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TRANSISTOR RADIOS
Satisfying as crystal radios are -- it really is something for nothing -- the need for a long aerial and the lack of volume tended to limit their appeal (and portability) somewhat.
Every kid wanted one, mainly to be able to listen to Radio Luxembourg and later the offshore pirate stations, which at the time were the only source of decent music. One day I hope someone will do some proper research into the sociological impact of the transistor radio...
I recall saving up for months from my paper round and doing odd jobs to
buy my first one. I don’t remember exactly how much it cost but I suspect it
was more than a fiver, which according to the now sadly out of date ‘What is it
worth today’ website (http://www.eh.net/hmit/),
would have been worth over £150 at 2002 prices (the last year it covers), which
puts it into the same price bracket as an iPod today.
Despite my best efforts -- at that time mostly confined to prodding and
wiggling components -- it never worked again. I would dearly love to replace it
but I’ve never seen another one. I
have found several quite like it, though, and my current favourite is a
little
Hitachi TH-620 (above). As with so many of my most recent finds it came from
ebay and is definitely worth a lot more than the £3.50 I paid for it
.It is a real gem, still in its
original box, in fact it looks as though it has hardly been out of it.
The leather case is in perfect condition and it still has the original
earphone in its carry pouch, and yes, it works. The
next radio is badged Viscount (above). It's a bit tatty and I’m
including it as an example of what's available to budding collectors of
sixties technology on a tight budget. It cost me ten pence at a car
boot sale and at that price it really doesn’t
matter if it works or no as it can be useful for spares. As it turned
out this one was a runner and all it needed was a quick wipe over
with Mr Sheen. There’s plenty more like it out there but,
not maybe for much longer as 60's ephemera has become highly
collectible. You have been
warned!
Early Micromatics used then state of the art metal alloy transistors (MATs), which were notoriously delicate and easily damaged. There were three of them in the Mk1 radios and the one pictured (below right) could be one of the few in captivity that actually works. The crude regenerative circuit with its postage stamp trimmer can only pick out one or two stations but you really can hear something in the earphone (apart from your hair growing) providing you are within half a mile of a powerful transmitter. The Mk II model came out a year or two later and it has two silicon transistors. These are more stable with higher gain so later Micromatics are more likely to work (and easier to repair if they don't) but I still prefer the cruder Mk1 for its novelty and rarity value.
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Micromatics turn up every so often on ebay but they are now
fetching silly prices. I’ve seen rough ones go for upwards of £60, an unbuilt kit
sold recently for almost £200, so if you’ve got one tucked away somewhere look after it.