View Full Version : Transistor Sister scores "gem" on Ebay!


Paula
04-15-2004, 01:47 AM
Well, I don't think that it has any tubes, and I'm told that Eveready has already stopped making the batteries that it uses, but it it still a good radio.

Paula

heathkit tv
04-15-2004, 02:19 AM
Transistor Sister? Reminds me......what did they call the transsexual Nun?



Yep, you fingered it out, a TranSister! Yuck yuck yuck. :stupid:

Don't feel bad about paying as much as you did for that radio, it's all about rarity and condition. It may be a long time till you find another radio like that and it surely won't be in as nice a shape.

Strike while the iron is hot! You done good. :thmbsp:

So you're a Hoosier now, eh? Anywhere near South Bent? I'm cracked on them there Studebakers! (and cracked in most every other way too)

Anthony

RocknRoll
04-15-2004, 02:38 AM
I guess if you got the inflation calculator out the price is about the same as it was when new (you just happen to have the money for it now). :yippy:

Sandy G
04-15-2004, 08:04 AM
Paula- Don't sweat it. You done good. You've wanted this little guy for a long time, right? And $130 is a lot of money in one sense, but in the overall scheme of things, it's not even a drop in the bucket. I'm still kicking myself for not getting a genuine Belgian FAL rifle back in '89 because at $700, it was "too high". Now, they're banned-Gasp! Horrors!!- & no longer imported, you basically can't touch one for 3X that amount, if you can find one at all. -Sandy G.

Shain
04-15-2004, 08:09 AM
I still have a Hitachi 6 (or 8) transister radio I got when I was in the 8th grade, and it still works!

I wish I could find a real nice original like it. So I do understand!

Lefty
04-15-2004, 08:22 AM
Nice score.. you owed it for history sake..:D

I remember the era well, all those catalogs, BA, Layfette, heathkit, allied, newark.. And my allowance was like $1 a week :(

By the way... "vintage wireless receivers" .. so that like excludes you collecting 'wired' receivers? haven't heard of them, they get better reception? :p:

Lefty

Paula
04-15-2004, 09:12 AM
So you're a Hoosier now, eh? Anywhere near South Bent?

South Bent is waaay to the north of where I live.

Paula

Celt
04-15-2004, 09:38 AM
Wow Paula, that radio looks mint! I remember those from the B-A catalog too. I think those used a 9 volt battery that was about the size of a AA cell.

jstout66
04-15-2004, 09:50 AM
if they use that battery (9V shaped like a AA) they are still available at Radio Shack! Good Luck!

Paula
04-15-2004, 10:04 AM
Originally posted by Sandy G
I'm still kicking myself for not getting a genuine Belgian FAL rifle back in '89...

Me too.

Celt
04-15-2004, 10:24 AM
When I was five years old, the owner of the local Coca-Cola bottling plant gave me a set of Coca-Cola pencils, a Coke metal outdoor thermometer and a small plastic Coke bottle that opened up to reveal a cigarette lighter! Thankfully, my Mom promptly put these away and saved them for me until I was older and wiser. I am proud to say I still have them all and they are in mint condition! BTW: When I was a kid, it wasn't me who took apart my radios and records players. I had two older brothers who did that for me. However, it was always up to me to get them back together and in running order. I lost count of how many replacement 4" alnico speakers, 50C5, 6BQ5 output tubes and 35W4 rectifiers I bought as a result of all that. :rolleyes: (BTW: Nothing smells worse than a selenium rectifier going bad!)

Paula
04-15-2004, 10:36 AM
Originally posted by CELT
Thankfully, my Mom promptly put these away and saved them for me until I was older and wiser. I am proud to say I still have them all and they are in mint condition!

Good for you, Celt!

Paula
04-15-2004, 10:44 AM
Originally posted by jstout66
if they use that battery (9V shaped like a AA) they are still available at Radio Shack! Good Luck!

I don't see it as a problem, as this radio will be mainly for show.

