A table radio is a small, self-contained radio receiver used as an entertainment device. Most such receivers are limited to radio functions, though some have

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

audio cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog audio, analog magnetic tape recording format for Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording and playback. Invented by L ...

players and

clock radio An alarm clock or alarm is a clock that is designed to alert an individual or group of people at a specified time. The primary function of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they can sometimes be used for o ...

functions built in; some models also include

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

functionality. Though generally compact in design, table radios are not necessarily intended to be portable in the manner of a

boom box A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered throu ...

. Many can run on battery power, however, making them useful as emergency radios. Some with CD functionality traditionally have top loading CD players but more recently can have front loading CD players.

History

Although some households owned one or more sophisticated table radios or console models with

and radio-

phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

combinations as early as the 1920s, table radios offered in various cabinet materials and designs at an assortment of prices from $10 to over $100 proliferated in the 1930s. They were characterized by relatively high fidelity sound, as well as large cabinets typically made of wood and metal, with some made from various colors of

bakelite Bakelite ( ), formally , is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Belgian chemist ...

and

catalin Catalin is a brand name for a thermosetting polymer developed and trademarked in 1927 by the American Catalin Corporation of New York City, when the patent on Bakelite expired that year. A phenol formaldehyde resin, it can be worked with files, ...

plastic resins. During those years, listening to the radio was considered a family activity. Some of the more well known examples from this period are

Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchase ...

cathedral models 70 and 90. During the 1940s, table model radios were considered the backbone of the radio manufacturing industry. Volume increased after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and accounted for almost two thirds of all sets produced in the US in 1946. More compact table radios with both

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, thermionic valve (British usage), or tube (North America) is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. It ...

and

transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

technology became available in the 1950s, and smaller table radios such as

s became dominant during this period. The use of plastic cabinets also became widespread. Lower performance standards resulted in declining sound quality, especially in early all-transistor sets. The popularity of

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

led to the table radio's decline as the primary means to receive news and entertainment in a communal or family setting, and their increasing use in individual or personal settings. High performance table radios such as the KLH Model Eight were introduced in the 1960s, and followed in the late 1990s and early 2000s by table radios that offered AM/FM stereo reception and

CD player A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital audio, digital optical disc data storage format. CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982. CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such a ...

functions, such as the Kloss Model 88 and Bose Wave radio.

References

Receiver (radio)
{{Radio-comm-stub

History

See also

References