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Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio

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  Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-16 01:15 -0400
    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-16 10:31 +0100
    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio John McCue <jmclnx@gmail.com.invalid> - 2025-08-20 15:30 +0000
      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-20 22:38 +0200
        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-20 23:59 -0400
      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2025-08-21 08:02 +1000
      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-21 06:52 +0000
        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-21 03:34 -0400
        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-21 12:28 +0200
          Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-22 09:41 -0400
            Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-22 19:14 +0100
              Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-22 20:37 +0200
                Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-22 20:00 +0100
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-22 22:36 +0200
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-22 21:58 +0100
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-23 02:42 -0400
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-23 11:22 +0100
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 21:06 +0000
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-24 02:22 -0400
                          Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-24 10:53 +0100
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-24 00:22 +0200
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-24 05:10 +0000
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 06:00 +0000
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-23 11:15 +0100
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 21:32 +0000
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-24 10:44 +0100
                          Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-24 05:51 -0400
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-08-23 18:02 +0000
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 21:34 +0000
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-08-24 00:18 +0000
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-23 23:24 +0000
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-24 04:02 -0400
                Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-22 23:06 -0400
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-23 11:11 +0100
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-24 01:53 -0400
              Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-22 23:01 -0400
                Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-23 11:05 +0100
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-23 10:20 +0000
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-24 00:27 +0200
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-24 10:49 +0100
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-24 21:28 +0000
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-25 12:23 +0100
                          Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-26 03:32 -0400
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-24 01:40 -0400
            Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-22 20:35 +0200
              Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-22 22:26 +0000
                Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-23 01:29 +0200
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-23 00:23 +0000
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-23 11:01 +0100
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-23 10:19 +0000
                Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 06:04 +0000
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-23 11:16 +0100
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 21:08 +0000
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-08-24 00:30 +0200
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-24 02:14 -0400
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-08-23 18:02 +0000
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-24 03:51 -0400
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-24 21:19 +0000
            Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-22 19:48 +0000
              Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-22 21:57 +0100
                Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 06:25 +0000
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-23 11:20 +0100
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 21:45 +0000
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-24 10:46 +0100
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-23 23:29 +0000
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-24 04:30 +0000
                  Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-08-23 18:02 +0000
                    Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-23 21:49 +0000
                      Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-08-24 00:18 +0000
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-24 04:59 +0000
                          Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-08-24 19:19 +0000
                        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-08-24 10:47 +0100
                          Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-08-24 19:19 +0000
                          Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-24 22:13 +0000
                Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-23 03:15 -0400
              Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-23 02:25 -0400
        Re: Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-08-21 20:37 +0000

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#71322 — Have One ? "Regency TR-1" - Orig Commercial Transistor Radio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_TR-1

Ran across an article in "American Scientists" about these.

I *do* remember seeing them, stashed in drawers and such.
AM 550-1600 khz band only. The receivers weren't all that
sensitive, but good enough, esp near big cities.

The TR-1 was the first commercial transistor radio.
It used four Texas Instruments germanium transistors
and sold for US $49.95 - a fair chunk of change back
in the day. Depending on how you calc inflation the
price would now be about US $500.

But, they WERE fully portable/small - and you DID
get an earphone in the package. Came in COLORS !

While transistors were invented in 1949, with
factory product by 1950, the article mentioned
that they were ridiculously EXPENSIVE. Licensing
issues and economics. They were rarely used
because they were expensive and were expensive
because there was no mass market.

TI got Regency in on a mass-market project.
They would make the transistors as cheap as
possible and Regency would construct and
market the physical units. A Burgess/Regency
215 battery was required ... 22.5 volts and
an $1.50 in the day. I think you CAN still
buy physical replacement batts.

Then the world changed.

The kiddies LOVED them - you could even listen
to that new-fangled 'rock-n-roll' junk ANYWHERE !

BECAUSE transistors became 'commercial' the PRICE
dropped and dropped and made all sorts of new things
possible. That you CAN have an iPhone is a direct
result of the TR-1 venture.

I still have a few tube/valve radios - three to
maybe eight of the vac tubes. The size, heat and
power consumption kind of limited "electronics"
units to things not much more complex. But with
itty-bitty transistors ... which led to ittier-
bittier ICs ..... !

