Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Today we're looking at one of the last American-made transistor radios--and the end of an era.
It's Zenith's top-of-the-line pocket-size transistor radio--though the "pocket" in question would be on a good-sized coat and not a shirt. One thing quickly learned in collecting transistor radios is that Zenith made quality. The Royal 500 model debuted in November of 1955 with a hand-wired version. But by the next year they were building them with circuit boards like everybody else. Very WELL-BUILT circuit boards, I must add. Many changes were made to their top-of-the-line Royal 500 model in those early years, inside and out, but the overall look remained the same. The same, until 1961 when the radically different Royal 500H appeared. What a performer that radio is. 1964 saw the $60 500H replaced with the $40 Royal 500L, another major design change inside and out. And that brings us to today's radio, the Zenith Royal 500N from around 1965. It's the last of the Royal 500s, a line of transistor radios that was in its day arguably the finest produced in the United States, or anywhere else.
The box here says "World's Finest Performance, Zenith Royal 500N Eight Transistor Radio." Where all previous Royal 500 models were in a vertical coat-pocket configuration, as you saw, the 500N is in a squarish shape.
The case here is not leather by any stretch of the imagination and has now grown stiff just sitting in its box. There's a strap provided too, and it's tucked inside the case. Most collectors expert in the Zenith transistor radio line consider this last Royal 500 to be a dumbed down radio in terms of performance, but in build quality it is still a quite impressive and hefty little beast. There's a dial light--turned on by pressing the logo button on the lower right of the front. The handle is much smaller than on previous 500s and it no longer also serves as a stand the way the handles on previous Royal 500s did. Such a stand isn't really needed here since this radio's construction and lower center of gravity helps it stand up perfectly well without leaning on a stand.
A single screw holds the back on. This one is model number R500WN. The model type is the N. W is for white. There's also a gray CN model, the C standing for "charcoal." Like all the Royal 500s, it uses four penlight batteries delivering 6 volts. They're still using an open-air tuning capacitor in here. Notwithstanding the low opinion held of this radio by other collectors, it gives me the same high quality impression I have come to expect when looking under the hood of any Zenith product. I can't see the brand on any of these transistors. It's difficult to pinpoint the origin of many of the parts inside. They are not all domestic US parts, though, I can say for sure because I see at least one of the electrolytic capacitors is marked "Japan" and it looks original to the radio. The tuning capacitor is marked "TRW." Are these the same people that mess with your credit rating? I don't know. A couple of parts inside are marked "Murata," which sounds Japanese, although there is no country of origin on those parts so I think we have to assume they are US-made. Foreign made parts in American products had to be so labeled, so something not marked we should be able to assume was American made.
It seems odd to even say that something would be assumed to be American-made. These days we make that assumption about very few things. And none of those things are electronic. See some of my other videos on this channel if you want to hear me rant about that.
With this last Royal 500, Zenith was still trying, at least. As American business was offshoring manufacturing en masse, Zenith held out longer than most. This radio may not perform up to previous Royal 500 standards, but it's still a decent performer and an extremely well-built radio.
And it's attractive.. IF you like things heavy and heavily chromed. .. And you know, I think that was where this radio missed the mark. At the time it was made, the era it represented, that of heft and of abundant chrome, was 5 years in the past. This radio would have been more successful then. By the mid-1960s when this radio appeared, product design had moved on to a ((Mustang)) lighter, sleeker, more youthful look, making what had been the height of style just a few years before seem stodgy.
So yes, there's a design story here, and that contributes to my interest in this radio. But what makes this radio special to me, beyond its styling or anything else, is that it freezes a moment in time-- a moment when you could still buy an American-made transistor radio.
Today we're looking at one of the last American-made transistor radios--and the end of an era.
It's Zenith's top-of-the-line pocket-size transistor radio--though the "pocket" in question would be on a good-sized coat and not a shirt. One thing quickly learned in collecting transistor radios is that Zenith made quality. The Royal 500 model debuted in November of 1955 with a hand-wired version. But by the next year they were building them with circuit boards like everybody else. Very WELL-BUILT circuit boards, I must add. Many changes were made to their top-of-the-line Royal 500 model in those early years, inside and out, but the overall look remained the same. The same, until 1961 when the radically different Royal 500H appeared. What a performer that radio is. 1964 saw the $60 500H replaced with the $40 Royal 500L, another major design change inside and out. And that brings us to today's radio, the Zenith Royal 500N from around 1965. It's the last of the Royal 500s, a line of transistor radios that was in its day arguably the finest produced in the United States, or anywhere else.
The box here says "World's Finest Performance, Zenith Royal 500N Eight Transistor Radio." Where all previous Royal 500 models were in a vertical coat-pocket configuration, as you saw, the 500N is in a squarish shape.
The case here is not leather by any stretch of the imagination and has now grown stiff just sitting in its box. There's a strap provided too, and it's tucked inside the case. Most collectors expert in the Zenith transistor radio line consider this last Royal 500 to be a dumbed down radio in terms of performance, but in build quality it is still a quite impressive and hefty little beast. There's a dial light--turned on by pressing the logo button on the lower right of the front. The handle is much smaller than on previous 500s and it no longer also serves as a stand the way the handles on previous Royal 500s did. Such a stand isn't really needed here since this radio's construction and lower center of gravity helps it stand up perfectly well without leaning on a stand.
A single screw holds the back on. This one is model number R500WN. The model type is the N. W is for white. There's also a gray CN model, the C standing for "charcoal." Like all the Royal 500s, it uses four penlight batteries delivering 6 volts. They're still using an open-air tuning capacitor in here. Notwithstanding the low opinion held of this radio by other collectors, it gives me the same high quality impression I have come to expect when looking under the hood of any Zenith product. I can't see the brand on any of these transistors. It's difficult to pinpoint the origin of many of the parts inside. They are not all domestic US parts, though, I can say for sure because I see at least one of the electrolytic capacitors is marked "Japan" and it looks original to the radio. The tuning capacitor is marked "TRW." Are these the same people that mess with your credit rating? I don't know. A couple of parts inside are marked "Murata," which sounds Japanese, although there is no country of origin on those parts so I think we have to assume they are US-made. Foreign made parts in American products had to be so labeled, so something not marked we should be able to assume was American made.
It seems odd to even say that something would be assumed to be American-made. These days we make that assumption about very few things. And none of those things are electronic. See some of my other videos on this channel if you want to hear me rant about that.
With this last Royal 500, Zenith was still trying, at least. As American business was offshoring manufacturing en masse, Zenith held out longer than most. This radio may not perform up to previous Royal 500 standards, but it's still a decent performer and an extremely well-built radio.
And it's attractive.. IF you like things heavy and heavily chromed. .. And you know, I think that was where this radio missed the mark. At the time it was made, the era it represented, that of heft and of abundant chrome, was 5 years in the past. This radio would have been more successful then. By the mid-1960s when this radio appeared, product design had moved on to a ((Mustang)) lighter, sleeker, more youthful look, making what had been the height of style just a few years before seem stodgy.
So yes, there's a design story here, and that contributes to my interest in this radio. But what makes this radio special to me, beyond its styling or anything else, is that it freezes a moment in time-- a moment when you could still buy an American-made transistor radio.
