World's first solar consumer product 1956 Admiral transistor radio Sun-Powered
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Today we’re with Bill Burkett in Sun City Arizona, looking at one of the 20th Century’s rarest electronic artifacts--the world’s FIRST solar powered radio.
This Admiral radio sports a nice "deep vee" trim motif as well as the figure of an atom on the front. How "mid-century" can you get? This is a radio at home in any radio or mid-century modern collection. But there's much more to interest a collector in this radio--namely, its rare solar power option. That's right, this radio could be had with an optional "Sun Power Pack"-- making it the first solar powered radio ever available.
Collectors know that in late 1954 Regency made the first commercially-available transistor radio. Regency was quickly followed by several other U.S. radio manufacturers, including Emerson, G.E., Magnavox, Motorola, Raytheon, RCA, and Zenith who all introduced their own transistor radios during 1955. Chrysler, the car maker, even offered an optional transistor radio in some of their cars. Seemingly everyone wanted to get on the transistor radio bandwagon! Yet there was one prominent American radio manufacturer who had not yet produced a transistor radio. But they were working on it--and they were hoping to bring to market not just a radio, but a totally new concept in electronic technology.
They planned to market not just a transistor radio, but a solar-powered transistor radio. Now, solar cell technology was brand new in 1955. The first practical solar cell was invented just a year earlier, in 1954. Invented... at Bell Labs, the very place the transistor itself was invented just 8 years prior, in 1947.
And so in August, 1955, the Admiral Corporation of Chicago set out to outdo the other radio makers with a radio that was not just transistor, but was solar too.
That same month, August of 1955 was a milestone in the history of consumer electronics for another reason, on another continent, right Bill?
Oh, definitely. That was the very month in which Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo released to the Japanese market Japan's first transistor radio, the Sony TR-55.
The first product ever to bear the name "Sony."
That's the one. But back in Chicago, Admiral engineers Harry Thanos and Roger Weber had acquired seven small silicon solar energy cells--each about the size of a half-dollar coin. These came from the semiconductor division of National Fabricated Products of Chicago and cost $25 EACH. The engineers wired the seven cells in series to create a 1-½ volt “sun battery” which Mr. Thanos attached to a prototype 6 transistor radio. On August 26, 1955, he demonstrated this prototype “SUN RADIO” to representatives of Mallory, an Indianapolis maker of batteries and electronic components. By the way, the P. R. Mallory Company helped develop the modern alkaline battery and is today better known by the name of their most successful product... Duracell. Anyway, this prototype radio shown to Mallory operated entirely on sunlight--WITHOUT batteries.
And more! . . .
This is exactly why I subscribed to your channel! I love things from what I call "the golden age" of America. They had such style back then, and fun too! love the old radio's! Thanks for a great video!
To address the problem of playing those radios on TH-cam, a solution would be to get a mini AM transmitter and plug TH-cam copyright free music stuff. Then again, I realize its the look and the story of the radios that is interesting.
Admiral had some great engineers back in the day. Ross Siragusa had a relationship with Illinois Institute of Technology who would give him the heads up on their brightest EE's that were to graduate soon so Admiral could interview them. Note that the solar radio was built in Admiral's McHenry, IL plant and not Chicago.
Very nice
Fantastic presentation crammed with absolutely fascinating facts . Best wishes from the UK. ( As a side note this is particularly apt to me as I was born in 1954 )
Solar Tech Gadgets have come from far
I own a early Arvin transistor radio and a tube radio, I think GE. She's a small wooden radio.
Oh I like those early Arvins! There's something coming on Arvin on this channel in the next weeks.
You always leave us wanting more. This was fascinating.
Seven small silicon solar.. on the sea shore @3:03 - congratulations if you did that on the first take!
I bought a 7L12 off ebay last month and at a decent price considering thier popularity and rarity. The description said for parts or repair. Battery corrosion probably kept the bidding down somewhat and I was happy that no real damage done. It plays great on all it's original parts. The electrolytic caps Admiral used seem to be of better than average quality compared to other makes.
that is so cool
On the product brochures for both of these solar radios it lists the alnico speaker as being a "5 pm" do you have any idea what they mean by this nomenclature?
I would love to see some table radios, floor radio, even vintage televisions and phonographs featured on this channel, do you collect or have any plans of featuring such things?
Well, I don't know about the "5," but "PM" on a speaker of this era generally means "permanent magnet."
Wow