Transistor Radios Around the World

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Before '54 --- North America --- Western Europe --- Japan and Pacific --- East Bloc and USSR


1957 Telefunken Partner

Coat pocket radio, thermoplastic cabinet
5 15/16 x 3 1/4 x 1 9/16 inches / 151 x 82.5 x 40 mm
MW radio, five transistors (Telefunken, 2x OC604, 2x OC612, OC613), superheterodyne circuit, pc board
Four 1.5-volt "AA" cells
Manufactured by Telefunken Deutschland

The second German commercial transistor radio, released in June 1957, just one month after the Akkord Peggie. But please note that I said "commercial" radio — Telefunken actually did produce the first German transistor radio, approximately one year earlier, the 1956 Telefunken TR-1 Partner, but this set was an experimental model never released for commercial sale. At this time Telefunken had not yet developed RF- and IF-stage transistors, only audio stage transistors — but RF- and IF-stage transistors were developed over the following year and were used in this first commercially-available Partner model.

This set has always looked to me more Bratwurst than Bauhaus — and I do love Bratwurst, especially with lots of mustard — but this truly is an old-fashioned-looking radio, nothing like the earlier and far more modern-looking Telefunken TR-1 experimental model.

This Partner's cabinet design remained almost completely unchanged in the Partners II and III models that followed over the next several years. Later Telefunkens, beginning in 1961 with the completely redesigned Partner IV, eventually did get up to speed design-wise to the original 1956 experimental Telefunken TR-1 Partner's cabinet design.


1957 Telefunken Partner

1957 Telefunken Partner


1957 Telefunken Partner

1957 Telefunken Partner


1957 Telefunken Partner

chassis — click on the photo for a larger image


1957 Telefunken Partner

inside back face

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