Collecting Prewar Personal Portable radios

Although personal electronics got its start prior to WWII its impetus was cut short.  In April of 1942 production of radios as well as most other consumer electronics was stopped for the duration of the war.  Production of electronics for civilian uses did not resume until late 1945.  So, for almost three years there were no new radios, televisions, or phonographs.  When production resumed the demand was so great that shortages developed due to lack of critical components.  Nevertheless, the post war radio production was huge compared to the number of prewar radios produced.

Personal radios, like the RCA BP-10, were only available from the summer of 1940 until the April 1942 production stoppage.  RCA redesigned their line of personal radios after the war and came out with a series of personal portables including their models 2B401, B411, and the gold plated 54B5.

            Other manufacturers dusted off their prewar personal radio designs and produced them essentially unchanged from their prewar versions.  Examples include the Motorola model 5A1, which was identical to the prewar A1.  Some manufactures redesigned their personal radios to add improvements.  The Emerson model 508 of 1946 is basically an improved version of the prewar model 432 personal radio.  A few manufacturers just ignored the personal radio market to concentrate on television and other electronics.  Zenith was one such company.  Zenith produced their model 4K600 “Poketradio”  personal portable prior to the war, but did not offer another personal portable radio until transistors were available in the mid 1950s.  Instead, Zenith concentrated on sales of their large multi-band “Transoceanic” portable radio.

Since, the production of prewar personal portables lasted only a few years the number available to collectors and restorers is very limited.  Also, many were thrown away due to battery corrosion and obsolescence (transistors were the new craze).  By the 1960s the high voltage batteries required for the tubes were expensive and becoming hard to find.  Those surviving are primarily the radios produced in the highest volume.  The RCA BP-10 is a good example of a popular prewar personal portable that is often seen on eBay and other sales venues.  Production totaled more the 200,000, which is pretty amazing for the time.  Other portables that seem moderately common include the Motorola A1, Emerson 432, and Zenith model 4K600 “Poketradio”.  There are a lot of very rare sets that apparently were poor sellers or not rugged enough to survive.  Among those might be the Crosley model 45 “Commuter” and the Lafayette model E-191. 

  A few pre WWII personal portable radios including: A. Knight - B10506, 

B. Fada - 33, C. Motorola - A1, and D. Emerson – 432

Collecting and restoring personal portable radios has some advantages over collecting and restoring table top or console radios.  Obviously, personal portable radios are much smaller.  Also, they also tend to be cheaper, because there currently isn’t much interest in them compared to other types.  Transistor radios seem to be an exception.  But, the transistor radio collectors generally ignore most of the early tube based portables. 

There are a few drawbacks to collecting tube portables.  One drawback, as previously mentioned, is their comparative rarity.  Personal portables were manufactured for two years before WWII and for about ten years after the war.  They were not promoted heavily by the radio manufacturers, probably because they were rather inexpensive to begin with.  Lastly, they were generally a secondary radio sold to those going places without reliable AC power.  Since they were inexpensive many were replaced by transistor radio when they became available.  The tube portables were often junked.  The really rare tube portables seem to be the personal portable battery only models.  Since these could not be run from the AC line they were of limited interest to the buying public.  True battery only portables appeared in 1939.  By 1942, when radio production was suspended for the war, sales of battery only portable radios were only about a third the number of portables capable and battery and line AC/DC line operation.  Most of the battery only radios seem to have been bought as personal radios for travel, camping, and other activities were small size was of overriding importance.

Electrical restoration of battery powered tube portables is usually straight forward.  The original circuit components were rarely stressed to the same degree as in AC line operated radios.  The low power dissipation and circuit voltages were generally much less than the components were designed to handle.  Many 70 and 80 year old portable radios will play just fine with most of their original parts.  The exception is polarized capacitors.  They almost always need replacing.  Fortunately, most battery only radios rarely have more than one polarized capacitor.  After replacing that capacitor the radio will most likely play as it did when new. 

An early tube portable radio in working condition is a true window into the history of portable electronics. The next time someone demonstrates their latest smart phone it might be a good time to show them where it all started.  The fact that hand carried electronics existed that long ago is often a surprise to non radio enthusiasts.