Nice old radio. The old electrolytic caps in these were covered with paper and just crimped at the ends like that 100 mfd at the right side of the circuit board. This allows the electrolyte to evaporate over time. The other 2 at the bottom of the board were wax dipped. A little bit better sealing method, but not much as the wax will dry out and become brittle with age. Very interesting old set. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Its in almost perfect condition for a 1956 transistor radio. I was born in 58 but I think your radio is in better condition 😉 Still, I love the, colours, style and design of the 50s, it was a great decade!
Thank you! A lot of beautiful things came out of the 50's, including this radio. I hope I'll be holding up as well as this radio has when I'm as old as it is now.
Many types of plastics were in their infancy and being developed with different compositions as experiments for durability, flexibility etc. But little was known about effects of UV light and temperature cycling as is known today.
Yeah, and it makes using superglue to fix radios a real wildcard, since sometimes it doesn't do anything, and other times it melts them or even makes smoke!
Great to see you back Matt! What a great vintage radio to come back with too. That must be rarer than hens teeth in that condition. No wonder you want to keep it as straight as possible and not go messing with the vintage internals. I've missed your videos and it's good to see you back. Thank you very much for another very interesting video. Take care bye for now.
Thanks Peter! They do seem to be fairly rare in any condition, I have only seen a couple come up for sale in the past ~6 years I have been collecting radios.
Thanks! 1956 was a good year for transistor radios, as they were still a high-end product at the time, and a lot of effort went into their designs. I hope you stay safe too!
I like Sony's vintage stuff also, we have a portable battery operated Sony am-fm radio, it's white/off white in color and it seems to be used, was used to put in ones car, it just slided into place , I seen advertising for it, it sounds good also, it came from an old Electronic tv repair place.
That Sony is in really nice shape and was competition with the TR-1 by Regency I bet here in the states. So much was amazing back then with tubes to transistors. So cool with the trans logo too. Would love to see the schematic for that 6 transistor beauty! Thx 4 sharing and nice job taking us inside.
Thanks! This model was apparently not sold in the USA so it did not compete with the TR-1, but it was sold in Canada. I don't have a schematic for it, and apparently the circuit went through several revisions in it's short production run.
It is realy nice tho, and I bet if you could find the manual (which would include the schematic), and being Im pushing this envelope so much, the original box, it would be worth a few thousand. I bet you paid close to a grand for it. What a great find. Too bad you were not the one that new that guy that was going to toss it in the trash, I would have given him a few hundred just out of his kindness. Great review Matt. Thx
I have not even seen an original box for one of these, but I do wish this had come with the leather case, since the case for these was one of the most stylish cases I have ever seen.
I noticed that this radio appears in the 1958 short film "American Look" at around the 2:30 mark. That video is about American designed products, so I assumed it was some sort of American made radio, and I didn't suspect that it was a Sony until I saw your video and recognized the radio. That film is filled with all sorts of cool 1950's designs, but I think the only radio that appears is that Sony. At around 9:00 there is also an extreme closeup shot of what could possibly be an early Sony reel to reel tape recorder like a TC-464 but it looks a bit different.
I just found a higher definition recording of the film and it looks like the radio is actually that Hoffman solar radio K-P411 that used the same case as the Sony. I guess that would make more sense as the electronics for that one were apparently American made so it would be more appropriate for that film.
Those batteries: The red stripe looks like the Sunbeam zinc-chloride cells sold at Dollar Tree. IIWU, I wouldn't store your radio with those batteries in them. A few of them leak for no apparent reason. If you must store it with batteries, check to make sure there is zero current draw when the radio is off and use Alkaline batteries.
Hi..nice radio...I dont see any CD markings on the dial..why is that...From what I have read all radios "By law, radio sets manufactured between 1953 and 1963 had these two frequencies marked by the triangle-in-circle ("CD Mark") symbol of Civil Defense." I like all your videos...thanks...