Useful to "remember where we came from" once in
awhile. "Perspective" is educational. Your
Raspberry ... great-great-grandson of the TR-1.
Imagine trying to make one using vac tubes -
it'd be the size of a house, kilo-hertz clock,
and warm the entire neighborhood :-)

[toc] | [next] | [standalone]

#71359

On 16/08/2025 06:15, c186282 wrote:
> A Burgess/Regency
> 215 battery was required ...

Nope. early transistor radios were usually 9V or less. 22,5C was for 
portable valve(tube) sets.

There was no need to run germanium transistors at much over 4.5v You 
just wasted power and made them hotter.


-- 
“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit 
atrocities.”

― Voltaire, Questions sur les Miracles à M. Claparede, Professeur de 
Théologie à Genève, par un Proposant: Ou Extrait de Diverses Lettres de 
M. de Voltaire

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#71762

c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_TR-1
> 
> Ran across an article in "American Scientists" about these.
> 
> I *do* remember seeing them, stashed in drawers and such.
> AM 550-1600 khz band only. The receivers weren't all that
> sensitive, but good enough, esp near big cities.
> 
> The TR-1 was the first commercial transistor radio.

I do not have one of those, but I have a very old GE
Transister Radio.  It only does AM.  I have no idea
how old it is nor how I got it, but it still works
fine.

You can get a pic of it by doing:

$ curl 'gopher://sdf.org/0/users/jmccue/about/pic/ge_tradio.jpg'

<snip>

> It used four Texas Instruments germanium transistors
> and sold for US $49.95 - a fair chunk of change back
> in the day. Depending on how you calc inflation the
> price would now be about US $500.

wow

<snip>

-- 
[t]csh(1) - "An elegant shell, for a more... civilized age."
                        - Paraphrasing Star Wars

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#71789

On 2025-08-20 17:30, John McCue wrote:
> c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_TR-1
>>
>> Ran across an article in "American Scientists" about these.
>>
>> I *do* remember seeing them, stashed in drawers and such.
>> AM 550-1600 khz band only. The receivers weren't all that
>> sensitive, but good enough, esp near big cities.
>>
>> The TR-1 was the first commercial transistor radio.
> 
> I do not have one of those, but I have a very old GE
> Transister Radio.  It only does AM.  I have no idea
> how old it is nor how I got it, but it still works
> fine.
> 
> You can get a pic of it by doing:
> 
> $ curl 'gopher://sdf.org/0/users/jmccue/about/pic/ge_tradio.jpg'
> 
cer@Telcontar:~> curl 'gopher://sdf.org/0/users/jmccue/about/pic/ge_tradio.jpg'
Warning: Binary output can mess up your terminal. Use "--output -" to tell
Warning: curl to output it to your terminal anyway, or consider "--output
Warning: <FILE>" to save to a file.
cer@Telcontar:~>

cer@Telcontar:~> curl 'gopher://sdf.org/0/users/jmccue/about/pic/ge_tradio.jpg' --output ge_tradio.jpg
   % Total    % Received % Xferd  Average Speed   Time    Time     Time  Current
                                  Dload  Upload   Total   Spent    Left  Speed
100  108k    0  108k    0     0  75938      0 --:--:--  0:00:01 --:--:-- 75984
cer@Telcontar:~> l ge_tradio.jpg
-rw-r--r-- 1 cer users 111393 Aug 20 22:37 ge_tradio.jpg
cer@Telcontar:~>

> <snip>
> 
>> It used four Texas Instruments germanium transistors
>> and sold for US $49.95 - a fair chunk of change back
>> in the day. Depending on how you calc inflation the
>> price would now be about US $500.
> 
> wow
> 
> <snip>
> 


-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#71807

On 8/20/25 4:38 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-08-20 17:30, John McCue wrote:
>> c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_TR-1
>>>
>>> Ran across an article in "American Scientists" about these.
>>>
>>> I *do* remember seeing them, stashed in drawers and such.
>>> AM 550-1600 khz band only. The receivers weren't all that
>>> sensitive, but good enough, esp near big cities.
>>>
>>> The TR-1 was the first commercial transistor radio.
>>
>> I do not have one of those, but I have a very old GE
>> Transister Radio.  It only does AM.  I have no idea
>> how old it is nor how I got it, but it still works
>> fine.
>>
>> You can get a pic of it by doing:
>>
>> $ curl 'gopher://sdf.org/0/users/jmccue/about/pic/ge_tradio.jpg'


   Still feeding the gopher ?  :-)

   USED to have a number of those old radios
   around ... NOW they'd be worth good money !

