1961 Zenith Royal 500H
Coat pocket radio, nylon cabinet
5 15/16 x 3 1/2 x 1 5/8 inches / 151 x 89 x 41 mm
Eight transistors, vernier tuning, four 1.5-volt AA cells
Manufactured by Zenith Radio Corp.; Chicago, Illinois
Chassis 8HT40Z2. As Zenith expert Norm Smith has noted, this was the best-performing "pocket" radio ever made in its day — a superb circuit and a giant 3"x5" speaker gave it a reception quality and audio fidelity never found before in any radio of this size — the 500H truly was the zenith of the 500 series.
The only design flaw here is the foil-covered paper name plate at the top of the radio — most examples of the 500H, no matter how pristine otherwise, show signs of wear here. After having made such an outstanding radio, why couldn't Zenith have gone the extra 10 cents and put a metal name plate there?
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