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c.1958 Matsushita National EB-165 (1959 example)

Coat pocket radio, thermosetting plastic cabinet
5 1/2 x 3 1/8 x 1 5/8 inches / 142 x 84 x 42 mm
Six transistors (National: OC44D (red), OC45CR (yellow), OC456 (yellow), OC71A (black), 2x OC72, + MA23 varistor (green), OA70 diode (black)
Superheterodyne circuit
Four 1.5-volt "AA" cells
Manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Japan

Gray thermosetting plastic body, blue painted metal grille. This example was produced in late 1959, but Matsushita most likely began production of the EB-165 model in 1958.

(Interestingly, an EB-165 with a slightly different cabinet face shows up on the Japan Radio Museum web site in a partial catalog page designated "National All Products Catalogue No.31(1957)". So maybe there was a prior version with the same model number that began production in 1957.)

All of the transistors here have European designations, and three of these (the red one and the two yellow ones) look completely European in design. As Alan Kastner explains on his National AB-145 page, National bought transistor production rights from Philips Corp., and apparently it was the only Japanese manufacturer to have done so.

Matsushita National EB-165

Matsushita National EB-165


Matsushita National EB-165

Matsushita National EB-165 — this photo shows the true colors


Matsushita National EB-165

inside back cover


Matsushita National EB-165

chassis (click on photo for a larger image)

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