grundig logo
Radio Boy

C260 cassette recorder - 1976 - 1978

 
Rear view with back cover removed, which is how you fit the batteries. Look at how neat and tidy everything is, all the wiring is cleverly routed in ribbon style, and there just isn't the "rats nest" so often found in cassette recorders.
C231/235 as shown on instruction book cover, with slide away handle
Bought in December 2006 via Ebay. As I have stated on the "Grundig & I" page, I had a C235, bought new in December 1975, but stolen in 1982. (The person it was on loan to said it was stolen, anyway!) The C235 was always a favourite of mine, and I'm glad I came across this set. If you ever get the chance to own a Grundig portable cassette using this tape transport, take it, it's one to treasure.
Sound quality and build quality are both class leading, and it shows in the way this set has survived. Grundig made several similar machines to this, the C235 as I've said, also the C231, and several radio cassettes use the basic transport from this machine, notably the C2001, C2500, C4100, C4200, c4500, C6000, C6200 and there are probably many others that I've forgotten.
So, how to identify the transport? Simple. There's a large push button marked "Start", then a slider control for fast wind either way, then a button marked "Stop" spaced the other side of the fast wind slider from the Start button, then a red "Record" button. Various other versions add a pause control and tape counter, but the layout of the controls mentioned remains unchanged.
The C260 is an updated version of the C235, and has a detachable fold down "rally style" handle, in place of the original slide away handle, which was superior in my opinion. (Interestingly, if you remove the front of this machine, the fittings to take the original slide away handle are still present). The C260 also omits the battery meter of the previous models, an unnecessary cost cutting exercise in my opinion. The meter was a small round one, and probably cost a few pennies!
The most intriguing thing about this machine, however, is that it does not state the country of manufacture! The panel where it would be shown exists, but is blank. Now, the C235 I had was marked "Made in United Kingdom" which in fact meant Belfast, Northern Ireland. This factory opened in 1960, and it's closure was officially announced on Monday, June 30th, 1980, so it would still have been in operation when this machine was made. Some of the C230/231/235's were made in Germany too, so this one could have been made in either factory, I have to say, from memory, it certainly looks the same as the Northern Ireland C235 I had!
In my opinion, this model (by which I mean the C231, 235 & 260) is a design classic! You only have to take a look inside one, see how everything is achieved with the minimum of fuss and mess, all the basic elements are in self contained groups (The motor housing for example, contains the motor AND the remote control and speed control circuitry) giving a machine that is easy to service, reliable, solidly built and capable of vastly superior performance to the competition. Certainly, Grundig made machines which offered more, such as stereo record/playback, chrome tape capability, and other extra facilities, but all the basics are here, in a competitively priced package, with superior performance. Take a look at the specs below, and compare them with the figures for a Bush TP66, a fairly typical machine on the market at the time, being a Japanese made, British badged model from the same era, which I had owned previously.
                                        Grundig C235                Bush TP66
Wow/flutter                        0.25%                        0.45%
Freq. response                    80-10000 Hz            100-6000 Hz
Signal/Noise ratio               47 dB                         40 dB
Output power                      900mW                     400mW
Speaker                                130x70mm                87mm
Specs aren't always "the whole story" but, believe me, I owned both back in the 1970's, and own both now, and the difference in ability is remarkable.
Those of you who have visited my site before will know I rate the Satellit 700 as a Grundig design classic. I have to say, I would put this at number 2, as it achieves everything it does with such high standards, and so little fuss.


 

Specification:

Styling: Country of manufacture: United Kingdom or Germany.

Size: 168 mm high x 260 mm wide x 62 mm deep.

Weight (excluding batteries): 1.9 kg.

Power supply:

Consumption: 9 W

Battery meter: No. (But present on C230/231/235 models)

Dial illumination:

Mono selection: N/A.

Sockets:

Output power at 6 ohms: 1W RMS (AC powered) or 0.9W RMS (battery powered)

Speaker: 130 x 70mm elliptical.

Tone control: Tone balance (Bass/Treble.)

Clock/Timer: No

Tracks: 2, Mono.

Tape speed: 4.75 cm/s

Frequency response: 80 - 10000 Hz

Signal/Noise ratio: > 47 dB

Wow & flutter: <0.25%

Auto stop: No (Fast wind selector non-locking, so manual release at end of tape.)

Recording level: Automatic.

Built-in condenser microphone.

Tape types:

Tape counter: No

Rewind time: Approx 55 seconds for a C60

1974 Catalogue entry (C231)

Next Cassette Recorder

Back to "The Radios" mainpage

Homepage