First Portable Radio
Richard Knoppow
don't mean simply a radio which worked on batteries because
many of the earliest ones did that. I mean a radio which was
specifically designed as a carry around.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dick...@ix.netcom.com
D. Peter Maus
> Does anyone know who made the first portable radio. I
> don't mean simply a radio which worked on batteries because
> many of the earliest ones did that. I mean a radio which was
> specifically designed as a carry around.
>
>
Likely Zenith. Shortly after incorporation. 1923. 1924.
philo
> On 11/26/09 01:36 , Richard Knoppow wrote:
>> Does anyone know who made the first portable radio. I
>> don't mean simply a radio which worked on batteries because
>> many of the earliest ones did that. I mean a radio which was
>> specifically designed as a carry around.
>>
>>
>
> Likely Zenith. Shortly after incorporation. 1923. 1924.
>
>
I've got a book that shows a picture of a *portable* spark gap setup
that was used during WW-I
Of course it weighed several hundred pounds and had to be transported by
mule!
could not find a photo on-line but here is some documentation
Bill M
> Does anyone know who made the first portable radio. I
> don't mean simply a radio which worked on batteries because
> many of the earliest ones did that. I mean a radio which was
> specifically designed as a carry around.
There's a very good thread about 1920's portables running on ARF right now.
http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=121673
Zeroing in on the "first" one could be tough. There were portable
radios used in WW One but that was in the days before consumer-oriented
broadcasting.
-Bill
D. Peter Maus
> D. Peter Maus wrote:
>> On 11/26/09 01:36 , Richard Knoppow wrote:
>>> Does anyone know who made the first portable radio. I
>>> don't mean simply a radio which worked on batteries because
>>> many of the earliest ones did that. I mean a radio which was
>>> specifically designed as a carry around.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Likely Zenith. Shortly after incorporation. 1923. 1924.
>>
>>
>
>
> I've got a book that shows a picture of a *portable* spark gap setup
> that was used during WW-I
>
> Of course it weighed several hundred pounds and had to be transported by
> mule!
>
My BC-794 Super Pro has handles on it. Does that qualify?
Tom Biasi
>
> My BC-794 Super Pro has handles on it. Does that qualify?
>
Don't you know that anything with a handle qualifies as portable.
Tom
Jeffrey D Angus
> My BC-794 Super Pro has handles on it. Does that qualify?
Reminds me of the 21" black and white GE TV sets from the '60s.
They'd put a suitcase handle on the top and call it a portable.
Jeff
--
�Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.�
Frank Leahy, Head coach, Notre Dame 1941-1954
Michael A. Terrell
Jeffrey D Angus wrote:
>
> D. Peter Maus wrote:
> > My BC-794 Super Pro has handles on it. Does that qualify?
>
> Reminds me of the 21" black and white GE TV sets from the '60s.
> They'd put a suitcase handle on the top and call it a portable.
Cheap suitcase handles that would break if you actually carried the
set very far. Some snapped, just trying to pick the set up. Of course,
the thin plastic lasted through the warranty.
--
The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary!
Michael A. Terrell
Like that 100 pound Ampex 1" R-R video tape recorder I had, with
coffin handles that slid out both ends so two people could carry it. :(
Brenda Ann
"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.t...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:wLmdnRTz6dKAU5PW...@earthlink.com...
Ooh... I had one of those back in the mid 70's.. monochrome (but would pass
color). What was it? 600 series or something like that?
Barbara
wrote:
> "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terr...@earthlink.net> wrote in messagenews:wLmdnRTz6dKAU5PW...@earthlink.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Tom Biasi wrote:
>
> >> > My BC-794 Super Pro has handles on it. Does that qualify?
>
> >> Don't you know that anything with a handle qualifies as portable.
> >> Tom
>
> > Like that 100 pound Ampex 1" R-R video tape recorder I had, with
> > coffin handles that slid out both ends so two people could carry it. :(
>
> > --
> > The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary!
>
> Ooh... I had one of those back in the mid 70's.. monochrome (but would pass
> color). What was it? 600 series or something like that?
The Radiola 24 was advertised as a portable in 1925, I have seen an ad
with a couple at the beach with the radio.
Michael A. Terrell
Sorry, but I don't remember the model number. It was a monochrome
model, though. It had too many problems to troubleshoot without a
manual, and disappeared from the warehouse where it was stored while I
tried to find information. I was at the Dayton hamfest one year and was
about to leave on Sunday afternoon. I was walking towards the parking
area when a vendor stopped me and asked if I wanted some 1" video tape.
I needed some to work on that machine so i said sure. He gave me a dozen
or so reels in boxes, labeled university of Indiana and started laughing
as I walked off. I found out why. They were the original masters,
transferred from 16 mm B&W film for the Kinsey Institute. They had been
transferred to U-matic and were tossed out.
