Transitone

Philco, Philadelphia Stg. Batt. Co.; USA

Data
Forum
Pictures
Collections

  • Year
  • 1927
perfect model
  • Category
  • Car Radio, perhaps also + sound player/recorder
  • Radiomuseum.org ID
  • 218082

 Technical Specifications

  • Wave bands
  • Broadcast only (MW).
  • Power type and voltage
  • Other, details in remarks or not known.
  • Material
  • Metal case
  • from Radiomuseum.org
  • Model: Transitone - Philco, Philadelphia Stg. Batt
  • Shape
  • Chassis only or for «building in»
  • Notes
  • Often named as "First commercially built in car radio" - a Chevrolet Sedan was to have with this in 1927. But: According to the book "Chronicle of the American Automobile over 100 Years of Auto History," copyright 1994 by Publications International, LTD, it was possible to buy a 1922 Chevrolet with a Westinghouse radio installed. The radio cost $200.

    See also this interesting website: philcoradio.com/autorad.htm. It starts: "The history of Philco auto radios can be traced back to the Automobile Radio Corporation, which was formed in 1927 by C. Russell Feldman to produce Transitone radios for installation in automobiles. The early Transitones had two-dial tuning and took up a lot of dashboard space. And with a price tag of over $150, the early Transitone car radios sold poorly. There was another important name which would later become involved with Transitone, however. William M. Heina of The Bronx, New York, was a prolific inventor who had previously invented an axle bearing and a resilient automobile tire. He formed his own company, the Heina Radio Corporation, prior to the beginnings of Automobile Radio Corporation. In 1926, Heina applied for a patent for the use of a radio in the dashboard of an automobile, along with a loop antenna in the roof of the car. The patent was granted April 26, 1927. Heina's company was acquired by the Automobile Radio Corporation in 1927." The text is interesting and after that quite models are showed with pictures, followed by a quite complete list of Philco-transitone Automobile Radios.

    We can add that the first patent of Heina was number 1,626,464, filed Sept 16, 1926, granted April 26, 1927 for "Portable Radio Apparatus". The first picture shows a car with all the necessary installations.
  • Author
  • Model page created by Ernst Erb. See "Data change" for further contributors.

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