Transistor Radios Around the World

Home --- Timeline --- Radios by Country

Before '54 --- North America --- Western Europe --- Japan and Pacific --- East Europe and USSR


1959 Realtone TR-801 "Electra"

Shirt pocket radio, thermoplastic cabinet
4 x 2 1/2 x 1 3/16 inches / 102 x 64 x 30 mm
Six transistors (NEC), 1 thermistor, 1 diode
Superheterodyne circuit
One standard 9-volt battery
Distributed by Realtone Electronics, New York

Seems to me that a number of pocket Realtones owe a lot in their design to Sony's 1958 TR-610 — two other Realtone models are shown below.

Realtone TR-801 Electra

Realtone TR-801 "Electra"


Realtone TR-801 Electra

Realtone TR-801 "Electra"


Realtone TR-861, TR-555 Galaxy, TR-801

Top: Realtone TR-861, TR-555 "Galaxy",
Bottom: two versions of the TR-801


Realtone TR-801 Electra

TR-801 chassis — click on photo for a larger image

Realtone TR-801 Electra ad

ad in The Tyler Texas Morning Telegraph
Newspaper, March 27, 1959, courtesy Joe Haupt

back to '60s Japan index page



All content © 2014 by Robert Davidson, worldtransistors@gmail.com All Rights Reserved