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Aitron Wrist Radio, 1972
This one is the Aitron and
don’t be misled, it’s quite a lump – that’s a 50 pence coin next to it -- and
wearing one provided a good workout for the upper and lower arms. Even so, it
is still a remarkable feat of miniaturisation, cramming a 5-transisitor
superhet radio and speaker into such a confined space. Some clever circuitry
and a very unusual 50mm speaker (high-impedance centre-tapped voice coil, for those who
care about such things) means it doesn’t need a final stage audio output
transformer, which saves a lot of space, and it is powered by a single AA
battery, which again is quite a feat considering the power requirements of the
transistors of the day. There are only two controls, on/off volume and tuning, the third larger ‘knob’ is actually the battery cap. The strap is a surprisingly high quality item, made of leather with a plastic protective backing, and it’s sturdy too, this one cleans up like new. What Happened
to it?
The Aitron brand seems to have disappeared without trace though this design did carry on until the late seventies and I have seen pictures of later models with a built in LED watch display. I imagine they are extremely rare and probably worth a few bob by now. Even so very few examples of this earlier model will have survived. Wrist radios have come and gone over the years and I saw one recently in our local ‘Pound’ shop, though it was only capable of driving an earphone. The concept also survives in wrist and arm bands for devices like the iPod, though again they are geared to personal playback through ear and headphones This particular example was bought from ebay a while ago for the princely sum of £3.00. It is in excellent condition and works well, though there doesn’t seem to be much to listen to on the medium wave these days. Needless to say it sounds a bit tinny and the volume isn’t much to write home about, but for personal listening, under the bedclothes (it's what we did back then...) it’s great! GIZMO GUIDE
First seen: 1972 Original
Price
£10-£15 Value Today? £10-£20 Features:
On/off volume switch, tuning Weight: 0.12kg Dimensions: 55 x 75 x 28mm (excluding strap) Made in: Hong Kong Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 7
Fidelity HF42 Portable Record Player
It’s very basic, though
unusually for a record player of that time it has four speeds, 16, 33.3, 45 and
78rpm. The controls are simple too, just on/off volume and ‘tone’. The arm is
one hundred percent manually operated, there’s no lift, or cut out, but it does
have the twin flip over stylus for LP and 78s (the latter being larger and more
hard wearing). A nice feature is a captive retractable centre adaptor, so you
could play records that had the middle pushed out. These were common fitments
on record players but somehow they always seem to get lost. It is mains powered but at
some point Fidelity obviously made a battery-powered model as on the underside
there’s what appears to be a fully functional battery compartment for 6 x
D-cells. Sadly it’s not an option on this example as it is fitted with a mains
synchronous motor. A simple 4-transitor amplifier with a push-pull output
powers the 3.5-inch speaker, located behind the grille underneath the stylus.
Needless to say it is not very loud, and in glorious mono. To be fair volume
wasn’t an issue for most users back then, parents at that time had very
sensitive ears and an acute dislike for the music of the day (nothing changes…)
but even by today’s standards it sounds pretty good, and surprisingly mellow,
as is often the case on old speakers that have been thoroughly ‘run in’ over
the years. What Happened to it? There’s no need for a rerun
of the demise of the vinyl record, we all know CDs virtually wiped them out in
the early 80s, though they never completely disappeared and every so often
there’s talk of a comeback. Collectors of hi-fi equipment have always prized
turntables, but they tend to go for the fancy high-end models, which is why
humble little record players like this one are often overlooked and are in danger
of becoming quite rare. There are still plenty of
bargains around, though. This one cost me 99 pence on ebay recently, plus a
tenner in postage… They’re never going to become seriously valuable but they
are a genuinely interesting gadget, and a lot more representative of what the
kids in the 60s and 70s actually listened to in their bedrooms. GIZMO GUIDE
