A reader sent me a very nice Magnavox 789 AM/FM/SW radio. This is a model I had never heard of and so far, I have not been able to find any service information for it after days of searching all of the usual sources. In fact, there is almost no general information available on it and I’m not sure why. Many sources point to the Philips or Magnaxov D2010 as a similar model but that is a completely different radio. Some sources cite the full model number as 90AL789/44 and that appears on a sticker in the battery compartment. I believe the radio was made in Singapore in the late 1970’s or early 80’s. (If anybody has any more information on this model, please let me know)!

First Impressions: The Magnavox 789 is the kind of vintage portable I really like. It’s a solid, medium/large-sized, all analog portable radio, with AM/FM/SW1/SW2 bands.

FM: 88 – 108 MHz

AM: 550 – 1600 KHz (Actual measured 509 – 1693 KHz)

SW 1: 4 – 11.5 MHz (Actual measured 3.79 – 12.2 MHz)

SW 2: 15.5 – 27 MHz (Actual Measured 14.7 – 28.5 MHz)

Note: The AM actually covers most of the AM Expanded band.

Controls include Power, Volume, Band Selector, Tone, AFC On/Off, Tuning Knob, Fine Tuning Knob for SW and a Meter Switch which chooses Signal Level or Battery Level on the large analog meter. The radio runs on 4 D cells or built-in AC Power and will give hundreds of hours of use on a set of alkaline batteries. There is a folding carry handle, an 1/8” mono earphone jack but no external antenna input. The radio measures approximately 12” x 7” x 3 ½” and the whip is 35” long. The Dial Scale is attractive and easy to read although it is a bit non-traditional in that the higher frequencies are to the left rather than the right No big deal…just worth mentioning. Looking inside we find a 5 ½” ferrite rod and a ceramic vari-cap for tuning which became the norm by the late 60’s/early 70’s.

Checking It Out: The only issue was an intermittent Band Selector switch but it turned out to be very easy to clean. Once the back was removed I turned the radio on its right side and was able to put some paper towel at the bottom end of the switch while spraying De-Ox-It into the top so any drips were caught and the switch got thoroughly cleaned…it now works as it should.

After an initial operational check and assessment, I usually put older analog radios through a complete alignment procedure before serious testing gets underway. This way I know that everything is as it should be and the radio will perform as well as it can. This is one of those rare cases where I haven’t been able to find any service information on the radio whatsoever and as a multiband model with over 25 adjustment points there is no way to try to figure them all out so it is best to leave things alone. However, one can draw some inferences which are probably correct.

First, the radio seems to work as well on AM and FM as I would expect it to. With its medium-size 5 1/5” ferrite rod it ranks **** on the AM Mega Shootout list which is not too shabby. As an all-analog design, it has the smooth natural tuning that few digital portables offer and together with the analog signal meter this radio is a joy to tune around with. FM is relatively sensitive but not very selective which is typical for its vintage. SW on the other hand seemed less sensitive than I would expect. It is certainly possible an alignment might improve it but that question will remain unanswered unless I ever find a service manual for it. I will update this review if that happens.

Sound quality is good and the tone control is the type that not only reduces treble as you rotate it CCW but at full CW is reduces the bass as well so you have a good chance of finding a pleasing balance. I’ve also got to say that the radio’s good sound makes less-than-perfect signals sound satisfying.

Conclusion: The Magnavox 789 is a bit of a mystery to me because it is unusual to find so little information online about a radio from a major manufacturer, and Magnavox/Philips are well-known names.

Overall the radio is very pleasant to use and works well on AM and FM but SW is a disappointment…it isn’t terrible and at night there were plenty of things to hear but during the daytime where sensitivity is all important it fell short.  I’ve had lots of fun using it on AM where it works well and it also matches nicely with an external loop via induction, giving strong performance. A fine vintage radio but it’s odd there is so little info about it online.

Jay Allen