It was available in 4 colours (yellow, red, green and black).įollow along with this teardown to get a look into an important piece of consumer electronics history. In Japan the TR-63 sold for 13,800 yen, and the original export price was U$39.95. That's an indication of the progress made in the electronics industry in the past 50 years. By comparison, the Cell processor chip in the PS3 contains two to three hundred million transistors. 2SB52 PNP transistors are used in the pushpull output stage. The TR-63 contains a whopping 6 transistors. Model: TR-712 - Sony Corporation Tokyo Shape Portable set > 8 inch (also usable without mains) Dimensions (WHD) 11.5 x 7 x 4.5 inch / 292 x 178 x 114 mm Notes Two versions of this model are known with a variation in the push pull output transistors. A foreshadowing of the Walkman and iPod, perhaps? But unlike desktop radios of the day which were promoted under the idea of "a radio in every home", the TR-63 was uniquely marketed as something each person could own and carry with them. So story has it that company salesmen wore custom-made shirts with slightly bigger pockets to show off the TR-63's small size. It seems "pocket-sized" was a bit of a marketing gimmick at the time - although smaller than any competing product, the TR-63 was a bit too big to fit into a standard shirt pocket. It became a huge commercial success, over 100,000 units were sold. The TR-63 was introduced in 1957 - it was the first "pocket-sized" transistor radio ever made and the first Sony-branded product exported to North America, by the then-named Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo company (Tokyo Telecommuncations Engineering Corporation). If we're going to tear down Sony consumer gadgets, why not start with one of the earliest? Here's a Sony TR-63 transistor radio - I forgot I had one until reminded of it by the ifixit Sony teardown promotion. Looks like an OVRA auction item.This teardown comes with a bit of a history lesson :) Now what.? I really don't need a 1967 transistor table radio taking up space. speculation, no schematic! So, I rewired the new B+ filter to include an RF chokes in both the ground line and B+ line. There seems to be one or two tiny RF caps from the PT to the FM RF/converter stage. I had inadvertently by-passed these spirals on the PCB. it looks like they are used to isolate the Power line from ground and B+ at 100 MHz RF so that the power cord could be a decent "long wire" FM antenna, not grounded at RF. Then I realized that the spiral coils on the PCB were RF chokes. By touching various points on the PCB with a 3 ft wire the FM came on strong! This radio uses the line cord as an FM antenna. but I forgot to note some PCB connections! Neither did I take a photo! Mea culpa! I put it all back based on intuition and first principles, and it worked. In so doing I unsoldered the PT and cap wires from the PCB to make the new "air circuit". I did a "Q&D" B+ volts drop calculation - still OK since we have 125 VAC mains and the radio was designed for 117 VAC. Decided to put in a pi-section B+ filter with two caps, 1000 MFD after the diodes and the 2,200 after a 27 ohm series resistor. Replaced it with a tested 2,200 MFD from the spares box, but still some audible hum. there was a quite audible 120 Hz hum! The PT is a 6 - 0 - 6 VAC with two diodes to a 1000 MFD capacitor - took it out and tested it. I re-strung it and it worked, of course.īut, new problem. even though it is a cheap radio, I could not just toss it in the trash. If the site has helped you and you also want to help others, please Upload a manual, circuit diagram or eeprom that is not yet available on the site. I have to confess to being an "obsessive compulsive fixer" of junk. SONY TR-610 TRANSISTOR RADIO TR610 POCKET TR 610 If you have any question about repairing write your question to the Message board. she simply bought a new "Tivoli" radio from Bay Bloor Radio in Toronto (no comment!) I was given the radio by a "civilian" friend who said the dial was stuck at one end. here's the abbreviated story, not reflecting all that well on me! I think I've fixed it without a schematic.
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