Articles on Transistor Radios

Some Articles I've Written, New and Old:

Transistor Radios Behind the Curtain, Radio User, May 2018

Chronicling transistor radio development in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries in the late 1950s and early 1960s

Transistor Radios, East and West ("Irresistible Transistor Radios"), Radio User, September 2017

One collector's personal "journey" over the years...

Short Wave Shirt Pockets, Transistor Network, April 1996

An ancient article from a long-defunct bulletin — but I still love those short wave shirt pocket radios!

Consumer Reports, Transistor Network, November 1992

How the first transistor radios were first "received" by America's foremost product review of the times

::

Articles by Lello Salvatore, translated into English:

Solar Radios, early Solar Powered Radios

An exhaustive history of early solar cells and the transistor radios employing them

Made in Japan Transistor Radios. The Three Oceans of Toshio Iue

A really great read on early Sanyo transistor radios!

The first RADIOMARELLI transistor radio and RCA

A very detailed article covering the early Radiomarelli transistor radios.

Australian Transistor Radio KRIESLER 41-24: the radio with the Southern Cross

A very interesting and informative article about one of Australia's more intriguing transistor radios

Italian Pocket Transistor Radios: 1960/61 WATT RADIO cit

A very informative article about WATT RADIO's "cit" pocket radio.... This is a LARGE pdf — please give it some time to open.

1960s Italian transistor "Basement Radios"

A fascinating article about the faux-Japanese transistor radios made in Italy known as "Radio Cantinare" ("basement radios").

But wait, there's more! Click here for pics of ten more Cantinare radios

Italian Pocket Transistor Radios: 1956 Radialba 2010

A very intriguing article on Italy's first pocket transistor radio

Italian Pocket Transistor Radios: Geloso G3303

A very thorough article on Italy's beautiful Geloso pocket radio series

Italian Pocket Transistor Radios: Voxson 750 Magic

A very thorough article on Italy's beautiful Voxson pocket radio

Italian Pocket Transistor Radios: SNT Transix

A very interesting article on Italy's SNT Transix pocket radio

Japanese Pocket Transistor Radios: Sissy

An interesting article on the small 6-transistor "Sissy"

::

Other Articles:

English-language translation of 1956 "Funkschau" article on the Telefunken TR1

::

Historical Articles from the New York Times:

The New York Times still remains one of the only major newspapers offering a complete online archive -- I've made copies below of the nineteen articles I've found concerning transistors and transistor radios. Early articles (1948-1958) poignantly display their times in their emphasis on possible military applications, suggestions of computer applications, and predictions of commercial uses for the transistor; and later articles chronicle the rise of Japan as a leader in the electronics world as well as public irritation over the noise pollution caused by transistor radio users.

back to the Home page