Seventy years ago, the British radio enthusiast who wanted to be the first on his block to own a transistor radio could do so, thanks to the plans contained in the February 1956 issue of Radio Constructor.

The portable set, dubbed the “Transistorette,” had been on display at a national radio show, where it had great interest.  As soon as transistors became available in Britain, the editors of the magazine got to work coming up with a practical circuit.  With a short antenna and ground connection, the set provided good loudspeaker volume on the medium wave band.  It was essentially a crystal set, with a three-transistor audio amplifier.  It ran off a 22.5 volt battery, and since transistors were new, the magazine contained a stern warning of the consequences of hooking the battery up with the wrong polarity.