Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
What was the first transistor radio made by Magnavox? If you guessed this one, you'd be right! See, that was easy.
It's the six-transistor Magnavox AM-2 and it is from 1956, or maybe even as early as 1955. In what we call a horizontal coat-pocket configuration, this is a good looking radio. We're going to look at two of these today--this red one which is a little bit later in the production run of this model, and this white one, which is one of the earliest ones produced. You'll notice some differences between the two in the tuning knob and, at the bottom of the front, the way the Magnavox name is applied. Also, on the earlier model, the words "All Transistor" appear on a separate metal plate.
Magnavox has a long history, going back to the Commercial Wireless and Development Company founded in 1911 in Napa, California. Napa Valley you may know from the wines made there. Anyway, the founders sobered up enough to move to San Francisco a little while later, then settled in nearby Oakland in 1916. They found success with their invention of a kind of moving-coil loudspeaker which I think you can best describe today as a kind of an earphone with a horn attached to it. The horn acoustically amplifies the sound. Before such horns, all radio listening was done with headphones. So since Commerical Wireless and Development was in the business of making things louder, they decided to change their name to "Big Voice." Which would have been a pretty crummy name if they hadn't had the good sense to translate it to Latin, where "big voice" comes out Magna-Vox. Magnavox.
Like the Regency TR-1 and most of the rest of the first American transistor radios, this one has no vents on the back. I don't know why they didn't think they needed them. Or why they soon thereafter decided they DID need them on later models.
Opening it up, we see the label--on which is illustrated a diagram of the parts layout. There's mention there of the Civil Defense frequencies, and a list of suitable 4-volt batteries to power the set. Then we get a list of things not to do, like setting your radio on top of a heater. And, it says here that the Magavox Company is now in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Magnavox covers the chassis with a piece of fiber board inside the back. And here's another difference between the early and later models. You can see on the earlier one that this chassis covering is plastic rather than fiber board.
We are reminded how new the printed circuit was in electronics at the time. We are reminded of that because... there isn't one. This radio is wired, probably by hand, the old-fashioned way, called "point-to-point wiring." No printed circuit board. Only the earliest transistor radios were made this way, and not many of those. For example the first Zenith pocket transistor Royal 500 had point-to-point wiring, but by the following year the newer version of the Royal 500 had a printed circuit board. And indeed this AM-2 model from Magnavox was followed by an almost identical looking AM-5 model which had a printed circuit board.
Here's an ad for the Magnavox AM-2. You'll notice that the illustration of the radio in the ad shows the earliest version. This ad appeared in Holiday Magazine in July of 1956 and would be the first, or at least one of the first generation of ads introducing this first for Magnavox, a transistor radio. The same early-version AM-2 is shown on the owner's manual. I'll give you some quiet for a moment to let you look over both sides of this owner's manual in peace.
I'm sure there are also some circuitry differences between the earlier and later versions of this radio. But you know, I think that can probably be said for any and all transistor radio models ever produced.
And here's the nice leather case that came with the AM-2. It's full grain saddle leather. But since it's a 70 old piece of leather at this point, I'm not going to go bending it around. It has a nice soft finish on the inside and doesn't scratch the radio, much. In the bottom of this case is another compartment for an earphone and maybe an extra battery. What will they think of next? Well, I'm thinking this might just pull right off of here if I try and open it so, no. We will just leave what's in here, if anything, to our imaginations.
And what is this? It's the Sentinel IE500 and it is a rare one. Sentinel was an old radio manufacturer out of Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago. Their main business was making radios for other private label brands. Today, I think, we would call Sentinel an OEM. I suppose it is an irony that this transistor radio--their only transistor radio--would be made not BY them for someone else, but FOR them, by Magnavox. It is essentially a Magnavox AM-2 that is branded "Sentinel." Who made what is an assumption we are making here, based on who survived. It's conceivable that it was Sentinel who made both Sentinel and Magnavox transistor radios. But we assume Magnavox was the maker because Magnavox acquired Sentinel...