   Still have one of the old sci calculators,
   the first to be affordable. It STILL works.
   VFD tube.

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#71794

John McCue <jmclnx@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
> I do not have one of those, but I have a very old GE
> Transister Radio.  It only does AM.  I have no idea
> how old it is nor how I got it, but it still works
> fine.
> 
> You can get a pic of it by doing:
> 
> $ curl 'gopher://sdf.org/0/users/jmccue/about/pic/ge_tradio.jpg'

For those using a real Gopher client this link may work better so
it doesn't display as text:
gopher://sdf.org/I/users/jmccue/about/pic/ge_tradio.jpg

-- 
__          __
#_ < |\| |< _#

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#71814

On Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:30:45 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:

>> It used four Texas Instruments germanium transistors and sold for US
>> $49.95 - a fair chunk of change back in the day. Depending on how you
>> calc inflation the price would now be about US $500.
> 
> wow

You can see why the Americans never had any luck with transistor-based 
consumer electronics -- it took the Japanese to make a success of that.

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#71816

On 8/21/25 2:52 AM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:30:45 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:
> 
>>> It used four Texas Instruments germanium transistors and sold for US
>>> $49.95 - a fair chunk of change back in the day. Depending on how you
>>> calc inflation the price would now be about US $500.
>>
>> wow
> 
> You can see why the Americans never had any luck with transistor-based
> consumer electronics -- it took the Japanese to make a success of that.

   I don't discount the Japanese mentality here at all.
   Japan had a long artistic legacy of "perfection
   through simplicity" ... and that informed them when
   it was time to start making electronics. PCs would
   still be basically unaffordable if the Japanese had
   not taken a good look at memory chips and such and
   found how to make them - bigger/better - with far
   fewer/easier steps.

   The USA/UK are good at inventing New Stuff - but
   NOT as good at finding ways to make it cheap and
   reliable.

   So, radios on, the Japanese managed to get more
   out of less. Good for them.

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#71840

On 2025-08-21 08:52, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:30:45 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:
> 
>>> It used four Texas Instruments germanium transistors and sold for US
>>> $49.95 - a fair chunk of change back in the day. Depending on how you
>>> calc inflation the price would now be about US $500.
>>
>> wow
> 
> You can see why the Americans never had any luck with transistor-based
> consumer electronics -- it took the Japanese to make a success of that.

My parents bought this one:
<https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sanyo_9_transistor_9f_823.html>

The leather case is in bad shape, the leader is hard and bent.

It was for many years the only FM radio in the house. The normal house 
radio was a valve unit, and it only had AM.


I got this one when I went to uni:

<https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo-transistor-radio-amfm>



-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#71919

On 8/21/25 6:28 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-08-21 08:52, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:30:45 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:
>>
>>>> It used four Texas Instruments germanium transistors and sold for US
>>>> $49.95 - a fair chunk of change back in the day. Depending on how you
>>>> calc inflation the price would now be about US $500.
>>>
>>> wow
>>
>> You can see why the Americans never had any luck with transistor-based
>> consumer electronics -- it took the Japanese to make a success of that.
> 
> My parents bought this one:
> <https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sanyo_9_transistor_9f_823.html>
> 
> The leather case is in bad shape, the leader is hard and bent.
> 
> It was for many years the only FM radio in the house. The normal house 
> radio was a valve unit, and it only had AM.

   Similar in my house, the main unit was all valves,
   AM only. Surprisingly good sound.

   Of course we didn't HAVE a local FM station for
   quite awhile ... and when we did it was 95%
   very dull classical.

> I got this one when I went to uni:
> 
> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo-transistor-radio-amfm> 

   I remember those !  :-)

   Alas most of those little old radios had rather
   poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.

   BUT, they were PORTABLE.