It was a series of tapes to desensitize doctors to patients sexual
problems. I didn't know that until I loaded the first tape. The machine
ran through the intro, and barely a few seconds of hard core before the
control relays started to chatter, and it died. I didn't know porn could
kill a VTR that fast. I found some other tape, but could never get the
thing to work after that. :)
Jim Mueller
> Does anyone know who made the first portable radio. I don't mean simply
> a radio which worked on batteries because many of the earliest ones did
> that. I mean a radio which was specifically designed as a carry around.
There were many "one-off" portables built as demo units and by
experimenters. However, there are two contenders for the first
commercially made portable. These are the Zenith Companion and the
Westburr Six. It's not clear which of these went on the market first
although the Westburr was advertised first in trade magazines. The
Zenith was the first to be advertised nationally. The year was 1924.
This information is from the book "The Portable Radio in American Life"
by Michael Brian Schiffer, pages 74 and 75. They were chosen according
to his definition of a "portable radio": one that was completely self-
contained including batteries, speaker, and antenna, and which could be
played with the case closed while being carried around.
All of the commercially made "portables" before these either had external
batteries or required an external antenna and ground, frequently both.
--
Jim Mueller wron...@nospam.com
To get my real email address, replace wrongname with dadoheadman.
Then replace nospam with fastmail. Lastly, replace com with us.
Richard Knoppow
"Jim Mueller" <wron...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:0087bae8$0$1450$c3e...@news.astraweb.com...
Thanks, that definition is pretty much what I think of
as a portable.
Richard Knoppow
"Barbara" <quil...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5558ee1f-b4c2-4209...@m3g2000yqf.googlegroups.com...
Thats getting there. This was not a quiz question but a
curiousity. I've worked on a couple of much later portables,
both Zenith Transoceanics of various ages in the recent past
so I got curious.
Unrevealed Source
"Richard Knoppow" <dick...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:Ft-dnbgdYd6PrZPW...@earthlink.com...
I finished reading "The Portable Radio in American Life" last year, which
specifically discusses the drive for portability. There wasn't really a
"first", as the definition of portable was a moving target. The Holy Grail,
of course, was the "shirtpocket" radio, which never quite became a
possibility with tubes, although there were several "coat pocket" tube
radios.
But there were portable radios far earlier, from the early days of radio, if
you count something that could be transported with horse and wagon as
"portable".
terry
wrote:
> "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terr...@earthlink.net> wrote in messagenews:wLmdnRTz6dKAU5PW...@earthlink.com...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Tom Biasi wrote:
>
> >> > My BC-794 Super Pro has handles on it. Does that qualify?
>
> >> Don't you know that anything with a handle qualifies as portable.
> >> Tom
>
> > Like that 100 pound Ampex 1" R-R video tape recorder I had, with
> > coffin handles that slid out both ends so two people could carry it. :(
>
> > --
> > The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary!
>
> Ooh... I had one of those back in the mid 70's.. monochrome (but would pass
>
> - Show quoted text -
Yes: Colour TV was designed and required to be 'backwards compatible'
so the existing black and white sets could receive and display it.
Pity digital TV signals are not backwards compatible to existing
analog!
Our used $25 TV that required a $4 part to fix some five or six years
ago is working fine and looks set for another few years.
D. Peter Maus
Helluva Walkman. And that extension cord makes strutting down
Michigan Avenue more than a bit of a challenge, but...Ok..I'm with you.
buzz
The RCA AR812 was also advertised as portable. It does have a handle on
top but at 34 inches long and carrying two B batteries and three A
batteries in each end compartment, it would take two men and an army
mule to "portable" it very far.
Alan Douglas
1923 and advertised in December. The Westburr was advertised in
February 1924; the Zenith Companion in May 1924. I will leave it as
an exercise for the reader, to guess where Zenith's idea came from.
(hint: these were all Chicago companies). A good many Operadio 2s
were sold, and still exist.
My definition of "portable radio" is self-contained with antenna,
batteries, and speaker. If you allow for external devices, portable
sets go back to the 1890s.
There were a couple of one-offs made at the Bureau of Standards in
1921 and 22, but they were not production radios.
Alan
Michael A. Terrell
terry wrote:
>
> On Nov 26, 5:21 pm, "Brenda Ann" <newsgro...@fullspectrumradio.org>
> wrote:
> > "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terr...@earthlink.net> wrote in messagenews:wLmdnRTz6dKAU5PW...@earthlink.com...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > Tom Biasi wrote:
> >
> > >> > My BC-794 Super Pro has handles on it. Does that qualify?
