![]() It is significant for the way it combines science, design, and culture: the solid state physics that led to the development of the transistor the aesthetics and functionality of the plastic radio bod. It is not known who currently has possession of this unit. This Regency TR-1 transistor radio was one of the earliest portable radios imported into Australia. ![]() Harris was the TI project manager during Regency's development of the TR-1. Previously, transistors had only been used in military or industrial applications, and the TR-1 demonstrated their utility for consumer. Despite mediocre performance, about 150,000 units were sold, due to the novelty of its small size and portability. In 1980 at the Texas Instruments 50th company anniversary, Buddy Harris in the photo below exhibited a TR-1 that he said was the first unit off the assembly line. The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially manufactured transistor radio, introduced in 1954. So where is the Serial Number 1 Regency TR-1? 12:00 PM 1954: Regency TR-1 Transistor Radio With its 'genuine superheterodyne circuit' and 'standard 22-volt battery,' the Regency TR-1 not only launched portable audio, it. Ref: History Detectives Transistor Radio, Season 10 Regency TR-1 starts at 28:45Ĭommon industry practice starts serialization of production products with 1001, as was the case for the Regency TR-1 View the short episode preview, or watch the Full Episode. The PBS History Detectives conducted an investigation to find the earliest existing Regency TR-1 in a Season 10 episode, and Ed's son, Clay Tudor shown in the photo, and the serial #2 TR-1 were featured in this show. Steve Schoenherr's page, Who's on First? provides an overview of all this.) :: click for Zenith Royal 500 and Regency TR-1 illustrations & descriptions from the 1956 Continental mail-order catalog.Ed Tudor was Regency's President during the development & production of the TR-1, and Ed was presented the serial #2 Regency TR-1 on Octofor his outstanding leadership role. *(The Regency TR-1 was without question the world's first commercially marketed transistor radio - but for whatever it's worth, there were several one-of-a-kind experimental sets predating the TR-1. It also came in a white cabinet and in a tan leather cabinet. As with all Bulova radios, the 250 was sold only in jewelry stores. And one other difference not visible in the picture above is that Bulova jettisoned the earphone jack. The black radio in the picture above is the Bulova 250, same chassis as the Regency but slightly different in the cabinet (though obviously Bulova leased or bought the mold from Regency): as you can see, there are several small differences between the two faces above, besides the logo differences. Quote Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak 'without this. ![]() That date set in motion a worldwide hunger for all small and portable electronic devices we now consume on a daily basis. The craze for pocket-sized electronics began on Octowith the first transistor radio, the Regency TR-1. Then there were the "pearlescents": white pearlescent, blue pearlescent, and pink pearlescent, all unbearably rare. More than Six Decades of Pocket Portable Electronics. "Mahogany" is very cool, and "Forest Green" is just plain killer. Later, two other cabinet colors were added: "Mahogany" (brown with black striations), and "Forest Green" (dark green with white striations). The cabinet was originally offered in four colors: black, white, gray and red. The radio employed a four-transistor circuit which gave a pretty crummy performance both in reception quality and audio quality (see the next link here, "The first 'serious' transistor radio?"). The cabinet was designed by Painter, Teague and Petertil of Chicago. Early semiconductor processes being what they were, sets of four transistors had to be assembled and used for a particular radio. The Regency TR-1 was produced in Indianapolis, Indiana by Industrial Development Engineer Associates, using transistors manufactured by Texas Instruments. Sony TR-63, the beginning of the end for the U.S. ![]() It was released onto the market in October 1954, roughly four months before the second transistor radio would arrive, the Raytheon 8-TP1 and a good six months before Japan would produce its first transistor radio, the Sony TR-52, an experimental set never actually released for sale and nearly TWO AND A HALF YEARS before the first Japanese pocket transistor would arrive in America: that radio was the VINTAGE REGENCY TR-1 TRANSISTOR RADIO IN BRIGHT RED. American Classics !Īs even my mother knows by now, the Regency TR-1 was the world's first commercially marketed transistor radio*. The transistor was invented in 1947 at Bell Labs in New Jersey. Regency TR-1, Bulova 250 Pocket Transistor Radios The M31 gallery of. ![]()
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