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#71929

On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
> 
>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>
>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo-transistor-radio-amfm> 
> 
>    I remember those !  🙂
> 
>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
> 
Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way cheaper 
than adding valves.
And sensitivity soon got down towards the thermal noise
>    BUT, they were PORTABLE.

-- 
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will 
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such 
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic 
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally 
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for 
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the 
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels

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#71937

On 2025-08-22 20:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
>>
>>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>>
>>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo-transistor- 
>>> radio-amfm> 
>>
>>    I remember those !  🙂
>>
>>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
>>
> Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way cheaper 
> than adding valves.

It came from adding intermediate frequency transformer stages, which 
were not cheap nor easy to adjust.


> And sensitivity soon got down towards the thermal noise
>>    BUT, they were PORTABLE.
> 


-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#71946

On 22/08/2025 19:37, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-08-22 20:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
>>>
>>>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>>>
>>>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo-transistor- radio-amfm> 
>>>
>>>    I remember those !  🙂
>>>
>>>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>>>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
>>>
>> Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way cheaper 
>> than adding valves.
> 
> It came from adding intermediate frequency transformer stages, which 
> were not cheap nor easy to adjust.

They were cheap and they were *really* easy to adjust.

I build several portable radios.


> 
> 
>> And sensitivity soon got down towards the thermal noise
>>>    BUT, they were PORTABLE.
>>
> 
> 

-- 
  “A leader is best When people barely know he exists. Of a good leader, 
who talks little,When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,They will say, 
“We did this ourselves.”

― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

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#71958

On 2025-08-22 21:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 22/08/2025 19:37, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>> On 2025-08-22 20:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>>>>
>>>>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo- 
>>>>> transistor- radio-amfm> 
>>>>
>>>>    I remember those !  🙂
>>>>
>>>>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>>>>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
>>>>
>>> Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way cheaper 
>>> than adding valves.
>>
>> It came from adding intermediate frequency transformer stages, which 
>> were not cheap nor easy to adjust.
> 
> They were cheap and they were *really* easy to adjust.
> 
> I build several portable radios.

Time consuming.

I built just one.

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#71964

On 22/08/2025 21:36, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-08-22 21:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 22/08/2025 19:37, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>> On 2025-08-22 20:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>> On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo- 
>>>>>> transistor- radio-amfm> 
>>>>>
>>>>>    I remember those !  🙂
>>>>>
>>>>>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>>>>>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
>>>>>
>>>> Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way cheaper 
>>>> than adding valves.
>>>
>>> It came from adding intermediate frequency transformer stages, which 
>>> were not cheap nor easy to adjust.
>>
>> They were cheap and they were *really* easy to adjust.
>>
>> I build several portable radios.
> 
> Time consuming.
> 
> I built just one.
> 

-- 
It is the folly of too many to mistake the echo of a London coffee-house 
for the voice of the kingdom.

Jonathan Swift

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#72008

On 8/22/25 4:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-08-22 21:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 22/08/2025 19:37, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>> On 2025-08-22 20:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>> On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo- 
>>>>>> transistor- radio-amfm> 
>>>>>
>>>>>    I remember those !  🙂
>>>>>
>>>>>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>>>>>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
>>>>>
>>>> Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way cheaper 
>>>> than adding valves.
>>>
>>> It came from adding intermediate frequency transformer stages, which 
>>> were not cheap nor easy to adjust.
>>
>> They were cheap and they were *really* easy to adjust.
>>
>> I build several portable radios.
> 
> Time consuming.
> 
> I built just one.

   You can get lots of perfectly good circuits off
   the net - plenty options/paradigms to choose from.

   It's interesting to do.

   However to do most RIGHT you DO need some proper
   and expensive instrumentation - scopes, LCR meters
   and such, maybe an audio spectrum meter. Few have
   those things.

   If I'm gonna do another it'll be a 'super-regenerative',
   the kind that tend to howl a bit. Interesting feedback
   paradigm.

   You can do good AM with plain old 2N222A's up to
   maybe 5Mhz. Super cheap.

