Wrist Radio
Posted on June 9, 2010
On this night in late spring here in the midwaste, I mean, midwest, I suddenly recalled a couple of early day experiences back when I was a pimple faced announcer at the local FM just before the medium became popular.
It was (guess) 1961 when the first transistor AM/FM/SW receiver arrived, German made. It was physically beautiful at about 10″wide-by-7″high-by-3.5″deep, with royal blue art plastic pasted over a wood crafted case. The transistors inside were the silver can type not seen anymore. It was very sensitive, but there was a problem with audio distortion.
Next, about 1964, I saw an ad somewhere for a wrist AM/FM radio from (I think) Timex. I had mine right away and it certainly tuned in the stations on the tiniest speaker ever imagined, but the sensitivity was borderline and the level very miniature, so I returned and was given an honest refund.
Around the same time a Japanese AM/FM car radio went on sale at an oddball electronics store and I had mine somehow tapped into the car’s wiring, but it also had amplifier problems.
From crude beginnings we have all arrived wherever now is.