Paula

Celt
04-15-2004, 11:32 AM
Just thought of something...you just purchased what at the time was "The World's Tiniest Radio". When I was a kid, I owned what was "The World's Tinniest Radio"! :D

Sandy G
04-15-2004, 12:22 PM
Sinclair ! Dino the Dinosaur ! Oh, man !! My family & I went to the NY World's Fair in '64, & I remember the Sinclair people had a booth where they'd blow this piece of green goop up into a Dino & give it to the kiddies. I was 7, & right in the middle of a serious "dinosaur phase"- seems like I bawled my way into 2 or 3 of 'em. Wonder if there are any left now? I also remember seeing myself on a RCA roundie in the Disney pavilion, I think, in Living Color, except my & everybody else's face was kinda purplish. -Sandy G.

heathkit tv
04-15-2004, 01:35 PM
Chick-ogg-o? My folks are from there. I recall the Marathon gas stations as well as Sinclair. Used to have one of the green plastic NY Worlds Fair Dinosaurs too, below is a pic of one from eBay. At that time there were all manner of injection molding machines are various museums---these usually used a sort of molten wax and had a particular smell.

I got a bust of Lincoln's head at the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry and right after it popped out of the machine (still warm and a little soft) I stuffed a pencil thru it's head........"the bullets trajectory" is what I told people. GARSH, I'm sick! LOL

Anthony

Paula
04-15-2004, 01:37 PM
From some dusty corner of my memory: "Drive with care, and buy Sinclair"

Sandy G
04-15-2004, 02:40 PM
Anthony, you ARE a sick B*st*rd....But I love you, man !! Gimme a beer !! HehHehHehHeh....Yep, Dino was still warmish & a little soft when the Sinclair dude handed him to me- Funny how you can remember nonsense like that all these years later. I can still remember the Disney "It's a Small World" marionettes show-they gave us a 45 record of the song, which I still have somewhere. Paula, I can clearly remember the doctor makin' house calls- & the local cleaners picking up & delivering clothes. We had a little galvanised box outside our back door that the milkman delivered glass bottles of milk into. You'd pull into a filling station & get yr oil & water checked, & yr windshield cleaned. My gran would always rap on the windshield & point out to the guy where he missed a spot. .20 a gallon-By god, for THAT kinda money, they'd BETTER clean the damn windshield !! Who do they think we are, Jay Gould ?!?....Those were the days !! -Sandy G.

Celt
04-15-2004, 03:55 PM
"Who do they think we are, Jay Gould?"

Heh. My town partly is named after that ba****d.
John PARAmore and Jay GOULD (Railroad tycoons) = Paragould!

Paula
04-15-2004, 05:26 PM
Well what do you know?

Here's (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1331&item=2238304781&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW) one of those Sinclair radios up for bid right now! That's exactly what mine looked like. :yes:

Maybe they're not as rare as I thought...

VinylHanger
04-15-2004, 10:55 PM
My Grandaddy owned a Sinclair station in Bradenton, Fla. That was in the 60's. He refused to work on foreign "crap" and could still make a living. I would hate for him to see it now, though it would be nice to have him around.

Shain
04-15-2004, 11:13 PM
My dad worked for Sinclair for about 20 years.

I have a few Sinclair pieces including the radio on auction.
Also have lighters, and a few other Sinclair pieces of his, from his Sinclair days.

He traveled from station to station in his area checking with dealers, then later was a budget analyst, and other jobs, in an area office.

Sandy G
04-16-2004, 08:24 AM
I didn't know if anybody would catch the "Jay Gould" reference or not. But, this being Audiokarma, & basically populated by WAY above average intelligence folks, I should have known better. Anyhow, ol' Jay was who my gran was always accusing me of trying to bankrupt-" You're sendin' your poor little daddy to the Poorhouse ! I bet you could bankrupt Jay Gould !!" Y'know, its no wonder I'm so warped.....<grin>- Sandy G.

radiolee
04-16-2004, 08:54 AM
I started collecting transistor radios when I found a Zenith 500 at a garage sale that all the "hawks" had passed up and left sitting for .25. That radio pretty much started me on vintage audio collecting as I kept finding beautiful equipment at the sales and could not pass it up.