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#72029

On 23/08/2025 07:42, c186282 wrote:
> On 8/22/25 4:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>> On 2025-08-22 21:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 22/08/2025 19:37, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>>> On 2025-08-22 20:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>> On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo- 
>>>>>>> transistor- radio-amfm> 
>>>>>>
>>>>>>    I remember those !  🙂
>>>>>>
>>>>>>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>>>>>>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way 
>>>>> cheaper than adding valves.
>>>>
>>>> It came from adding intermediate frequency transformer stages, which 
>>>> were not cheap nor easy to adjust.
>>>
>>> They were cheap and they were *really* easy to adjust.
>>>
>>> I build several portable radios.
>>
>> Time consuming.
>>
>> I built just one.
> 
>    You can get lots of perfectly good circuits off
>    the net - plenty options/paradigms to choose from.
> 
>    It's interesting to do.
> 
>    However to do most RIGHT you DO need some proper
>    and expensive instrumentation - scopes, LCR meters
>    and such, maybe an audio spectrum meter. Few have
>    those things.
> 

Bollox. I had nothing except my ears and a home made multimeter.


>    If I'm gonna do another it'll be a 'super-regenerative',
>    the kind that tend to howl a bit. Interesting feedback
>    paradigm.
> 
Chaos theory/climate theory in 4 transistors

>    You can do good AM with plain old 2N222A's up to
>    maybe 5Mhz. Super cheap.

Ha, My first one was PNP germaniums.

-- 
"Women actually are capable of being far more than the feminists will 
let them."

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#72074

On Sat, 23 Aug 2025 11:22:19 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> Ha, My first one was PNP germaniums.

The 1N34 took all the fun out of building and operating crystal 
radios...  

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#72115

On 8/23/25 6:22 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 23/08/2025 07:42, c186282 wrote:
>> On 8/22/25 4:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>> On 2025-08-22 21:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>> On 22/08/2025 19:37, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>>>>> On 2025-08-22 20:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>>> On 22/08/2025 14:41, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I got this one when I went to uni:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> <https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/1791229461/vintage-sanyo- 
>>>>>>>> transistor- radio-amfm> 
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    I remember those !  🙂
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    Alas most of those little old radios had rather
>>>>>>>    poor sensitivity plus poor selectivity.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Actually selectivity came easy as adding transistors was way 
>>>>>> cheaper than adding valves.
>>>>>
>>>>> It came from adding intermediate frequency transformer stages, 
>>>>> which were not cheap nor easy to adjust.
>>>>
>>>> They were cheap and they were *really* easy to adjust.
>>>>
>>>> I build several portable radios.
>>>
>>> Time consuming.
>>>
>>> I built just one.
>>
>>    You can get lots of perfectly good circuits off
>>    the net - plenty options/paradigms to choose from.
>>
>>    It's interesting to do.
>>
>>    However to do most RIGHT you DO need some proper
>>    and expensive instrumentation - scopes, LCR meters
>>    and such, maybe an audio spectrum meter. Few have
>>    those things.
>>
> 
> Bollox. I had nothing except my ears and a home made multimeter.

   Well ... great for you.

   The REST of us though .....

>>    If I'm gonna do another it'll be a 'super-regenerative',
>>    the kind that tend to howl a bit. Interesting feedback
>>    paradigm.
>>
> Chaos theory/climate theory in 4 transistors


   Heh heh ... kind of !  :-)


>>    You can do good AM with plain old 2N222A's up to
>>    maybe 5Mhz. Super cheap.
> 
> Ha, My first one was PNP germaniums.

   It'll work ... just not so WELL.

   DO remember the Germanium Dominance. Silicon
   was better, but TOOK a little while.

   Germanium does still have a place.

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#72133

On 24/08/2025 07:22, c186282 wrote:
> On 8/23/25 6:22 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
     maybe 5Mhz. Super cheap.
>>
>> Ha, My first one was PNP germaniums.
> 
>    It'll work ... just not so WELL.
> 
Actually, they worked perfectly well.

They had rather low RF gain, but they could be stabilised.

Didnt like the heat much that's all.


>    DO remember the Germanium Dominance. Silicon
>    was better, but TOOK a little while.
> 
>    Germanium does still have a place.

Not so much any more...I think the GaAs is preferred now.

-- 
"In our post-modern world, climate science is not powerful because it is 
true: it is true because it is powerful."

Lucas Bergkamp

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