What was the first transistor radio made by Magnavox? If you guessed this one, you'd be right! See, that was easy.
It's the six-transistor Magnavox AM-2 and it is from 1956, or maybe even as early as 1955. In what we call a horizontal coat-pocket configuration, this is a good looking radio. We're going to look at two of these today--this red one which is a little bit later in the production run of this model, and this white one, which is one of the earliest ones produced. You'll notice some differences between the two in the tuning knob and, at the bottom of the front, the way the Magnavox name is applied. Also, on the earlier model, the words "All Transistor" appear on a separate metal plate.
Magnavox has a long history, going back to the Commercial Wireless and Development Company founded in 1911 in Napa, California. Napa Valley you may know from the wines made there. Anyway, the founders sobered up enough to move to San Francisco a little while later, then settled in nearby Oakland in 1916. They found success with their invention of a kind of moving-coil loudspeaker which I think you can best describe today as a kind of an earphone with a horn attached to it. The horn acoustically amplifies the sound. Before such horns, all radio listening was done with headphones. So since Commerical Wireless and Development was in the business of making things louder, they decided to change their name to "Big Voice." Which would have been a pretty crummy name if they hadn't had the good sense to translate it to Latin, where "big voice" comes out Magna-Vox. Magnavox.
Like the Regency TR-1 and most of the rest of the first American transistor radios, this one has no vents on the back. I don't know why they didn't think they needed them. Or why they soon thereafter decided they DID need them on later models.
Opening it up, we see the label--on which is illustrated a diagram of the parts layout. There's mention there of the Civil Defense frequencies, and a list of suitable 4-volt batteries to power the set. Then we get a list of things not to do, like setting your radio on top of a heater. And, it says here that the Magavox Company is now in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Magnavox covers the chassis with a piece of fiber board inside the back. And here's another difference between the early and later models. You can see on the earlier one that this chassis covering is plastic rather than fiber board.
We are reminded how new the printed circuit was in electronics at the time. We are reminded of that because... there isn't one. This radio is wired, probably by hand, the old-fashioned way, called "point-to-point wiring." No printed circuit board. Only the earliest transistor radios were made this way, and not many of those. For example the first Zenith pocket transistor Royal 500 had point-to-point wiring, but by the following year the newer version of the Royal 500 had a printed circuit board. And indeed this AM-2 model from Magnavox was followed by an almost identical looking AM-5 model which had a printed circuit board.
Here's an ad for the Magnavox AM-2. You'll notice that the illustration of the radio in the ad shows the earliest version. This ad appeared in Holiday Magazine in July of 1956 and would be the first, or at least one of the first generation of ads introducing this first for Magnavox, a transistor radio. The same early-version AM-2 is shown on the owner's manual. I'll give you some quiet for a moment to let you look over both sides of this owner's manual in peace.
I'm sure there are also some circuitry differences between the earlier and later versions of this radio. But you know, I think that can probably be said for any and all transistor radio models ever produced.
And here's the nice leather case that came with the AM-2. It's full grain saddle leather. But since it's a 70 old piece of leather at this point, I'm not going to go bending it around. It has a nice soft finish on the inside and doesn't scratch the radio, much. In the bottom of this case is another compartment for an earphone and maybe an extra battery. What will they think of next? Well, I'm thinking this might just pull right off of here if I try and open it so, no. We will just leave what's in here, if anything, to our imaginations.
And what is this? It's the Sentinel IE500 and it is a rare one. Sentinel was an old radio manufacturer out of Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago. Their main business was making radios for other private label brands. Today, I think, we would call Sentinel an OEM. I suppose it is an irony that this transistor radio--their only transistor radio--would be made not BY them for someone else, but FOR them, by Magnavox. It is essentially a Magnavox AM-2 that is branded "Sentinel." Who made what is an assumption we are making here, based on who survived. It's conceivable that it was Sentinel who made both Sentinel and Magnavox transistor radios. But we assume Magnavox was the maker because Magnavox acquired Sentinel...