I love history and what fascinated me about transistors was the fact that the decision not to put tariffs on them is what eventually handed almost the entire electronics industry to the Japanese. The invention of the miniature tuning capacitor by Mitsui made the shirt pocket size transistor radio possible. Before that, the US made radios were what was called "coat pocket" radios due to their larger size.

There are a few good books on the subject, the best probobly being 'The Portable Radio in American Life" by Michael Brian Schiffer. It covers the entire scope of the development of the portable radio and the section on transistors is very good.

His main point in the book is that "cryptohistory", the rewriting of history by large corporations is rampant in the history of the portable radio, to the point that the CEO of Sony at one point went on TV claiming that Sony produced the first transistor radio, when in fact it was the Regency company and the TR-1. That radio was introduced in November 1954, one month before I was born(!).

The rest is history, as they say.

Lee

jt1stcav
04-16-2004, 07:09 PM
Well, I don't know if this lil' Sony is worth anything, but this was my first transistor radio when I was a kid. It still works, and sits proudly on top of a bookcase now.

heathkit tv
04-16-2004, 09:20 PM
Here's a radio I had as a kid, some day I suppose I'll get another one just like it.

Anthony

Paula
04-16-2004, 11:29 PM
The overall level of quality and workmanship is surprisingly high, easily exceeding my expectations in that regard.

Paula

Paula
04-16-2004, 11:47 PM
Here's another view of the Ruby, showing the original earphone that was included with the radio.

Celt
04-16-2004, 11:55 PM
It's very cool that the earphone matches the radio !:cool:

Paula
04-17-2004, 12:04 AM
Originally posted by CELT
It's very cool that the earphone matches the radio !:cool:

The color was one of the main reasons I wanted this particular radio.

Paula

millerdog
04-17-2004, 07:20 AM
Back when I had cash flow, I liked to collect the radios that I grew up with: Panasonics toot a loop, the ball and chain radio and early Sonys.
I think collecting transistor radios can be just as fun as collecting them catalin and tube puppies.;)
I often listen to local sports on the radio before watching it on TV. There's just some kind of romance about hearing it coming over the airways and not piped in via cable.
Perhaps it goes back to when I made a crystal radio and couldn't believe what I was hearing sans batteries.:eek:

Celt
04-17-2004, 08:51 AM
Paula wrote: "Dammit, if something is called a 'ruby', it should be red!"

Did you know that if a *ruby* is anything other than a true red (if it's pink or faint in color), that it is considered to be sapphire?

When our radio station signed on in '71, we handed out thousands of free promotional Sony FM radios that were little avocado colored cubes. Pressing on a bar would switch on the radio and there was a seperate volume control. Of course, they had soldered in crystals that locked them to our station. :p: They also sported round "Hitparade '71" stickers on their sides. Wish I had one of those things!

millerdog
04-18-2004, 07:19 AM
Celt,
I wonder how much one of them radios would fetch on Epay today!;)

Paula
04-19-2004, 05:29 PM
Originally posted by radiolee
...the rewriting of history by large corporations is rampant in the history of the portable radio, to the point that the CEO of Sony at one point went on TV claiming that Sony produced the first transistor radio, when in fact it was the Regency company and the TR-1.

Hi Lee,

Thanks for the story.

Paula

kby
04-19-2004, 05:50 PM
Originally posted by millerdog
Back when I had cash flow, I liked to collect the radios that I grew up with: Panasonics toot a loop, the ball and chain radio..

Ah, the Panasonic ball & chain. Probably still have a red one and a white one, but it's at my dad's house.-kby

millerdog
04-20-2004, 05:38 AM
them ball and chain radios are worth some bucks to collectors. If I had the cash I would buy one just for fun!:D
I think it's way cool to listen to the radios we grew up with. I mean, that's why we like music now, right?;)

radiolee
04-28-2004, 06:01 PM
Paula-

Too bad you missed my auction on this book-

kc8adu
04-28-2004, 09:12 PM
mine had all the lytics open and replacement cured it.
btw are you coming to hamvention?
Originally posted by Paula
It was only Tuesday that I won the auction for the Standard Micronic Ruby, and quite unexpectedly, it arrived today! Hoorayyy!

