Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Philco was an interesting company. And their T-7 model was their first transistor radio. Looking into Philco's history, I solved a mystery I'd always wondered about. A mystery about Norelco...
The Philco T-7 didn't appear until 1956. Philco had been busy in the research division working on transistor development, but their eye was on the computer business and so it wasn't until 1956 that they got around to this, their first transistor radio. Here's this radio as its usually seen, in the black and white color scheme. Almost all examples of this radio ever found by collectors are black and white. By the way, that's the RCA Victor 7-BT-9J radio sitting on top of the Philco. Both of these transistor radios are the firsts from their respective companies. The RCA is from 1955.
So this brick red version of the classic Philco T-7 is pretty rare. Another variant of these radios is a later model made in 1957 and '58 which had plastic louvres for a grille rather than the perforated and painted metal seen on all the earlier ones. This metal grille was perhaps inappropriately thin for such a grille and was prone to denting.
Here's a look at the owner's manual for this radio. In fact, we have two different versions here. Both are dated 1956. The main difference I see is on the page where warranty and service are discussed. I'll let you compare them for any other differences you may find.
And the inside pages of the two owner's manuals look identical in content to me. In the world of transistor radios we've head the earphone called many things. Philco here calls it the "Philco Private Listening Unit."
Philco, the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, got into the radio business in 1928 and was remarkably successful at it. By 1930, just two years later, they were the leading radio maker in the United States. By 1934, 30% of all radios sold in the US were Philcos. They branched into refrigerators, televisions, and other household goods over the next years. In 1954, at the dawn of the transistor era, Philco was still the radio industry leader in volume sales and had been for 24 straight years. Philco built the mid-century modern classic television, the Philco Predicta, and pioneered the portable transistor TV with their remarkable Safari model. Philco was acquired by Ford Motor in December of 1961 and beginning in 1966, Ford branded Philco products "Philco-Ford." Ford did to Philco what it would later do to their Pinto, cutting costs and disrespecting the unique qualities of something it had once loved. When in 1974 Ford jilted Philco, selling it to GTE, it completed its stupid mission, having taken what was once one of the world's most successful tech companies and rendered it into nothing more than a tarnished brand name tacked onto cheap imports. And GTE, in turn, did no better by Philco.
Now here's a look at Philco's official four-page service folder for this radio. Similar to the Sams Photofact series of radio repair literature, page one has the alignment procedure. Page two identifies particular points on the circuit board for testing. Page three shows the schematic diagram, and page four lists the replacement parts. Cabinet parts are listed here too, which can give clues as to what colors a radio was available in. But the brick red cabinet of the radio we are looking at today is NOT shown here.
Now back to that mystery I had mentioned before. Philco is the reason that the Netherlands-based international electronics giant Philips could not use their own brand name in the US and instead sold their products here under the brand name "Norelco." Philco had argued, successfully, that the Philips brand was just too similar to its already existing Philco trademark. The only reason we see the Philips brand name in the US today is because Philips, in 1981, purchased the Philco brand, in a deal that also involved their purchase of the brand Sylvania.
As the model number might suggest, the Philco T-7 is a seven transistor radio. In this model, Philco shares the philosophy that battery replacement shouldn't require a mortgage, so this radio uses standard flashlight batteries, a philosophy shared by Zenith and only a handful of the other earliest transistor radio makers. This Philco requires just two of those batteries, operating on just three volts. This Philco 9-volt from around 1960 has nothing to do with the T-7 radio. It's just here to show two things: that the company once known as the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company after all those years was still making batteries and that they were still doing things with style.
Philco was an interesting company. And their T-7 model was their first transistor radio. Looking into Philco's history, I solved a mystery I'd always wondered about. A mystery about Norelco...
The Philco T-7 didn't appear until 1956. Philco had been busy in the research division working on transistor development, but their eye was on the computer business and so it wasn't until 1956 that they got around to this, their first transistor radio. Here's this radio as its usually seen, in the black and white color scheme. Almost all examples of this radio ever found by collectors are black and white. By the way, that's the RCA Victor 7-BT-9J radio sitting on top of the Philco. Both of these transistor radios are the firsts from their respective companies. The RCA is from 1955.
So this brick red version of the classic Philco T-7 is pretty rare. Another variant of these radios is a later model made in 1957 and '58 which had plastic louvres for a grille rather than the perforated and painted metal seen on all the earlier ones. This metal grille was perhaps inappropriately thin for such a grille and was prone to denting.
Here's a look at the owner's manual for this radio. In fact, we have two different versions here. Both are dated 1956. The main difference I see is on the page where warranty and service are discussed. I'll let you compare them for any other differences you may find.
And the inside pages of the two owner's manuals look identical in content to me. In the world of transistor radios we've head the earphone called many things. Philco here calls it the "Philco Private Listening Unit."
Philco, the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, got into the radio business in 1928 and was remarkably successful at it. By 1930, just two years later, they were the leading radio maker in the United States. By 1934, 30% of all radios sold in the US were Philcos. They branched into refrigerators, televisions, and other household goods over the next years. In 1954, at the dawn of the transistor era, Philco was still the radio industry leader in volume sales and had been for 24 straight years. Philco built the mid-century modern classic television, the Philco Predicta, and pioneered the portable transistor TV with their remarkable Safari model. Philco was acquired by Ford Motor in December of 1961 and beginning in 1966, Ford branded Philco products "Philco-Ford." Ford did to Philco what it would later do to their Pinto, cutting costs and disrespecting the unique qualities of something it had once loved. When in 1974 Ford jilted Philco, selling it to GTE, it completed its stupid mission, having taken what was once one of the world's most successful tech companies and rendered it into nothing more than a tarnished brand name tacked onto cheap imports. And GTE, in turn, did no better by Philco.
Now here's a look at Philco's official four-page service folder for this radio. Similar to the Sams Photofact series of radio repair literature, page one has the alignment procedure. Page two identifies particular points on the circuit board for testing. Page three shows the schematic diagram, and page four lists the replacement parts. Cabinet parts are listed here too, which can give clues as to what colors a radio was available in. But the brick red cabinet of the radio we are looking at today is NOT shown here.
Now back to that mystery I had mentioned before. Philco is the reason that the Netherlands-based international electronics giant Philips could not use their own brand name in the US and instead sold their products here under the brand name "Norelco." Philco had argued, successfully, that the Philips brand was just too similar to its already existing Philco trademark. The only reason we see the Philips brand name in the US today is because Philips, in 1981, purchased the Philco brand, in a deal that also involved their purchase of the brand Sylvania.
As the model number might suggest, the Philco T-7 is a seven transistor radio. In this model, Philco shares the philosophy that battery replacement shouldn't require a mortgage, so this radio uses standard flashlight batteries, a philosophy shared by Zenith and only a handful of the other earliest transistor radio makers. This Philco requires just two of those batteries, operating on just three volts. This Philco 9-volt from around 1960 has nothing to do with the T-7 radio. It's just here to show two things: that the company once known as the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company after all those years was still making batteries and that they were still doing things with style.
