Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
They made cameras. Lots and lots of cameras. But so far as I know, only ONE transistor radio.
And this is it, the Yashica YT-100. Yashica--or is it Yashica? I don't know.
Quite unlike any other transistor radio, this was not something made by one of the major Japanese radio makers, on the front of which Yashica stuck its logo. I could be wrong, of course, but this interesting radio is so unique I've just got to believe it was made by Yashica itself, perhaps their first and only self-made transistor radio. I do know of another Yashica model, this one, their AR-665 model. But this one was not made by Yashica but by someone else. Can you guess who?... Well, it's very small, as you can see, and quite delicate. We also see this model as a Viscount, a Packard Bell, a Zephyr, and as an Aiwa as you can see in this photo from a book on Zephyr. And your best clue is right in this picture. Which of these brands was more than just an importer, but a company that had actual factories in Japan? Yeeesss, it was Aiwa. And indeed it was Aiwa who made this little one. .. But this YT-100 does not have any family resemblance to any of the Aiwas I've seen, or, as I say, any resemblance to any other brand either. That's how I get to the conclusion that Yashica made this one themselves. Inside we see that some of the parts are marked "National," which is, of course, Matsushita, better known in the US as Panasonic. The serial number is hand-written on a small strip of paper affixed to the speaker magnet. The radio has a wire carrying handle which swings around to become a stand for the radio. The tuning knob is strangely plain, but not unpleasantly so. It is altogether quite a stylish little radio and it did in NO WAY deserve the indignity inflicted upon its speaker grille by some careless lout at some time in the past. Shame on you for not taking better care of your toys!
The leather case is very thin and feels to be of high quality. It too says made in Japan but it doesn't say out of what. I've heard people refer to this kind of thin leather generically as "pigskin," but I can't say. You can, if you want to. I won't stop you.
Growing up, my father had a Yashica movie camera, purchased for him by my uncle who was serving in the military in Korea and had access to bargain prices on Japanese-made stuff. On one trip home, my uncle told my father about the cheap prices he could get on cameras and electronics directly out of Japan. This appealed to my father, and to lots of other Americans in those days. And this helps to account for some of the interesting and rare Japanese-made goods we collectors sometimes are lucky enought to come across--goods that were not yet officially imported to the United States. In case you were wondering, this is actual home movie footage filmed by my father on that very camera. Not bad, huh? That's...the awesome and beautiful Niagara Falls, of course, August 1963.
The Yashica shirt-pocket transistor radio YT-100. One of the many reasons I like to collect transistor radios. Every one of them has a story. And all those stories help inform the other stories just a little bit. If you're into it, this can be a lot of fun. If you're not, well then it probably just sounds stupid. But can't that be said about every hobby? And indeed about every act of human endeavor--from collecting.. to reading.. to baking? Isn't it always the people who are interesTED, who find things interestING.
They made cameras. Lots and lots of cameras. But so far as I know, only ONE transistor radio.
And this is it, the Yashica YT-100. Yashica--or is it Yashica? I don't know.
Quite unlike any other transistor radio, this was not something made by one of the major Japanese radio makers, on the front of which Yashica stuck its logo. I could be wrong, of course, but this interesting radio is so unique I've just got to believe it was made by Yashica itself, perhaps their first and only self-made transistor radio. I do know of another Yashica model, this one, their AR-665 model. But this one was not made by Yashica but by someone else. Can you guess who?... Well, it's very small, as you can see, and quite delicate. We also see this model as a Viscount, a Packard Bell, a Zephyr, and as an Aiwa as you can see in this photo from a book on Zephyr. And your best clue is right in this picture. Which of these brands was more than just an importer, but a company that had actual factories in Japan? Yeeesss, it was Aiwa. And indeed it was Aiwa who made this little one. .. But this YT-100 does not have any family resemblance to any of the Aiwas I've seen, or, as I say, any resemblance to any other brand either. That's how I get to the conclusion that Yashica made this one themselves. Inside we see that some of the parts are marked "National," which is, of course, Matsushita, better known in the US as Panasonic. The serial number is hand-written on a small strip of paper affixed to the speaker magnet. The radio has a wire carrying handle which swings around to become a stand for the radio. The tuning knob is strangely plain, but not unpleasantly so. It is altogether quite a stylish little radio and it did in NO WAY deserve the indignity inflicted upon its speaker grille by some careless lout at some time in the past. Shame on you for not taking better care of your toys!
The leather case is very thin and feels to be of high quality. It too says made in Japan but it doesn't say out of what. I've heard people refer to this kind of thin leather generically as "pigskin," but I can't say. You can, if you want to. I won't stop you.
Growing up, my father had a Yashica movie camera, purchased for him by my uncle who was serving in the military in Korea and had access to bargain prices on Japanese-made stuff. On one trip home, my uncle told my father about the cheap prices he could get on cameras and electronics directly out of Japan. This appealed to my father, and to lots of other Americans in those days. And this helps to account for some of the interesting and rare Japanese-made goods we collectors sometimes are lucky enought to come across--goods that were not yet officially imported to the United States. In case you were wondering, this is actual home movie footage filmed by my father on that very camera. Not bad, huh? That's...the awesome and beautiful Niagara Falls, of course, August 1963.
The Yashica shirt-pocket transistor radio YT-100. One of the many reasons I like to collect transistor radios. Every one of them has a story. And all those stories help inform the other stories just a little bit. If you're into it, this can be a lot of fun. If you're not, well then it probably just sounds stupid. But can't that be said about every hobby? And indeed about every act of human endeavor--from collecting.. to reading.. to baking? Isn't it always the people who are interesTED, who find things interestING.
