I Remember JFK

« Monday Nights with Howard, Frank, and Dandy Don | Main | Schwinn Sting-Ray »

Add to Google

Transistor Radios

Old transistor radioWhat better device could a 1960's guy have in his shirt pocket than a transistor radio blasting out tunes that sounded absolutely great on a two-inch speaker?

Pocket-sized transistor radios started getting affordable and common in the early 1960's. Prior to that, they were bigger, many 1950's vintage radios being about the size of a portable eight-track player (more on those to come!). But they were tiny compared to the tube-driven models of a few years before.

Transistors, invented in 1947, revolutionized the world as much as any other twentieth-century invention. When they started being utilized in electronic devices, radios and the like began shrinking!.

Transistor radio earbudIt wasn't long before transistor radios, powered by the ubiquitous nine-volt battery, were a common sight in shirt pockets and sitting on desks all over America. And they would be tuned to rock and roll stations, of course.

And you also used the monophonic earpiece. It provided as high-quality a sound as the built-in speaker ;-).

The music that came in over the AM stations back then simply didn't need a better speaker than what came with the transistor radio, or its earbud. Sure, you could listen to records on a hi-fi, but just try lugging one to the beach.

The transistor radio was a familiar sight in the 60's to those of us old enough to remember bell-bottoms, paisley shirts, and, of course, JFK.

Recommend I Remember JFK to your friends!

Get emailed notifications of new articles!


NOTE: I will not sell any email addresses I receive, and will not send any unsolicited emails, either. If you sign up for new article notifications, that is ALL you will receive, and you can cancel at any time. You have my word.
--Ron Enderland

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.baldguyweb.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/22

Comments (5)

Charles Young:

What a great memory! I got my first Transistor radio in 1966. It was a Truetone from Western Auto. I remember listening to, "The Ballet of the Green Beret" and "Green eyed lady" on it. I still have the green little box. I can't pick anything up but it still makes static.
Thanks for the memory:

Charlie

Rhonda:

I have the best memory of my little transistor radio. In 1967 I was 6 years old. When I went to bed at night I would always put my transistor under my pillow and listen to the local A.M. station. I knew my favorite song, "There's A Kind Of Hush" by Hermans Hermits would be played and would fall asleep listening to it.

Well, Google messed up the relevancy of this page

Allen Feinberg:

I lived in New Haven. It was a big deal to me if I could pick up 1010 WINS and Murray the K's Swingin Suaree from NYC. I now own a great radio collection.

Rivers End:

I remember the small white or black colored square transistor radios. Scratchy am radio with marginal antenna coverage. But that is what we had and it seemed those 9 volt batteries would die quickly! Thank goodness for transistors, they made all our radios small and compact to use! I still use tube type radios in some of my amateur radio uses! I also had a waterprood shower radio that you would put in your shower! Those transister radios are now very collectable!

Post a comment

Like the site? Buy Ron a cup of coffee! Note to those who would use my images
You may use any images you find on my site on your own personal site. COPY the images to your own server, PLEASE. If you link directly, you will likely get a logo encouraging others to visit I Remember JFK instead of the graphic that you expected. In return, I request that you include a link back to I Remember JFK. Fair enough?

Add to Google
Visit I remember JFK's Forum!
6 users currently visiting I Remember JFK
Get Emailed Updates of New Articles!
NOTE: I will not sell any email addresses I receive, and will not send any unsolicited emails, either. If you sign up for new article notifications, that is ALL you will receive, and you can cancel at any time. You have my word. --Ron Enderland, webmaster

My Policy on Advertisements

You will never see a Flash ad, a popup ad, or a banner ad at I Remember JFK. What you will see are unobtrusive, friendly text ads. If you get popups here, the problem is that you have adware or spyware on Microsoft Windows. I recomment you download and install Ubuntu Linux and enjoy safe, adware-free surfing. Barring that, install Spybot and Ad-Aware to kill the bugs.

With that, if you have ad-disabling software such as AdBlock Plus, I respectfully request that you make an allowance for my website in its settings. You have my personal guarantee that there is no intrusive advertising here.

Ron Enderland, webmaster

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on November 23, 2006 12:04 AM.

The previous post in this blog was Monday Nights with Howard, Frank, and Dandy Don.

The next post in this blog is Schwinn Sting-Ray.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.