my new GE transistor radio

[jr_tech]

Yep, I have a whole box full of these ugly little "leather" cases stored away in case I want to sell any radio "complete, with accessories".

Im guessing mid 70s... I have 3 of these little GE radios from this era, and they are really cute to display. They are made from a mix of US and offshore parts, perhaps assembled in the US, I don't know.

To achieve the compact size, GE used a very strange speaker which is a "moving vane" rather than a "moving coil" design. There is no output transformer, as the fixed position coil on the speaker is center tapped, to accommodate the two push-pull output transistors. The speaker also does not use a large permanent magnet either, which also saves space. Now the bad news... this innovative, compact design sounds very "tinny", and I rarely play any of mine.

Certainly, it wont hurt to replace the electrolytic capacitors, particularly if the radio squeals or has considerable audio distortion.

I got most of mine at garage sales, perhaps 10 to 20 years ago, usually under 5 bucks, but suspect that the value has increased somewhat.

jr

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Yep, I have a whole box full of these ugly little "leather" cases stored away in case I want to sell any radio "complete, with accessories".

Im guessing mid 70s... I have 3 of these little GE radios from this era, and they are really cute to display. They are made from a mix of US and offshore parts, perhaps assembled in the US, I don't know.

To achieve the compact size, GE used a very strange speaker which is a "moving vane" rather than a "moving coil" design. There is no output transformer, as the fixed position coil on the speaker is center tapped, to accommodate the two push-pull output transistors. The speaker also does not use a large permanent magnet either, which also saves space. Now the bad news... this innovative, compact design sounds very "tinny", and I rarely play any of mine.

Certainly, it wont hurt to replace the electrolytic capacitors, particularly if the radio squeals or has considerable audio distortion.

I got most of mine at garage sales, perhaps 10 to 20 years ago, usually under 5 bucks, but suspect that the value has increased somewhat.

jr

I would have to see the inside of that radio. I think the radio was made after the era of the "moving vane" type speaker.
I've seen GE radios using that setup, but they seemed to be 1960's design. Motorola had a model of that design, as well.
The later 60's and into the 70's, most manufacturers were going into the OTL design, using a complimentary output stage, using an odd speaker impedence and capacitor coupled.