These represented a snapshot of the American consciousness following the revelation of nuclear weaponry and the onset of the Cold War in the late 1940s and early 1950s. On the brass dial used for navigating radio stations there existed four small red arrows evenly spaced over the dial. I will discuss the effect of privacy as a feature of the design of the TR-1 and subsequent transistor radios in creating a new climate and attitude regarding the radio in the Transistor Radio: Design, Privacy, and the Power of Portability page of this site.Ī fascinating feature of the Regency TR-1 related to its cultural epoch and context in the wake of World War II. This critical aspect of the design of the Regency TR-1 had perhaps the most profound impact on the means and channels through which the radio shaped the consciousness of American society. It created an environment in which a whole new range of user interests came into demand, with the ability to listen privately outside the context of family or household listening sessions. Further, and perhaps more importantly, the TR-1 allowed true privacy in listening for the first time in the relatively short history of the radio. Firstly, it offered further promise of mobility and flexibility in the possessor’s use and range of application for the TR-1. The inclusion of this addition reveals the apparent value of the TR-1 to its manufacturers and their recognition of its potential. This silences the speaker and allows the user to hear radio programs under conditions of high ambient noise or situations in which operation of the speaker is not desirable” (Burke, 3). Interestingly, in advertisements for later models, they did not make such a gender claim and also pictured the TR-1 in a woman’s hands:Īs another transcendent and futuristic feature, the TR-1 came with an optional earphone sold for $7.50, as the manual describes, “A distinctive feature of the design of this receiver is the provision for private earphone reception made possible by the development of a lower impedance earphone which replaces the loudspeaker when a miniature plug is inserted to a diminutive jack accessible through a hole in the side of the case. This assumption likely stemmed from the expense of the product, presuming that men, either within a family or successful single men, were the only demographic with that much dispensable income at that time. Clearly, the companies felt that target audience of their product was males. Note the androcentric advertising methods here, explicitly appealing to a male audience. The dimensions of 5 inches by 3 inches by 1 ¼ inches are small enough so that the receiver conveniently fits into the pocket of a man’s shirt.” (Burke, 2). In the official manual, they advertise, “The receiver has been completely transistorized in addition, it has been miniaturized to the point where it truly is a pocket-sized radio receiver. recognized the immense potential of a portable radio receiver, and marketed it accordingly. Sold at 3 inches by 5 inches by 1.25 inches and weighing only 12 ounces even with its 22.5 volt battery, the portability of the device allowed for an enormous range of opportunities previously impossible. The revolutionarily simple aspect of the design of the Regency TR-1 however, proved to be its size. An additional advantage of the TR-1 over the bulkier “portable” vacuum tube competitors was its battery life, which drew only 4mA of power, allowing for battery life from 20 to 30 hours, significantly longer than the mere 3 hours offered by vacuum tube models (Burke, 1). Nearly a literal mirror image of the iPod along its horizontal axis, the TR-1 consisted of a simple control dial at its top and a speaker at its base (the correlate ‘screen’ of the iPod). The incredible simplicity in the design of the TR-1 reflected this futurism, with a similar analog in the modern image of the iPod. This alone suggests that the TR-1 cared significantly about exterior design – it wasn’t just about its function, but a fashion that reflected futurism. The TR-1 came in several colors: black, bone white, mandarin red, and cloud gray. Still, the moderate success the Regency TR-1 obtained undoubtedly can be owed largely to its physical appearance. However, the innovative application of transistors remains a groundbreaking feat and its quality is nonetheless impressive, considering the raw and pioneering nature of the venture. Consequently, the TR-1 received largely negative reviews for its audio quality and noise instability. To present this appearance, the companies spent a majority of their efforts in designing the exterior design of the TR-1. Without a doubt, the Regency TR-1 presented a strong message: the future.
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