October 16, 2011: This section opened to display my early transistor radios. Back in the fifties, owning a transistor radio was new, exciting and desirable, after all the first transistor radio ever, was the Regency TR-1 introduced in 1954.
1959
Motorola X 11 Black
This is my first childhood transistor radio, the 1959 Motorola X 11 Black, given as a gift in that same year. Somewhere along the line, it was discarded or lost. I found one recently in 2010 in near perfect condition, brushed, polished chrome and gold finishes. Magnified, glass station lens, deep engraved lettering, not painted on, a nicely detailed, gem of transistor radios from 1959. It performs well. Happy to be reunited with this set.
Motorola X 11 Radio photographed August 24, 2010
Next,
1962
Sony TR 817
This is my second childhood transistor radio, the Sony TR 817 from 1962. 1962 was my second year of High School. It has eight transistors and a tuned R.F. stage. Sony called it super sensitive and considered it their high end model back then. It has a unique signal strength meter and a spring loaded push button, on-off switch, at the top. The letters ” ON ” appear red in the right hand window or ” OFF ” as in the photo below. High, low tone control, deep engraved, lettering and highly detailed, I remember this radio as the most advanced looking thing I’d seen back then. Bought the radio new but again, mis-placed it. Found this example in February, 2011, 49 years after the original and very fortunate to find a pristine working set. It indeed, is sensitive, loud and clear. The cabinet face is brushed metal without dents or scratches and the gray plastic cabinet is still polished and shiny in it’s original condition. Also have the original gray leather case, strap and ear phone pouch that came with the set. Measures 4 1/4 ” H x 2 1/2 ” W x 1 7/16 ” D. It did not get much better then this one in 1962.
The slogan or tag line, ” IT’S A SONY ” and ” SONY ONE AND ONLY ” were the company’s, registered, branded, trademarks. The company placed small, red or yellow dot decals on the products they released in the 1980’s and 90’s. Indeed, Sony was and continues to be the premier electronic brand with many firsts and innovations.
Sony TR 817 photographed October 17, 2011
Next,
1964
SONY TFM-825 AM FM
This is my third transistor radio, second Sony, acquired while in forth year of high school. Well preserved over the years, the cabinet is scratch free and the radio operates well over both radio bands. The radio measures 4 7/16″ H x 2 7/8″ W x 1 5/16″ D and operates on a 9 volt battery. Sensitive tuners with loud, clear reception from it’s oversize oval speaker. Very high quality construction and I have the black leather case in excellent condition.
Sony TFM 825 photographed October 17, 2011
Sony TFM 825 photographed October 17, 2011
Next,
1965
PANASONIC RADAR MATIC SIGNAL SEEKING AM TRANSISTOR RADIO
10 transistor, coat pocket size signal seeking AM radio measures 7 7/8″ W x 4 1/8″ H x 1 3/4″ D. Tap on the auto tuning bar at the top of set and the tuner searches for the next active station. Mechanical, wind up lever at the rear of set powers the auto tune function. The radio can be manually tuned and has a 3 position sensitivity switch. Earphone and external power inputs and the radio uses 4 standard AA batteries. The set still plays loud and clear with no static over the many years of ownership.
Panasonic R 1000 Radar Matic photographed November 21, 2011
Panasonic R-1000 Radar Matic photographed November 21, 2011
Next,
1967 and 1969
Sony ICR 100 and ICR 120
The Sony ICR 100, world’s first integrated-circuit radio. A single IC is used, incorporating 14 transistors (with four diodes) and 14 resistors. It is packaged in a matchbox-sized case weighing a mere 90 g. A keychain holder with medallion is attached instead of a strap. The two-tone black and silver color scheme is beautiful and elegant, an electronic device that looks like jewelery. A rechargeable NiCad battery enabled six hours of continuous playback on a single 14-hour charge. This radio was given to me as a Birthday gift in 1967 by my girlfriend and now wife of 44 years.
The model ICR 120 (background) was introduced two years later in 1969, smaller still, but lacks the ultimate quality and craftsmanship of the original ICR 100 in my opinion. Both these models have built in speakers, the ICR 100 speaker is oval and the ICR 120 is round. Both models have docking stations for recharging their internal NiCad batteries. The ICR 120 was reported to be the smallest radio in the world at time of introduction and this model recently sold at a Ebay auction in August, 2011 for $351.00. The photo below show the original radios from 1967 and 1969. Click on image for full view.
