War Changes Radio
World War Two changed how people used radio. Radio portability was not too important until
Herr Hitler started absorbing his neighbors.
Then everyone began listening to radio news to see who might be absorbed
next. The interest in the news sparked a
desire to have a radio on hand at all times.
That meant portability. Once the war
started in earnest the demand for portable radios took a huge leap. This was especially so in the UK. In 1937 Pye Radio Works Ltd., a British company,
sold a radio called the Baby Q. It was portable in that it had a handle and was
powered by batteries. It was not
initially a great seller. When the war
began portable radios like the Baby Q were in short supply in UK, but were then definitely in
demand.
In the U.S. demand for portable radios
developed a little slower. The War news
from Europe was not as big a draw for radio
listeners until Herr Hitler seemed to be winning everywhere. That occurred sometime in 1940. Then the public wanted to listen to the radio
almost every waking minute. Portable
radios quickly became very popular. Although the suitcase size “picnic portables”
were selling well by 1940, the public apparently wanted something more
convenient. That need was addressed by
the small personal portable radios. The
RCA BP-10 was the first. When introduced
by in the summer of 1940 they were an instant success.
In 1940 there were about seven manufacturers of
personal portable radios: RCA, Lafayette,
Allied, Automatic, Sears, Sonora, and Westinghouse. In 1941 the number ballooned to more than
twenty. Almost every major
radio manufacturer offered a personal size portable radio. Thanks to RCA’s miniature tubes (introduced
in 1939), some radios were almost small enough to carry in a large pocket. The Emerson model 432 and RCA model BP-10
were in this category. Both were
introduced in 1940.
Although
the public started buying battery portable radios in a big way, many were
reluctant to buy a radio that provided just fair performance even if the radio
was cheap. The 1941Consumers’ Research
Bulletin, (forerunner of Consumers’ Report magazine) stated that, “The tone
quality of all these sets is very poor, and other differences between the
various models are slight, so that personal taste in the matter of appearance,
the reception achieved, size, etc., is the basis almost as good as any for
making a purchase.” Apparently the
rating agency did not consider easy portability and instant accessibility as
important to the public.
Many radio manufacturers also didn’t get the point
of a personal portable radio. Some
manufacturers made their portable radios smaller than table model sets, but
didn’t try to reduce the size or weight to make their radios convenient to
carry. Some, like the 1940 Emerson model
379, did include a shoulder strap to ease the load. Still, most of the portables of the late
1930s and early 1940s were still just
portable from place to place. Despite
some advertisements showing people carrying working portables, none were really
designed to operate that way for very long (see http://books.google.com/books?id=c0kEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73&dq=RCA+Victor&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cs5yUaX-Gern2QWf1IDoAw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=RCA%20Victor&f=false
).
A few
manufactures did see the promise of personal portables and strived to make sets
small enough to be carried in a purse or a rather large pocket. Just before WWII Emerson, RCA, Motorola, and
a few others were offering personal portables small enough to be carried and
used just about anywhere. The Emerson
model 432, at just 80 cubic inches, was about the smallest full feature portable
radio available prior to the war.
The prewar personal portable radios
were the true forerunners of today’s portable electronic revolution. Sadly, not many survive. Below is a photo of a typical BP-10
interior. Note the rust. Battery
corrosion, humidity, and time have taken their toll.
