Novelty Radios

[Richard1978]

I've been looking at a few sites on old technology recently.

Over the years one thing has come in & out of fashion are radios shaped like different objects.

Sometimes these were made as promotional items for companies, with the radio shaped like one of their products.

In spite of the styling they tended to be fairly basic as a radio, normally only capable of picking up medium wave, or FM on later ones.

[CrystalBall]

Re: Novelty Radios

I know the Panasonic Panapet from the 1970s is quite sought-after. A ball-shaped AM radio available in different colours, it had a chain and clasp which you could attach to your belt, bag strap etc. Unusual because the quality brands like Sony and Panasonic did not usually do novelty items like this.

[Twocky61]

Re: Novelty Radios

One brilliant one still available today is a radio that looks like a Marshal guitar amplifier

[staffslad]

Re: Novelty Radios

Years ago, one of the airlines, could have been BA or Virgin, were selling models of aircraft in their livery with a radio built in as part of on-board duty-free.

[Richard1978]

Re: Novelty Radios

Airline gifts are almost a thread on their own.

[big kid]

Re: Novelty Radios

got this one christmas when i was a kid. its about forty years old.

[staffslad]

Re: Novelty Radios

Sometime in the 80s, one of the home shopping catalogues my mum got had a model of a 1920s/1930s car with a radio inside. I couldn't say what make the car was, but it looked similar to ones you see in gangster films set in the days of Al Capone.

[big kid]

Re: Novelty Radios

my mum got had a model of a 1920s/1930s car with a radio inside.

my aunt and uncle had the same one.

[Richard1978]

Re: Novelty Radios

I've found a good site owned by a collector of old technology, including novelty radios.

There was an American company called Waco that made a range of models, including cars & boats with radios inside.

The were sold at Tandy shops here, & Radio Shack in the USA.

http://www.dustygizmos.com/

[Twocky61]

Re: Novelty Radios

One thing I remember are those headphones with radio with a control knob on the side

[staffslad]

Re: Novelty Radios

Yeah, I had a couple of pairs of those headphones radios. My dad was given them and passed them to me. They worked quite well, though mine were yellow, so a bit garish for my taste. I remember during Euro '96 listening to football matches on them.

I have a vague recollection of the novelty radios sold by Tandy, but nothing definite. Our closest shop was quite a distance away so I only got to visit it a couple of times a year.

Not exactly novelties in the strictest sense, but there were electronic kits that allowed you to build a radio, either in a stand-alone kit or as part of a bigger kit of projects.

[Richard1978]

Re: Novelty Radios

As mentioned on the site, Clive Sinclair made kit radios & modular hi-fis before getting into calculators & computers.