> >
> > >> Don't you know that anything with a handle qualifies as portable.
> > >> Tom
> >
> > > Like that 100 pound Ampex 1" R-R video tape recorder I had, with
> > > coffin handles that slid out both ends so two people could carry it. :(
> >
> > > --
> > > The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary!
> >
> > Ooh... I had one of those back in the mid 70's.. monochrome (but would pass
> > color). What was it? 600 series or something like that?- Hide quoted text -
> >
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Yes: Colour TV was designed and required to be 'backwards compatible'
> so the existing black and white sets could receive and display it.
The same can't be said for video tape equipment. It took a lot of
additional circuitry to handle color to record, and some to play back.
Richard Knoppow
still in use. The velocity compensators for color took up a
lot of space. Ampex actually made "portable" 2" quadraplex
recorders. I remember seeing them at NAB shows but I don't
think I ever saw one in use. Video recording has come a very
long way.
Bill Baka
used a huge (VS-048?) battery in them that nearly doubled their weight.
I had one vintage about 1952 when I was about ten years old in 1958.
Before that, I have no clue.
The Japanese "Rocket radio" was a really big seller after Sputnik and
our attempts to get something up there. That was perhaps the ultimate
portable.
Bill Baka
Michael A. Terrell
Richard Knoppow wrote:
>
> When I started in the TV business 2 inch machines were
> still in use. The velocity compensators for color took up a
> lot of space. Ampex actually made "portable" 2" quadraplex
> recorders. I remember seeing them at NAB shows but I don't
> think I ever saw one in use. Video recording has come a very
> long way.
The 2" Ampex machines were being phased out in '72 & '73 at Ft.
Rucker, Alabama and replaced with Tektronix branded Sony U-Matics. A lot
of military training video was produced there, by the ETV section. They
still had their mobile production tractor/trailer with 2" Ampex
equipment. It was still in use when I left the base, and I don't know
when that was upgraded. I only got to see the studios & control rooms
while installing the first emergency alert system that allowed ETV to
take control of the civilian CATV service, on base for emergencies.
After it was proven to work, the concept was installed at most US
military bases.
mike s
> Does anyone know who made the first portable radio. I
> don't mean simply a radio which worked on batteries because
> many of the earliest ones did that. I mean a radio which was
> specifically designed as a carry around.
>
That would be Heinrich Hertz in 1886, since his early experiments used
a portable receiver. No batteries or valves required, just a loop of
wire with a gap. Portable spark gap transmitters and receivers were
used by all the early experimenters.
I think there have always been portable sets since the earliest days,
e.g. crystal sets with an aerial lead that can be wound up when not in
use.
> --
> Richard Knoppow
> Los Angeles
> WB6KBL
Jim Mueller
The Operadio was indeed earlier and it was self contained. However, to
use it, you had to attach the loop antenna contained in the cover. This
made it impossible to carry while listening to it. This is from "The
Portable Radio in American Life" page 72.
It all comes down to how you define "portable".
Alan Douglas
>> for the reader, to guess where Zenith's idea came from. (hint: these
>> were all Chicago companies). A good many Operadio 2s were sold, and
>> still exist.
>>
>> My definition of "portable radio" is self-contained with antenna,
>> batteries, and speaker. If you allow for external devices, portable
>> sets go back to the 1890s.
>>
>> There were a couple of one-offs made at the Bureau of Standards in 1921
>> and 22, but they were not production radios.
>>
>> Alan
>
>The Operadio was indeed earlier and it was self contained. However, to
>use it, you had to attach the loop antenna contained in the cover. This
>made it impossible to carry while listening to it. This is from "The
>Portable Radio in American Life" page 72.
>
>It all comes down to how you define "portable".
>
>--
>Jim Mueller wron...@nospam.com
Okay, where is the carrying handle when the Transoceanic models 1000
and 3000 antennas are extended? I guess those aren't portables
either.
Alan
frenchy
> I've got a book that shows a picture of a *portable* spark gap setup
> that was used during WW-I
> > Of course it weighed several hundred pounds and had to be transported by
> mule!>
It included a hernia truss as standard equipment : )
David P.
>
> The Radiola 24 was advertised as a portable in 1925, I've
> seen an ad with a couple at the beach with the radio.
Radiola V, May 1923:
http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/30377179/aview/radio-rca2.JPG
http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/30377179/aview/radio-rca2a.JPG
.
.
--
dke...@hotmail.com
> Richard Knoppow wrote:
> > "Barbara" <quiltn...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
Hi
The AR-812 was not a complete portable. It had a separate speaker.
The Radiola 24 had a built in speaker as well as battery compartment.
Both had built in antennas.
Dwight