Collecting, restoring, and repairing transistor radios can be a fun, rewarding, and profitable hobby.
It is generally accepted that the first practical transistor radio to be mass produced for consumers was the Regency TR-1, introduced to the world in the fall of 1954 at a cost of $49.
95USD.
People were soon fascinated with these little plastic boxes that they could take with them to listen to news and entertainment from nearly anywhere.
Thousands of TR-1s were produced, and before long, some big-name companies such as Sony, General Electric, RCA, Toshiba, and others came on the scene with their own unique models of these small radio receivers.
The popularity continued, and literally millions of transistor radios have been made from the mid 1950s through the present.
There are simple pocket radios; High-Performance radios; Multiband radios; and Novelty radios which were often produced and marketed in order to advertise other products or services, much like pens or t-shirts or hats.
A lot of novelty radios are miniature look-alikes of the products which they advertise.
Today, transistor radio collecting has become a wonderful way to capture some of the style and meaning of yesteryear.
Radios were often designed to reflect a certain style or fad while providing functionality too.
If you know what to look for then you can often find some valuable and interesting pieces for your collection.
For example, a few post-1964 and nearly all pre-1964 transistor radios have on their frequency dials two triangle-shaped symbols known as CD or Civil Defense markings.
These marks were used to quickly locate the frequencies of 640kc and 1240kc in the event of disaster or emergency as part of the old CONELRAD system.
Since the CONELRAD system was retired in mid 1963, you can get an approximate idea of the age of your radio by looking for the triangle markings.
Good online sources for collectable radios include eBay and Shopgoodwill.
com.
There are also many other sites devoted to radio collecting and trading, and a search with your favorite search engine using terms such as Transistor Radio or the more-targeted Transistor Radios For Sale will usually produce good results.
Offline sources include garage sales, flea markets, second-hand stores, and antique shops.
Vintage and/or novelty transistor radios can also make great and sometimes unique gifts.