There's good news and bad news :smilemad:

First of all, it's much smaller than I'd imagined. It's one thing to read the dimensions on a computer screen, and quite another to hold the thing in one's hand. It's tiny! The exterior of the radio is indeed mint. This thing has obviously spent the last forty years or so just sitting in a box on a shelf. There is no wear whatsoever -- only those incidental microscratches that would result from infrequent, but careful handling.

So much for the good news.

On removing the battery compartment cover, though it would not be readily apparent to the casual observer, there was very clear evidence of battery leakage -- greenish-blue deposits on the battery contacts, and some of the adjacent areas -- the most serious encrustation being on the on/off/volume control, which is right next to the negative battery contact. (Yikes, this thing is even tinier on the inside!)

With a battery of tools that included tweezers, magnifying glass, several small screwdrivers, an x-acto knife, scotchbrite pads, cotton swabs, a 7/64" nutdriver, a 5/32" open-end wrench, and a can of compressed air, I proceeded to disasemble the Ruby, and clean away most of the visible encrustation. The contacts of the on/off switch were the most seriously corroded, and I stopped short of making an all-out effort to get them cleaned up. I first wanted to determine if the radio worked at all.

The seller claimed that he did not know whether it worked or not, as he did not have batteries to test it with. An easy enough dodge, but since the particular batteries that this radio takes are no longer in production, and he knew virtually nothing about radios to begin with, I wouldn't say he was being deceptive.

So anyway, I connected some clip leads from a 3-volt DC power supply to the battery contacts, and switched it on --- nothing. So I then attached one of the clip leads to a tiny awl (sort of a really small ice pick) and touched it to the battery side contact of the switch --- still nothing. When I touched it to the downstream contact, I finally did get a response from the 1-1/2" dia. speaker -- a faint, mellow static, with a nearly unnoticeable hum. Rotating the tuning knob through the limits of its travel had no audible effect. Drat!

My first guess, since the radio has obviously had very little actual use, is that one or more of the electrolytics have died of old age. Quite unbelievably, the owners manual includes a fully notated schematic. And even more unbelievably, it's printed in the space of about half a business card! Nevertheless, the print is high resolution, and by scanning at 1200 dpi, I was able to print out a quite easily readable copy on 8-1/2 x 11" paper.

At this point, I don't know if I will pursue trying to get the radio to play or not. I certainly did not purchase it for regular usage, although it would be nice to be able to say to amazed on-lookers, "Of course it works!" At the same time, quarters are very cramped inside this little receiver, and though there is no annoying tide pool of paraffin on the pc board to contend with, it would require some very delicate and tedious work. I'm considering whether or not it wouldn't be more advisable to just leave it completely original, working or not, rather than go mucking about the innards with a soldering iron. Maybe I can locate someone who is more adept with these kinds of repairs.

Anyhow, I'm still quite pleased with this little gem. The overall level of quality and workmanship is surprisingly high, easily exceeding my expectations in that regard.

More to come :D

Paula

Paula
04-30-2004, 12:24 AM
Originally posted by radiolee
Too bad you missed my auction on this book-

You're right, Lee, I probably could have used it :headscrat

I did, however, take your advice and pick up a copy of The Portable Radio In American Life by Michael Brian Schiffer. It just arrived on Tuesday, and I'm already a third of the way thru it -- really fascinating!

Paula

Paula
04-30-2004, 12:45 AM
Originally posted by kc8adu
mine had all the lytics open and replacement cured it.

I'm going to see if I can find a parts radio with a servicable PC board.

Paula

kc8adu
05-02-2004, 10:49 PM
cool.a gal thats not afraid of a soldering iron:D
hamvention is in dayton may 15-17 .
and modern lytics will fit no problem.
i bought a bunch of ultra subminis from the thompson club at the last indy hamfest.

lynnm
05-02-2004, 11:13 PM
"(BTW: Nothing smells worse than a selenium rectifier going bad!)"

