Japanese Transistor Radios

To paraphrase Allan Sherman, he was given a Nakashuma Mark IV, which was discontinued. It has a leather carrying case with holes in it so you can listen right through it. It also has a thing which you could stick one end in your ear, but you can't stick the other end anywhere because it's broken.

Transistor sets were all the rage in the late 50's. Those of us who couldn't afford them could hope to get a Rocket Radio. I got mine in 1957. I can still remember hearing "Thunder Road" by Robert Mitchum on that set, along with other popular songs of that time.

In 1962, my sister finally got her first transistor as a grade school graduation present. I had to buy my own. I still remember going to get it. The price on the box was $39.95, but it was on sale for $8.88. Like all radios then, it came in a box big enough to hold the radio and the leather case side-by-side, with cutouts for the battery and they teeny-tiny pouch for the earphone. What I remember the most vividly is dad coming to my room to collect the cost of the radio. All my money tied up in one thing.

Here are some other radios from around that era:


This is one OLD set. I didn't get the back cover with it, but it's the only pocket set I've seen with a sideways PC board.

This Portalarm radio had a modified wristwatch built into the front. When the alarm time arrived, the radio came on. The stem on the top was used to wind the watch.

I had several 2-transistor radios, but they didn't seem collectible back then. Like all sets of this type, it uses a reflex circuit.

I have seen several radios in this shape which were restored to look showroom-new. I'll have to try my hand at it.


This Realtone is one of the last radios to come with a carrying case. By this time, the cases were of poor quality.

In spite of the different brands on the front, all of these radios were made by Toshiba. One of the cutest micro radios. One of these was able to pick up a Minnesota station from Central New York without any external antenna.

This Toshiba 7TP-352 radio not only had a reverse plastic front, but a short-wave band. It also had all of the accessories still in the box.

The Ross is not a particularly collectible set, but I used to work for a repair shop which did Ross warranty repairs, among others. So far, I have only collected two sets.
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