Sony ICR 100 and ICR 120 photographed October 19, 2011
Vintage Micro Radio
October 16, 2011: This section opened to display my early transistor radios. Back in the fifties, owning a transistor radio was new, exciting and desirable, after all the first transistor radio ever, was the Regency TR-1 introduced in 1954.
1959
Motorola X 11 Black
This is my first childhood transistor radio, the 1959 Motorola X 11 Black, given as a gift in that same year. Somewhere along the line, it was discarded or lost. I found one recently in 2010 in near perfect condition, brushed, polished chrome and gold finishes. Magnified, glass station lens, deep engraved lettering, not painted on, a nicely detailed, gem of transistor radios from 1959. It performs well. Happy to be reunited with this set.
Motorola X 11 Radio photographed August 24, 2010
Next,
1962
Sony TR 817
This is my second childhood transistor radio, the Sony TR 817 from 1962. 1962 was my second year of High School. It has eight transistors and a tuned R.F. stage. Sony called it super sensitive and considered it their high end model back then. It has a unique signal strength meter and a spring loaded push button, on-off switch, at the top. The letters ” ON ” appear red in the right hand window or ” OFF ” as in the photo below. High, low tone control, deep engraved, lettering and highly detailed, I remember this radio as the most advanced looking thing I’d seen back then. Bought the radio new but again, mis-placed it. Found this example in February, 2011, 49 years after the original and very fortunate to find a pristine working set. It indeed, is sensitive, loud and clear. The cabinet face is brushed metal without dents or scratches and the gray plastic cabinet is still polished and shiny in it’s original condition. Also have the original gray leather case, strap and ear phone pouch that came with the set. Measures 4 1/4 ” H x 2 1/2 ” W x 1 7/16 ” D. It did not get much better then this one in 1962.
The slogan or tag line, ” IT’S A SONY ” and ” SONY ONE AND ONLY ” were the company’s, registered, branded, trademarks. The company placed small, red or yellow dot decals on the products they released in the 1980’s and 90’s. Indeed, Sony was and continues to be the premier electronic brand with many firsts and innovations.
Sony TR 817 photographed October 17, 2011
Next,
1964
SONY TFM-825 AM FM
This is my third transistor radio, second Sony, acquired while in forth year of high school. Well preserved over the years, the cabinet is scratch free and the radio operates well over both radio bands. The radio measures 4 7/16″ H x 2 7/8″ W x 1 5/16″ D and operates on a 9 volt battery. Sensitive tuners with loud, clear reception from it’s oversize oval speaker. Very high quality construction and I have the black leather case in excellent condition.
Sony TFM 825 photographed October 17, 2011
Sony TFM 825 photographed October 17, 2011
Next,
1965
PANASONIC RADAR MATIC SIGNAL SEEKING AM TRANSISTOR RADIO
10 transistor, coat pocket size signal seeking AM radio measures 7 7/8″ W x 4 1/8″ H x 1 3/4″ D. Tap on the auto tuning bar at the top of set and the tuner searches for the next active station. Mechanical, wind up lever at the rear of set powers the auto tune function. The radio can be manually tuned and has a 3 position sensitivity switch. Earphone and external power inputs and the radio uses 4 standard AA batteries. The set still plays loud and clear with no static over the many years of ownership.
Panasonic R 1000 Radar Matic photographed November 21, 2011
Panasonic R-1000 Radar Matic photographed November 21, 2011
Next,
1967 and 1969
Sony ICR 100 and ICR 120
The Sony ICR 100, world’s first integrated-circuit radio. A single IC is used, incorporating 14 transistors (with four diodes) and 14 resistors. It is packaged in a matchbox-sized case weighing a mere 90 g. A keychain holder with medallion is attached instead of a strap. The two-tone black and silver color scheme is beautiful and elegant, an electronic device that looks like jewelery. A rechargeable NiCad battery enabled six hours of continuous playback on a single 14-hour charge. This radio was given to me as a Birthday gift in 1967 by my girlfriend and now wife of 44 years.
The model ICR 120 (background) was introduced two years later in 1969, smaller still, but lacks the ultimate quality and craftsmanship of the original ICR 100 in my opinion. Both these models have built in speakers, the ICR 100 speaker is oval and the ICR 120 is round. Both models have docking stations for recharging their internal NiCad batteries. The ICR 120 was reported to be the smallest radio in the world at time of introduction and this model recently sold at a Ebay auction in August, 2011 for $351.00. The photo below show the original radios from 1967 and 1969. Click on image for full view.
Sony ICR 100 and ICR 120 photographed October 19, 2011
ADDITIONAL MODELS WILL POST SOON.