First seen: 1972 Original
Price
£25 Value Today? £10 Features:
4 speeds (16, 33.3, 45 & 78rpm),
variable tone, twin stylus pickup (LP/78), 3.5-inch speaker, 4-transistor
amplifier, retractable centre, carry handle, detachable lid Power req. 230 bolts AC mains Weight: 2kg Dimensions: 325 x 260 x 100mm Made in: England Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 5
Hitachi WH-638, 2 Band 6
Transistor Radio 1967
Hitachi, along with Sony and Pioneer built their reputation and future
global brand on humble transistor radios like these, though they were often
outsourced to smaller companies and quite often the same chassis would turn up
under a variety of different names. This one is a typical 6-transisitor
(germanium type) superhetrodyne design with one densely packed, hand-assembled
circuit board crammed full of coils, capacitors and resistors, and drenched
with a liberal dollop of wax and varnish, to stop anything moving around. These
circuits were so sensitive that any movement of the components would throw the
tuning off bonk. It’s powered by a single 9 volt ‘PP3’ type battery and has just three
controls, for on/off volume, tuning and wave selection (on the back). There’s
an earphone socket (3.5mm, mono, of course) on the side and it would have come
with an earphone and a carry pouch, which fitted, on the leather case carry
strap. They were very solidly built, and apart from a crackly volume, this one
works fine, with the characteristic tinny sound coming from the 3-inch
speaker. What Happened To It? Pocket two-band trannies
continued well into the 70s then gradually models with higher quality FM
reception began to take over. The development of more efficient silicon
transistors and then micro chips meant radios could be made smaller, cheaper
and more reliable, and by that time cassette tape had become established but
the magic of listening to Luxembourg, then the offshore pirates under the
bedclothes had disappeared and I guess we all grew up…. This one came to me
courtesy of ebay for a couple of quid or around a third of the price of the
postage, and as an added bonus it came with it’s original leather case, which
is also in very good condition. Technically it’s nothing special, nevertheless,
I really do think 60’s radios are a seriously underrated as collectibles and
examples in good condition can only increase in value so get in quick, before I
buy them all up! GIZMO GUIDE
First seen: 1967 Original
Price
£10? Value Today? £5 Features:
On/off volume switch, tuning, MW/LW,
earphone socket Weight: 0.3kg Dimensions: 130 x 77 x 35mm Made in: Japan Hen’s Teeth
(10 rarest): 3 Technicolor 212 Portable VCR, 1981
The 212 used Compact Video
Cassettes (CVC) spooled with ordinary quarter inch audio tape, similar
in size and shape to a regular audio cassettes. It used a helical scaning system, similar to most VCRs and camcorders, with a linear tape speed of just 1.26 inches/sec (32.1mm/sec). Back then the 212 was regarded as
a minor revolution in miniaturisation, though JVC and Sony were poised
to launch the Compact VHS (VHS-C) and 8mm formats. At the time Technicolor
was best know for making movie film, so the appearance of this machine
was a bit of a surprise. In fact it was jointly developed with the Japanese tape company
Funai, who briefly marketed this machine under its own name. A 'combi' version with a
built-in TV screen was also made though I don’t think it was ever sold in
the UK.
At around £650 the 212 was quite expensive – remember this was over a quarter of a century ago… -- and you still needed a camera. In the UK it was supplied with a Hitachi model, which bumped the price up by another £550. Blank tapes cost around £6.00. It came with a companion mains power supply and RF adaptor, and an optional TV tuner/timer was also available (model No 5112), however, since only 30 minutes tapes were available (45 minute tapes did appear briefly), it wasn’t much use for serious time-shifting
It’s a lovely looking piece
of kit with it’s clunky ‘piano-key’ controls, all of the sockets are mounted on
the side; the large one is for the video camera connection, which draws its
power form the VCRs internal rechargeable battery. As I recall picture quality was
surprisingly good, though obviously not a patch on today’s portable video
systems, however, much depended on the quality of the tape and dropouts –
causing streaks and flashes on the picture – were quite common.
