What is a transistor radio?
A transistor radio is a portable semiconductor device used to change between or amplify electronic signals. The electrical signal is then reproduced through loudspeakers on the device as an audio signal.HistoryThe first working transistor radio made its debut at the Dusseldorf Radio Fair in August 1953 by the German engineering firm Intermetall. The first production model transistor radios were available in 1954 through Texas Instruments and the Regency Division of Industrial Development Engineering Associates.FunctionA transistor radio reproduce electrical signals transmitted by radio towers as audio. The device captures the electrical signal via an antenna, which is a transducer made to receive electromagnetic waves.SignificanceThe transistor radio was the first not to require vacuum tubes. Radios utilizing vacuum tubes require more electricity to operate. Transistors instantly respond to an electrical signal. The filament of a vacuum tube must heat up before they become operational.