@@50sTransistorRadios You mean an Electrodynamic Speaker, I am talking about a Electromechanical Speaker. This was used on one model, at least, of a 5-xisitor pocket radio from Japan. The use of this high-Z speaker compensated for the lack of more xsistors, and an audio output xformer
@@Jeffrey314159 It sounds like you are talking about a "reed speaker", which I have only seen in a few American radios, mostly by GE. I have a video of one here: th-cam.com/video/UwNDax8LdY0/w-d-xo.html
Hello i am aged 59 and the first materialistic thing that i had ever owed was a Sharp 6 transistor radio back in 1958-59. Believe it or not I still have it although it does not work any longer , the battery wire has been broken off during the years and the plastic body is in rather poor shape . Anybody out there know where I can find one in better cosmetic condition that is actually playing ? Ether that or a business that restores them both cosmetically and function wise.
I would suggest checking eBay, that's where I get most of my radios. Re-attaching a loose wire is pretty easy, although you would need to get a soldering iron and some solder.
Thanks , i might do what you say and attempt to repair it myself its amazing that iv held onto it for so long. I collect working Channel master 6515's on E-bay I have one that is new old stock the others have been recapped .i am just addicted to them they are beautiful Radios .
Nice old radio. The old electrolytic caps in these were covered with paper and just crimped at the ends like that 100 mfd at the right side of the circuit board. This allows the electrolyte to evaporate over time. The other 2 at the bottom of the board were wax dipped. A little bit better sealing method, but not much as the wax will dry out and become brittle with age.
Very interesting old set. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Akio Morita went to the USA personally to sell his first devices. He wrote an autobiography "Made in Japan" in the 1970s.
Thanks for the info! It's amazing how quick Sony went from unknown in the USA to a household name.
Beautiful quality radio, and I am just so happy that it is in your capable hands Matt 👍 Tam.
Thanks Tam!
This one of the nicest looking radios I have seen
Thanks Ron!
Its in almost perfect condition for a 1956 transistor radio. I was born in 58 but I think your radio is in better condition 😉 Still, I love the, colours, style and design of the 50s, it was a great decade!
Thank you! A lot of beautiful things came out of the 50's, including this radio. I hope I'll be holding up as well as this radio has when I'm as old as it is now.
Thanks for showing this beautiful vintage collection transistor radio..
Thanks for watching!
Wow what a neat looking radio! I love that deep red color. Nice find!
Thanks! The color of the plastic really is great (the translucency is probably part of that), too bad it's so brittle.
Many types of plastics were in their infancy and being developed with different compositions as experiments for durability, flexibility etc. But little was known about effects of UV light and temperature cycling as is known today.
Yeah, and it makes using superglue to fix radios a real wildcard, since sometimes it doesn't do anything, and other times it melts them or even makes smoke!
What a lovely radio. Thanks for sharing Matt
Thanks Simon!
Great to see you back Matt!
What a great vintage radio to come back with too. That must be rarer than hens teeth in that condition. No wonder you want to keep it as straight as possible and not go messing with the vintage internals. I've missed your videos and it's good to see you back. Thank you very much for another very interesting video. Take care bye for now.
Thanks Peter! They do seem to be fairly rare in any condition, I have only seen a couple come up for sale in the past ~6 years I have been collecting radios.
That is a beautiful radio!! -- Atco
Thanks Atco!
Hey buddy thanks. Nice radio, 1956 was a good crop. I, too, was born in ‘56 lol. Happy Sunday and stay safe.
Thanks! 1956 was a good year for transistor radios, as they were still a high-end product at the time, and a lot of effort went into their designs. I hope you stay safe too!
50sTransistorRadios Thanks buddy. You too snd Happy Saturday.
I like Sony's vintage stuff also, we have a portable battery operated Sony am-fm radio, it's white/off white in color and it seems to be used, was used to put in ones car, it just slided into place , I seen advertising for it, it sounds good also, it came from an old Electronic tv repair place.
Awesome quality
That Sony is in really nice shape and was competition with the TR-1 by Regency I bet here in the states. So much was amazing back then with tubes to transistors. So cool with the trans logo too. Would love to see the schematic for that 6 transistor beauty! Thx 4 sharing and nice job taking us inside.
Thanks! This model was apparently not sold in the USA so it did not compete with the TR-1, but it was sold in Canada. I don't have a schematic for it, and apparently the circuit went through several revisions in it's short production run.
