The Era for Pocket Radio Build Quality

[compucat]

In working on and collecting pocket radios from various periods, I have found that the best build quality seems to be from the early 1960s, particularly in Japanese pocket radios. Many have actual metal fronts instead of the later painted plastic, the cases seem to be a little less fragile, performance is good and the chassis screws go into little brass bushings instead of stripping out the plastic with self-tapping screws. There is generally more attention to detail. The early Sixties pocket sets are my favorite niche in transistor radio collecting because quality seemed to peak and style was still evident too.

The earlier sets from the Fifties do have a lot more flair but are far more fragile in terms of the plastic cases and the clear plastic reverse painted parts seem prone to stress cracks. They are great to look at but I would not try to put one into daily portable service. By the mid to late Seventies, pocket radios got very plain and the cheapness was evident as the profit margins were probably long gone.

I would be interested to know what other transistor radio collectors think regarding these matters.