Conion V-121 FLE

Yo!

So this is one of the boxes I bought from the flea market a while ago. I have some free time to get my shiat together and get some boxes sorted so the CityBoy got new belts and another clean and then came the task of this, the Conion V-121 FLE. As I can only find the F and FL models online and nothing about this I presume this is for a certain market? Anyway.

Just a quick swap of sliders buttons from another parts FLE I have, plus a quick clean to spruce her up and she looks really neat. It's not tip top but good enough to look pretty with a little bit of character. The aerial wasn't original and was a bit bent up so I'll be replacing with a better one.

This is a very cool looking machine with the tape run and VU LEDs, bits of chrome here and a dashings of colour there. This is also one of the best sounding boxes I've listened to, everything has a nice weight to it, from the bass to the highs and it's got a very convincing dynamic soundstage - for the smallish size she certainly belts out tunes with the best of them. Enjoy!



I have extra large file sizes of these photos if anyone wants them for achives etc.

This is very rare boombox. Looks very good, congrats!

REALLY cool LED's, wow!

I don't really buy three piecers but these are tempting. So much cool stuff going on visually!

Nice!!! Definitely on my watch list!

Are those 3-way speakers?

Thanks guys.

Reli, they're a 2 way, the top is a port, presumably for the bass. Any ideas with the FLE designation?

Sel The Don said:

Any ideas with the FLE designation?

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I don't know.
What does Conion-Mintel mean?

Reli said:

Any ideas with the FLE designation?

Click to expand...

I don't know.
What does Conion-Mintel mean?

Click to expand...

Good question - I haven't got a clue.
Googling Mitel brings up some sort of communications company selling phones and VOIP services, and Wikipedia is banned here in Turkey so I can't delve into Coney Onkyo/Conion either.

Sel The Don said:

Wikipedia is banned here in Turkey

Click to expand...

Turkey has always been overly sensitive.

Did you ever go look for that Plantron at the market?

Reli said:

Wikipedia is banned here in Turkey

Click to expand...

Turkey has always been overly sensitive.

Did you ever go look for that Plantron at the market?

Click to expand...

Turkey as a whole isn't too bad, it's the bloke at the helm that's the problem

I went again a week later to have a look if it's still there but as the weather was crap barely anyone was selling. I'm off again to the market in a bit, I'll check it out.

Reli said:

Any ideas with the FLE designation?

Click to expand...

I don't know.
What does Conion-Mintel mean?

Click to expand...

Gordie????We need you!

Has no one else noticed......this is a JVC Compo without a doubt!!

If it isn't then I will eat my hat.......

Look at the layout both front & rear next to a JVC & you will see!!

Even down to the speaker drivers, they look the same to me..........

The ONLY Conion I like is this one & they have added a couple of embelishments to 'Make it their own' etc

Any chance we could see inside the cassette deck??

I say it's JVC

Even the control & buttons font are straight from JVC............

No Dolby or super ANRS yet surprisingly manual level controls & music skip & the rather odd led tape transport display! 3 band tuner as opposed to 4 without the fine tuning control.........It's a JVC!!

Hmm, rear panel does look very similar. Front has different control placement though.

Would need to compare dimensions and interior components to be sure.

The tape players' main board is definitely different. The casing though looks pretty much identical. Is this the same on the F and FL too?

Which part of the tape deck shall I take a photo of, the inside?

Reli, I have another FLE in bits for spares so I can take dimensions if need be.

Here's a photo taken just now on my phone. Any good?

Well, the tape board would definitely look different because it has different controls and the inputs are located in different places. The meter is very different too.

The amp & tuner board might be a better judge.

All of the cables that go into the main tape board are clips that slot into the underside, not soldered on top as in the JVC. Plus there's no ground to chassis cable in the Conion either.
the controls (input level) and MIC sockets are on a seperate daughter board that's screwed from the backend of the faceplate.
I can see similarities between the two - I'll take photos of the amp/tuner boards in sunlight tomorrow.

Wow! Those tape door LEDs!

It's just glaring obvious to an old timer like me that this is a derivative of the JVC - The tuner amp doesn't have a different layout at, just the missing radio band & fine tuner! The cassette deck has minor changes, sadly no dolby or ANRS but then that was a JVC owned system anyway!! It retains the manual level controls & the front panel just plugs into the board behind the front panel making cosmetic tweaks a doodle to implement!! Add a set of slanting led's adding USP value to an already unusual but nice looking fascia!!

The rear panels are the dead giveaway - they are pretty much the same, that's what caught my attention to start with...............

What often happens is the plastic front panel controls are modified to fit the existing sliders & pots - Conion have gone for sliders for balance & volume as opposed to the JVC's rotary pots! These mods were very common back then (Many car makers do/did the same thing sharing many common components)
Would love to see inside the cassette deck, I very much doubt Conion would have taken the JVC shell & completely remade their own electronics, that isn't cost effective!!

Choice of hat to eat if I am wrong folks

Can nobody else spot the JVC font all over the Conion front panel???

That is no coincidence, trust me Will post more of the JVC tomorrow, am bushed, been a long day!!

Hello everybody, i need some helps for this model Conion V-121 or Radiotone Tarragona 800
Can someone send me pictures of the cassette deck inside? I try to change the belts, but am not sure about the arrangement. Is there three or two belts inside ?There may also be a service manual. Many thanks !!!
Cheers, and greetings from germany

Lutz