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Jaw....dropped....

Archguy

Archguy

Official Roiurama Factory Rep
Subscriber
royal500_7_front.JPG


This tiny little transistor radio cost $75 in 1957. That's over $655 in constant dollars.

http://www.transistor-repairs.com/1957.html

By 1960, many American transistor radio manufacturers such as Magnavox, RCA, Channel Master, and others had stopped domestic manufacturing. They had begun importing foreign manufactured radios under their trade name. Zenith transistor radio division continued its "all American radios by American workers."
Click to expand...

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And this one? $1570 in today's money. Wow.
They were luxury items...which I had never known.

http://www.transistor-repairs.com/1960.html
 
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Transistor radios were fairly new technology in 1957, and relatively expensive, but more important is the difference in the way tech has wormed its way into every aspect of our lives today. Not so in 1957. Back then, most homes would have had a tube radio that was not portable, MAYBE a TV, and this transistor radio would have given them a portable option. So when you compare this $655 investment to what we spend today on our home entertainment centers, computers, TVs, cell phones, tablets, etc. etc., it seems a pretty reasonable and justifiable chunk of the household budget.
 
Archguy said:
royal500_7_front.JPG


This tiny little transistor radio cost $75 in 1957. That's over $655 in constant dollars.

http://www.transistor-repairs.com/1957.html



royal2000.JPG


And this one? $1570 in today's money. Wow.
They were luxury items...which I had never known.

http://www.transistor-repairs.com/1960.html
Click to expand...

Yea and look a the price of a new iPhone...

IPods were hundreads of dollars 10 years back, and remember the first flat screens? I remember people spending thousands of dollars on them. Some 30-40K... lol the funny thing is that was only 10-12 years ago!

Cool thread!
 
Zenith always spelled quality in our family. My grandparents on both sides enjoyed their products, and that's what I first came in contact with beyond el cheapo stuff from Radio Shack or Woolco. It's still nice today.
 
I'm a big fan of Zenith Transoceanic radios. These are mine:

DSC_5263.JPG
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Both are in unrestored original condition but fully working (though I've done minor repairs on the upper unit, above), and in need of minor cosmetic work (and upgrades to the lower unit) that I'll get to eventually.

In their day, they essentially occupied roughly the same notional investment of personal income as buying a personal computer, good stereo, or home theatre setup.
 
Archguy said:
royal500_7_front.JPG


This tiny little transistor radio cost $75 in 1957. That's over $655 in constant dollars.

http://www.transistor-repairs.com/1957.html



royal2000.JPG


And this one? $1570 in today's money. Wow.
They were luxury items...which I had never known.

http://www.transistor-repairs.com/1960.html
Click to expand...

The AM/FM radio looks identical to the one I have in my basement. It works like a champ and sounds very good. I adopted it years ago when my in-laws were preparing to sell my wife's grandfather's house. They were going to put it to the curb with the trash until I spoke up.
 
I have a lot of early transistor radios I restored, most are in storage.

This is a 1973 Sony, 4R-51, described in the catalogue as a "High performance handsome portable"

Of particular note is the speaker manufacturer- look at the pic of the inside :)

IMG_1721.JPG

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Note the date code on the speaker- July 1973. And no, I haven't re-capped it with Silmics or Fine Golds, it works just fine the way it is. :)
 
DaveVoorhis said:
I'm a big fan of Zenith Transoceanic radios. These are mine:

View attachment 1008455...
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They are beautiful, particularly the top one. :)

I have a Royal 7000 I picked up out of the metal recyling pile at the tip decades ago. It was a physical wreck, but remarkably due to the point to point construction, it was still functional. I kept it in the hopes I'd find another that needed parts. Never seen one since.

Here are Sony's blatant efforts to copy the Trans Oceanic style in the 1973 catalogue. They called theirs "Earth Orbiter"

scan091.jpg scan090.jpg scan096.jpg scan097.jpg scan094.jpg scan095.jpg

Sadly for Zenith, Sony's copying efforts and ultimately producing superior products, meant the end of the Trans Oceanic.
 
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trinhsman said:
They were 1 dollar. My Mom used to get these for me. They would work for about for five months before they quit on me . When they quit I just bug her and she would go get me another one . I love those rocket radios .
Click to expand...
The Rochelle salt crystal earhone was somewhat fragile and hydrophilic, humidity would eventually ruin them.
 
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