Telefunken Radio 1950

[Faith Lienhard]

Im no expert, but both the Mains sets with VHF-FM and especially the Battery portables from 1950 to 1960+ seem far better styling than most UK versions and often seem more advanced no matter which German maker or Philips is chosen.

Are any really left today? Grundig is no more, just a brand label. Philips has retreated to pre 1912 Lighting and also health care. They are leaving TV & Radio (though the badge may continue a while).

Today you can't buy a decent portable or table radio at all. Sets have poor ergonomics, tiny yet boomy loudspeakers, often even lacking LW as Asians build for a lowest common denominator world market and so called "quality" brands make sets for "local" Radio only with DAB and VHF-FM only, that assume all your stations are preset memories.

Starting with FM and with the better Sound Quality compared to AM, also the AF side ( and Loudspeakers ) improved, and Radios got equipped with "Klangregister" ( a 3 to 5 Pushbotton Assembly to adjust for different Sound, similar to an Equalizer function ).

There are also mechanical things, like Autotuning Systems ( Saba Automatik ) of Motor driven Station Memory ( some Grundig and Philips Models ). These Systems need special mechanical attention, to keep them running, and SABA Automatik will not work ( properly ) on 60Hz AC.

If You look for best Sound, it is a good Idea to look for Radios with 2x EL84, or EL12 Output Stage, and for a 3D ( Speakers in Front and both sides ). Make shure, that the original Speakers are still in the Radio.

Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektrizitts-Gesellschaft (AEG) ("General electricity company").Prior to World War I, the company set up the first world wide network of communications[1] and was the first in the world to sell electronic televisions with cathode ray tubes, in Germany in 1934.[2][3]

Around the start of the 20th century, two groups of German researchers worked on the development of techniques for wireless communication. The one group at AEG, led by Adolf Slaby and Georg Graf von Arco, developed systems for the Kaiserliche Marine; the other one, under Karl Ferdinand Braun, at Siemens, for the German Army. Their main competitor was the British Marconi Company.

When a dispute concerning patents arose between the two companies, Kaiser Wilhelm II urged both parties to join efforts, creating Gesellschaft fr drahtlose Telegraphie System Telefunken ("The Company for Wireless Telegraphy Ltd.") joint venture on 27 May 1903, with the disputed patents and techniques invested in it. On 17 April 1923, it was renamed Telefunken, The Company for Wireless Telegraphy. Telefunken was the company's telegraphic address. The first technical director of Telefunken was Count Georg von Arco.

Telefunken rapidly became a major player in the radio and electronics fields, both civilian and military. Prior to World War I the company set up the first world wide network of communications[1] and during the war they supplied radio sets and telegraphy equipment for the military, as well as building one of the first radio navigation systems for the Zeppelin force. The Telefunken Kompass Sender operated from 1908 to 1918, allowing the Zeppelins to navigate throughout the North Sea area in any weather.

In 1911 Telefunken built a wireless station in West Sayville just north of the Long Island Rail Road tracks. A 500 foot tower that could be raised and lowered rose from a ball and socket joint atop a concrete foundation. It was completed in 1912 and wireless messages could then be transmitted to a similar tower in Nauen 3,500 miles away. From August 1, 1914, until April 6, 1917, the United States monitored messages sent over the Telefunken wireless and the United States Marine Corps guarded the station. After the U.S. declared war the station was sealed off, the wire fence surrounding it was charged with electricity, and floodlights were placed throughout. After World War I it was taken over by Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company and later the Federal Aviation Administration. Presently it is not in use by anyone and it was demolished in 1938.[6]

Starting in 1923, Telefunken built broadcast transmitters and radio sets. In 1928, Telefunken made history by designing the V-41 amplifier for the German Radio Network. This was the very first two-stage, "Hi-Fi" amplifier. Over time, Telefunken perfected their designs and in 1950 the V-72 amplifier was developed. The TAB (a manufacturing subcontractor to Telefunken) V-72 soon became popular with other radio stations and recording facilities. The V-72S was the only type of amplifier found in the REDD.37 console used by the Beatles at Abbey Road Studios on many of their early recordings. In 1932, record players were added to the product line.

In 1941, Siemens transferred its Telefunken shares to AEG as part of the agreements known as the "Telefunken settlement", and AEG thus became the sole owner and continued to lead Telefunken as a subsidiary (starting in 1955 as "Telefunken GmbH" and from 1963 as "Telefunken AG").

