c.1960 GE P-791B "Super Six Transistor"
Coat pocket radio, thermoplastic cabinet
5 5/8 x 3 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches / 143 x 82.5 x 38 mm
Six transistors, one tubular 9v battery
Made by General Electric Corp., USA
A really sweet looking GE radio: a small coat pocket set, smaller than most other GE coat pocket radios (see photo below). The round-hole matrix speaker grille may put you off a bit, but looking at the set in person, it makes perfect sense -- the holes don't seem as large as they appear in a photo. The grille is backed by a gold mesh cloth. The reflective tuning dial is quite a bit nicer than dials found on other GE sets, and it's surrounded by a handsome reflective area. You'll note the concave-curved side of the set, making the cabinet look less boxy.
This P-791B's smaller size nearly matches the dimensions of GE's first transistor radio, the 670 series, and I think GE's cabinet designers intentionally made a visual nod to the first GE: a round-hole matrix speaker grille on the 791 echoing a square-hole matrix speaker grille on the 670 series, as well as the cabinet layout in general -- see photo below.
This white/turquoise model is the P-791B; the white/black version is the P-790B. There was also of course an "A" version of these two models, the P-790A and the P-791A. A schematic diagram source on the Web shows the A and B versions sharing the same circuit. I'm not sure when the A version came out, but I think it was the same year as the B version.
|