1960 Нева (Neva)
Vertical shirt pocket radio, thermoplastic cabinet
5 x 3 x 1 3/8 inches / 126 x 72 x 37 mm
2-band LW/MW, six transistors (Russian, 3x П-13A, 3x П-402), superheterodyne circuit
One tubular 9-volt battery
Manufactured at Radiopribor Factory, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg)
The first mass-production Soviet pocket transistor radio — it's cabinet dimensions are nearly identical to those of the Regency TR-1. The tuning dial is divided in half: 5—16 (x100) kHz MW, and 1.5—4 (x100) kHz LW. The six transistors used here are three П-13A and three П-402. The slide switch for changing between LW and MW bands extends to either side of the cabinet — see the photos below.
This example has a cabinet with an ivory grille on a black front half, and a burgundy back half. Other color combinations included an all-turquoise cabinet (including grille), a white cabinet with a turquoise grille, and a burgundy cabinet with an ivory grille. Missing from this example is the Neva's wire table stand similar to that of the Zenith Royal 500's, though, unlike with the Neva, the Zenith's wire stand also doubled as a carry handle.
Like many soviet-made transistor radios, the cabinet on this set is nearly all plastic and has almost no metal elements on it, a production choice certainly made by economics over design, but the result is quite nice!
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