(How the factory looked in 1990 - thanks to Don Pies). However, a small IndianapolisĬompany, the Regency Division of Industrial Development Engineering Associates (I.D.E.A.,Īt 7900 Pendleton Pike, Indianapolis 26, Indiana, telephone: CHerry 2466) was especially interested Vacuum tube era), but they expressed little interest in selling transistor (or "transistorized") radios. In 1954, Texas Instruments approached RCA (and other prominent radio manufacturers of the The story of naming the transistor is interesting. Nick Holonyak, is the inventor of the LED (light emitting diode),Īlthough it's not mentioned in the video. There are many famous people interviewed. Be sure to watch all six portions of the video if you There is a very entertaining and exceptionally well done PBS ![]() (this is possibly the first published "do-it-yourself" article, and uses a point-contactĪnd 3 ( Radio & Television News, January, 1950, p.38).įirst advertisements for the transistor itself " The News of Radio" column on J(p.46, see blue outlined section).Įxperimenters would present their own circuits for the public to try On June 30, 1948, with the New York Times carrying the news in their entertainment-oriented 2, 1956, p.1).īell Labs had officially announced the invention (and demonstrated a "transistor radio") Would forever be famous for their work on this miracle component, winning a Shockley (seated), Bardeen (glasses) and Brattain, Was generally superceded by the more easily manufactured Quirky device was limited to the narrow hearing aid market.īy this time, the original point-contact transistor While the transistor (the component, not the radio) was invented several years earlier atīell Telephone Laboratories in the USA, the non-military application for the sometimes Interested in finding a wide market for their newest electronic component, the transistor. IRE, June, 1955, p.162A), in the early 1950s, was especially (Somewhat similar-looking, but different, radios produced later are the It was produced in 10 (or possibly 11) colors (see below) of various scarcity. About 100,000 were sold in the next 12 months at $49.95. In the United States (no, not Japan) for just one year The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially-sold transistor radio, and was theįirst widely-sold transistorized product. If you're looking for repair info, see my separate Here are some nice photos of four extremely rare pearlescent TR-1s: Good stuff! The author, Bob Simcoe, was interviewed on National Public Radio onĢ.1 MB interview (mp3 file). They show some of the radios from my collection, including I supplied the photos! (Link to theīackground on the radio and tell the story of its development. Incredible!Īnd some people believe that the TR-1 looks somewhat like another "popular electronic device!" By the way, after this mention my site received 798,000 hits in the next 36 hours (at peak it was about 20 hits per second)! Long lost film of the Regency TR-1 factory, circa 1955. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in London called meĪnnouncement of the TR-1. And the coincidence of the radio's introductionĪnd the emergence of rock and roll music around the same time is fascinating. Opinion), and further demonstrated the significance of engineeringĪnd technology in the 20th century. ![]() It was the first widely sold transistorized consumer product, hadīeautiful and daring styling for the time (styling that still holds up, in my There's an allure to the Regency TR-1 transistor radio that can't be denied. ![]() Why?īecause in 1954 it was the world's " first pocket radio!" That's what an original Regency advertisement said about the TR-1.
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