TR-55
Encyclopedia
The TR-55, released in 1955, was Sony
's first transistor radio
, and the first to be made in Japan
. The use of transistor
s rather than vacuum tube
s allowed the device to be much smaller than earlier radio
s, and allowed them to be the first truly portable radio from Japan.
. This made Sony the first company to produce commercial transistor radios from the ground up: Regency had an earlier transistor radio but bought the transistors from Texas Instruments
. Printed circuit boards were used, which was unusual for the time.
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's first transistor radio
Transistor radio
A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver using transistor-based circuitry. Following their development in 1954 they became the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s...
, and the first to be made in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The use of transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
s rather than vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
s allowed the device to be much smaller than earlier radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
s, and allowed them to be the first truly portable radio from Japan.
Technical specifications
The TR-55 used 5 transistors designed in house by Sony, the technology having been licensed from Bell LabsBell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
. This made Sony the first company to produce commercial transistor radios from the ground up: Regency had an earlier transistor radio but bought the transistors from Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
. Printed circuit boards were used, which was unusual for the time.