It is realy nice tho, and I bet if you could find the manual (which would include the schematic), and being Im pushing this envelope so much, the original box, it would be worth a few thousand. I bet you paid close to a grand for it. What a great find. Too bad you were not the one that new that guy that was going to toss it in the trash, I would have given him a few hundred just out of his kindness. Great review Matt. Thx
I have not even seen an original box for one of these, but I do wish this had come with the leather case, since the case for these was one of the most stylish cases I have ever seen.
I noticed that this radio appears in the 1958 short film "American Look" at around the 2:30 mark. That video is about American designed products, so I assumed it was some sort of American made radio, and I didn't suspect that it was a Sony until I saw your video and recognized the radio. That film is filled with all sorts of cool 1950's designs, but I think the only radio that appears is that Sony. At around 9:00 there is also an extreme closeup shot of what could possibly be an early Sony reel to reel tape recorder like a TC-464 but it looks a bit different.
I just found a higher definition recording of the film and it looks like the radio is actually that Hoffman solar radio K-P411 that used the same case as the Sony. I guess that would make more sense as the electronics for that one were apparently American made so it would be more appropriate for that film.
Estimado, sencillamente felicitaciones desde Argentina por sus radios de coleccion son verdaderamente hermosas!! siga adelante, saludos cordiales
Thank you!
Nice and detailed review; Thanks-
Thanks Martin!
beauty.
Those batteries: The red stripe looks like the Sunbeam zinc-chloride cells sold at Dollar Tree.
IIWU, I wouldn't store your radio with those batteries in them. A few of them leak for no apparent reason.
If you must store it with batteries, check to make sure there is zero current draw when the radio is off and use Alkaline batteries.
Don't worry, I don't leave batteries in my radios when I pack them away, especially ones that are this valuable! That is a good tip though.
Almost in new condition.. Cute...
Thanks!
How about a shot of the internals of this without the shakes?
No one puts style into their products anymore. Even cheap radios had style in that era.
The early transistor radios were fairly expensive at the time, but it is unfortunate how the style went out of them.
hello matt!
Only for the museum.
Hi..nice radio...I dont see any CD markings on the dial..why is that...From what I have read all radios "By law, radio sets manufactured between 1953 and 1963 had these two frequencies marked by the triangle-in-circle ("CD Mark") symbol of Civil Defense." I like all your videos...thanks...
That only applied to radios sold in the USA, this one was imported to Canada from Japan.
OIC
Interesting, there is no "CD" marks at 640 and 1240.
This example was apparently a domestic Japanese market radio, so no CD marks.
Do any of these Japanese portable radios use Balanced Armature Speakers?
Nope, I can't say I've seen a Japanese transistor radio use anything besides a standard paper cone speaker.
@@50sTransistorRadios You mean an Electrodynamic Speaker, I am talking about a Electromechanical Speaker. This was used on one model, at least, of a 5-xisitor pocket radio from Japan. The use of this high-Z speaker compensated for the lack of more xsistors, and an audio output xformer
@@Jeffrey314159 It sounds like you are talking about a "reed speaker", which I have only seen in a few American radios, mostly by GE. I have a video of one here: th-cam.com/video/UwNDax8LdY0/w-d-xo.html
отлично :)
'Do you want this old radio' Isn't that what's referred to as a NO BRAINER??? Japanese quality and a pretty little thing as well.
It amazes me what people would just casually throw out, I wonder how many of these just ended up in the trash for no good reason.
Hello i am aged 59 and the first materialistic thing that i had ever owed was a Sharp 6 transistor radio back in 1958-59. Believe it or not I still have it although it does not work any longer , the battery wire has been broken off during the years and the plastic body is in rather poor shape . Anybody out there know where I can find one in better cosmetic condition that is actually playing ? Ether that or a business that restores them both cosmetically and function wise.
I would suggest checking eBay, that's where I get most of my radios. Re-attaching a loose wire is pretty easy, although you would need to get a soldering iron and some solder.
Thanks , i might do what you say and attempt to repair it myself its amazing that iv held onto it for so long. I collect working Channel master 6515's on E-bay I have one that is new old stock the others have been recapped .i am just addicted to them they are beautiful Radios .
That would've made u like 1 or 2 years old when u owned one lol! Are u sure?
Price please I want
THIS TRANSISTOR RADIO HAS AM RADIO DIAL ONLY
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