The first of at least three versions, this is one of those radios I love for its being so glaringly "primitive": the speaker grill holes don't line up, the "ECHO" logo is hilariously uneven, the tuning dial cuts into the cabinet body... and it's an absolutely gorgeous radio! And so "geometric" -- circle, trapazoid, rectangle... Looks like late '50s but probably assembled in early '60s from old parts bought out from other mfrs. The transistors are early oval Hitachi's, and the resistors are the sort where the ohmage is numbered rather than color-coded. The Echo's serial numbering allows for only four digits. And look, ma, no CD's! But given the history of transistor radio makers naming their sets after anything in orbit, this radio very likely was named after the Echo communications satellite, launched in August, 1960. The radio's mfr: Kokyo Electron Ind. Co. Ltd.

Another version of the Echo (courtesy Made in Japan, page 3, © 1993 by Roger Handy, Maureen Erb, Henry Blackham, and Aileen Antonier): The cabinet styling of this set shows a much-needed refinement over the (classic) sloppy goofiness of the Echo 225 pictured above -- but O, the irony! This sleek-looking job is a "Boy's Radio." It has a 2-transistor chassis. In terms of performance, it's a piece of junk. Today's lesson: you can't judge a transistor radio by its cover.

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© 2007 by Robert Davidson, transistors@abetterpage.com