external speaker and an external antenna socket.
The bottom of the radio reveals the access for the six D cells used for portable power. The car connector can also be seen.
The radio is is easy to disassemble - take the two screws out of the handle and then remove the handle. The two side elements need to be removed by moving them downwards. Then ease off the two panels. It takes a few moments but gives access to both sides of the PCB. The speaker can be removed very easily as well.
It is also possible to unclip the front panel having pulled the control knobs off.
Once in to the radio aspects like the method of bandspread control on the short wave bands can be seen. The loop is mechanically linked to the VHF FM control and compresses a piece of foam rubber as it moves in and out near the short wave oscillator coil.
The other point to note is a weird component called a stabistor labelled D501 on the circuit diagram. This is used to give a 1.5 volt bias to various transistors. After years of service these components have a habit of failing - often depositing a white dusty material around itself - it is reported that this deposit can harm the PCB so it is wise to clean this off.
A variety of remedies are suggested for replacing this including using a couple of silicon diodes in series with a germanium one to give an approximate 1.5 volts semi-stabilised reference.
Other failures follow the normal pattern for vintage radios of this age, but as these vintage radios are good workhorses, they are well worth spending some time to renovate and repair. Then you will have a good looking working vintage transistor radio.
TP41 description & overview: electronics-notes.com/articles/history/radio-receivers/tandberg-tp41-radio-receiver.php
TP41 circuit description: electronics-notes.com/articles/history/radio-receivers/tandberg-tp41-circuit-block-diagram-maintenance.php
More iconic vintage radios: electronics-notes.com/articles/history/radio-receivers/classic-vintage-radio-receivers.php
Please don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/electronicsnotes?sub_confirmation=1
The Tandberg TP41 is a vintage transistor portable radio produced by Norwegian company Tandberg in the early 1970s. This vintage radio was first launched around 1971 and the European version covered the long medium and short wave bands as well as VHF FM - the North American version had a medium and two two short wave bands as well as the VHF FM band.
The radio was aimed at the upper end of the market with its wooden case and it boasted tone controls and an audio frequency response of 40 Hz to 20 kHz. With its 9 by 5 inch speaker the audio sounded good, certainly for a portable radio of its day.
The top panel of the radio had several controls: volume control on the left which put a panel light on when it was depressed. Above this was the extendable antenna and then moving further along were the bass and treble tone controls. The bank of switches provided the On/off, as well as Long medium wave band selection, then the switch for the external antenna - this must be depressed to use an external antenna on the long and medium wave bands.
Next to this switch are the short wave and then FM waveband selectors. When both were depressed, this enabled the external input to be used. Finally there was an AFC or automatic frequency control to keep the radio on tune for VHF FM. The final two controls were the long medium and short wave tuning, and then the VHF FM tuning control which doubled up as bandspread tuning for the short wave band.
The radio came with two sheets of instructions and also a circuit diagram with PCB layout - not something you would get these days!
On the side of the radio there were external inputs and outputs: at the top is a circular DIN socket for external line input and output, a circular power connector, mono earphone quarter miniature jack, two pin old style DIN socket for external speaker and an external antenna socket.
The bottom of the radio reveals the access for the six D cells used for portable power. The car connector can also be seen.
The radio is is easy to disassemble - take the two screws out of the handle and then remove the handle. The two side elements need to be removed by moving them downwards. Then ease off the two panels. It takes a few moments but gives access to both sides of the PCB. The speaker can be removed very easily as well.
It is also possible to unclip the front panel having pulled the control knobs off.
Once in to the radio aspects like the method of bandspread control on the short wave bands can be seen. The loop is mechanically linked to the VHF FM control and compresses a piece of foam rubber as it moves in and out near the short wave oscillator coil.
The other point to note is a weird component called a stabistor labelled D501 on the circuit diagram. This is used to give a 1.5 volt bias to various transistors. After years of service these components have a habit of failing - often depositing a white dusty material around itself - it is reported that this deposit can harm the PCB so it is wise to clean this off.
A variety of remedies are suggested for replacing this including using a couple of silicon diodes in series with a germanium one to give an approximate 1.5 volts semi-stabilised reference.
Other failures follow the normal pattern for vintage radios of this age, but as these vintage radios are good workhorses, they are well worth spending some time to renovate and repair. Then you will have a good looking working vintage transistor radio.
TP41 description & overview: electronics-notes.com/articles/history/radio-receivers/tandberg-tp41-radio-receiver.php
TP41 circuit description: electronics-notes.com/articles/history/radio-receivers/tandberg-tp41-circuit-block-diagram-maintenance.php
More iconic vintage radios: electronics-notes.com/articles/history/radio-receivers/classic-vintage-radio-receivers.php
Please don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/electronicsnotes?sub_confirmation=1