During the Second World War, Telefunken was a supplier of vacuum tubes, transmitters and radio relay systems, and developed Funkmess facilities (later referred to as radar devices by the US Navy) and directional finders, as part of the German air defence against aerial bombing. During the war, manufacturing plants were shifted to and developed in west of Germany or relocated. Thus, Telefunken, under AEG, turned into the smaller subsidiary, with the three divisions realigning and data processing technology, elements as well as broadcast, television and phono. Telefunken was also the originator of the FM radio broadcast system. Telefunken, through the subsidiary company Teldec (a joint venture with Decca Records), was for many decades one of the largest German record companies, until Teldec was sold to WEA in 1988.

In 1959, Telefunken established a modern semiconductor works in Heilbronn, where in April 1960 production began. The works was expanded several times, and in 1970 a new 6-storey building was built at the northern edge of the area. At the beginning of the 1970s it housed approximately 2,500 employees.

The mainframe computer TR 4[7] was developed at Telefunken in Backnang, and the TR 440 [de] model was developed at Telefunken in Konstanz, including the first ball-based mouse named Rollkugel in 1968.[8] The computers were in use at many German university computing centres from the 1970s to around 1985. The development and manufacture of large computers was separated in 1974 to the Konstanz Computer Company (CGK). The production of mini- and process computers was integrated into the automatic control engineering division of AEG. When AEG was bought by Daimler in 1985, "Telefunken" was dropped from the company name.

In 2005, Telefunken Sender Systeme Berlin changed its name to Transradio SenderSysteme Berlin AG. The name "Transradio" dates back to 1918, when Transradio was founded as a subsidiary of Telefunken. A year later, in 1919, Transradio made history by introducing duplex transmission. Transradio has specialized in research, development and design of modern AM, VHF/FM and DRM broadcasting systems.

In August 2006, it was acquired by the Turkish company Profilo Telra, one of the largest European manufacturers of TV-devices, with brand-owner Telefunken Licenses GmbH granting a license for the Telefunken trademark rights and producing televisions under that name.

In 2000, Toni Roger Fishman acquired the diamond-shaped logo and the Telefunken brand name from Telefunken Licenses for use in North America. The company "Telefunken USA" [1] was incorporated in early 2001 to provide restoration services and build exact reproductions of vintage Telefunken microphones. In 2003, Telefunken USA won a TEC Award for Studio Microphone Technology for their exact reproduction of the original Ela M 250 / 251 Microphone system. Telefunken USA has since received several TEC Awards nominations for the following microphone systems: the Telefunken USA M12 or C12 (originally developed by AKG), the R-F-T M16 MkII, and the AK47. The Historic Telefunken Ela M251 microphone system entered the MIX foundation's Hall of fame in 2006. In 2008, Telefunken USA won a second TEC Award for its new Ela M 260 microphone.

As a result of a conference held in Frankfurt in May 2009, Telefunken USA has been renamed Telefunken Elektroakustik ("Electrical Acoustics") Division of Telefunken and awarded the exclusive rights to manufacture a wide variety of professional audio products and vacuum tubes bearing the Telefunken trademark in over 27 countries. Telefunken Elektroakustik now uses the Telefunken trademark for professional audio equipment and component-based electronics, such as capacitors, transformers, vacuum tubes in Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America.

The old Telefunken company had produced an extensive product spectrum of devices and systems from 1903 to 1996. Common characteristics are the authority for high frequency and communications technology and the construction unit and infrastructure technology necessary for it. Among other things:

During the Second World War, there were further manufacturing plants in the Berlin area, in Thuringia, Saxony, Moravia, Silesia, on Rgen. In addition, in Baltic countries at Tallinn and Riga, and in occupied areas of Poland at Krakw and Łdź, floats and works were established. The vacuum tube factory Łdź was shifted with the staff in August 1944 to Ulm (Fortress Wilhelmsburg).

There's a bit of history behind this radio. It was purchased in 1956 by WilliamSchwann, creator of the famous Schwann recording catalogand presented as a gift to a young lady he was dating at the time. I bought it fromthe owner in 2011, in Massachusetts.

The Schwann catalog was published for more than 50 years. In its heyday, youcould find a copy in virtually every record store in the United States, andmany others worldwide. As vinyl recordings fell out of favor, so did thecatalog, which ceased publication in 2001.

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