What Happened To it? As soon as the technically
superior VHS-C and 8mm formats appeared on the scene, backed by the world’s
biggest electronic companies, it was curtains for Technicolour and CVC and the 212
quietly disappeared from view. Remaining stocks were sold off in shops in
London’s Edgware Road for the giveaway price of only £75. A sad end to a brave
attempt to take on the big boys, and who knows, if it had been launched a
couple of years earlier things might have turned out differently. Technicolor 212s still turn up on ebay from time to time, usually faulty and selling for a few pounds. I first reviewed the machine in early 1982 and I still have a small stock of CVC tapes in my collection, including one unopened one, which must be incredibly rare, all I need now is a working 212…
My thanks to fellow journalist and gadget collector Martin Pipe for his help with this one. GIZMO GUIDE
First seen: 1981 Original
Price
£650 (camera £550, tapes £6.00) Value Today? £50 Features:
Tape speed: 1.26 ips (32.1 mm/sec), Video Resolution: 240 lines,
Audio S/N: 40 dB, Audio Frequency Response: 100Hz to 8 kHz, audio dub, still
frame, 40 minutes recording time on rechargeable battery pack, Weight: 3.2kg Dimensions: 246 x 76 x 259 mm Made in: Japan Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 8 Sanyo G2001 Music Centre 1980 (manual)
The Music Centre broke free
of the radiogram’s fuddy-duddy image and didn’t try to disguise its purpose
behind wooden doors and lids. The turntable, tape deck and tuner were on
display and protected by a smoked acrylic cover that more often than not would
be cracked or broken within six months. Manufacturers found it hard to give up
their old ways and most 70s and early 80s models had mockwood panels, and
laminated chipboard speaker boxes but by the mid 80s these had given way to
flashier designs. The G2001 is one of dozens
of models aimed at middle-aged buyers, who back then were the ones with the
money. It’s conservatively styled, not too many controls or winky lights and
still capable of playing 78rpm records. The cassette deck was one of the first
to sport the ‘new’ Dolby noise reduction system, for de-hissing tapes and it
had the slightly controversial ability to record directly from records. This
example has survived intact, the lid is uncracked, everything still works and
it actually sounds pretty good. What Happened To It? One box audio systems are
still with us but the bulky music centre was killed off by the rise and rise of
Compact Disc throughout the 1980s. As turntables started to disappear from
audio systems they were replaced by CD decks, which allowed manufacturers to
shrink the sizes of their boxes. Music centres gradually morphed into one-piece
tower systems, then mini towers and micro systems. Nowadays you can pack 10,000
tunes in a box that fits in your pocket, and if you want to listen to your
music through speakers you plug it into a docking system. There’s still plenty of early music centres on ebay, often selling for less than the cost of shipping. If you’ve still got a collection of LPs or tapes in the loft it’s a great way of reviving those old sounds. Shortlist models from the better-known manufacturers as these tended to be built to a higher standard. Spares, like replacement styli and drive belts are also usually still obtainable and a good working example should still have a few years life left in it.
GIZMO GUIDE
First seen: 1980 Original
Price
£125 Value Today? £20 Features:
Turntable (33/45/78rpm), cassette deck
with Dolby Noise Reduction, FM/MW/LW receiver, twin speakers, 6W channel stereo
amplifier Power req. mains Weight: 4.5kg Dimensions: 525 x 174 x 379 mm Made in: Japan Hen’s Teeth (10 rarest): 4
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A wristwatch-sized radio
was the sort of gadget youngsters back in the 60s and 70s would have given
their eye-teeth for. Transistors had revolutionised radio design but the idea of having one so tiny that you could
strap it to your wrist was pure science fiction. Yet, amazingly,
there were several models, including a variant of the infamous 
Of course the classic 60s
and 70s record player has always been the Dansette, though I must say that I
don’t recall knowing anyone who actually owned one. Most of my contemporaries
either used their parent’s stereograms to play their records, or if they were
lucky enough to have a portable record player of their own, the chances are it
was cheapo model made by the likes of Pye, Philips, HMV and Fidelity.
In the same way that personal media players and mobile phones are
standard kit for today’s teens, then back in the 60s you were nowhere man
unless you had a tranny. Most of us had to put up with fairly basic cheapie
pocket size medium wave jobbies but if you had rich parents you might have one
of these, a 2-wave MW/LW model. It was a bit like owning a no-nameMP3 player
when all of your mates had 4Gb iPods… The thing about long wave reception was
that it allowed you to hear Radio Luxembourg a whole lot better than the
notoriously unreliable medium wave signal on 208 metres.
The Music Centre was a
classic piece of seventies technology. It was a complete home hi-fi system in a
single box, well, three boxes, if you count the separate speakers. It was the
natural successor to radiograms of the fifties and sixties, which were more
often than not large unwieldy wooden boxes, usually designed more as a piece of
furniture than hi-fi equipment.