Yeah ??

Try a 20 foot high stack of pea straw fermenting in the July sun. Trust me the rectifier is a mere fart in comparison. They both share the same basic odor but that pile of pea straw is the olfactory equivalent of 300,000 beer farts being released simultaneously.

I have smelled both and trust me ... The pea Straw wins by a mile ( Yes you can smell it that far away. )

andy
05-03-2004, 10:53 AM
---

Paula
05-04-2004, 12:05 AM
Originally posted by kc8adu
...I bought a bunch of ultra subminis from the Thompson club at the last Indy hamfest.

Thanks, kc8adu! Do you know how to get in touch with them?

Paula

Paula
05-04-2004, 12:07 AM
Originally posted by andy
One trick I've used on battery contacts was ordinary vinegar. It eats away battery corrosion down to bare metal. Battery "acid" is actually a base, so you need to use a mild acid on it. You might try rubbing it on the board to try to remove the corrosion.

Thanks for the tip, Andy! I will give it a try...

Paula

Shain
05-04-2004, 02:50 AM
Just a question.....

Is there any reason you can't use a baking soda powder and water mixture to remove battery acid?

I've done it hundreds of times to car / motorcycle batteries and connection cables.

heathkit tv
05-04-2004, 07:28 AM
Dunno about cleaning circuit boards, but as for removing crud from car batteries.....not only will baking soda work, it'll also neutralize the battery if you allow any of it to get inside....so be careful!

Believe it or plotz, but warm water or even Windex do a great job of cleaning batteries....mebbe the vinegar or ammonia in some Windex-like products is the culprit in this case.

Anthony

Chad Hauris
05-04-2004, 08:45 AM
I think the vinegar method is useful where alkaline batteries have leaked inside a device...the electrolyte is a base rather than an actual acid as in a car battery.

kby
05-04-2004, 03:24 PM
Car/boat batteries are lead/acid technology; the electrolyte is sulfuric acid.

Alkaline cells used to used a potassium hydroxide solution (I think) as an electrolyte (basic).

A battery for an old radio is more likely carbon-zinc, which used ammonium chloride or zinc chloride solution as the electrolyte (weakly acidic).

The thing you're trying to get off, though, is probably not just dried electrolyte, though (especially not with a car/boat battery), but the reaction products of the electrolyte + whatever it spilled/leaked on, e.g. copper or brass contacts, wire, etc.

kc8adu
05-05-2004, 02:02 AM
i bet the thompson club will be at indy this year.
if you know which values you need i can send some your way.
and to clean up the board use a desoldering station or a solder sucker and clean off the solder.wire brush scrape or sand the traces/leads and resolder.
gotta clean off the battery juice to stop the corrosion though.

Paula
05-05-2004, 10:51 PM
Originally posted by kc8adu
i bet the thompson club will be at Indy this year. if you know which values you need, i can send some your way.


So far, I haven't been able to find any that even approach the smallness of these.

Paula

andy
05-05-2004, 11:50 PM
---

kc8adu
05-06-2004, 09:03 PM
the ones i have and used are a near perfect replacement other than all being radial.
when i get done with hamvention i will try to get some dug out.
that 4.7@35 you have in the pic is a beercan compared to the ones i used.

Paula
05-06-2004, 10:07 PM
Originally posted by kc8adu
when i get done with hamvention i will try to get some dug out.


I won't hold my breath

catlover32
05-17-2005, 07:44 PM
Sinclair ! Dino the Dinosaur ! Oh, man !! My family & I went to the NY World's Fair in '64, & I remember the Sinclair people had a booth where they'd blow this piece of green goop up into a Dino & give it to the kiddies. I was 7, & right in the middle of a serious "dinosaur phase"- seems like I bawled my way into 2 or 3 of 'em. Wonder if there are any left now? I also remember seeing myself on a RCA roundie in the Disney pavilion, I think, in Living Color, except my & everybody else's face was kinda purplish. -Sandy G.
Have you ever clicked on: <http://www.sinclairoil.com>? They're still active west of the Mississippi and have a merchandise page...