VEF Spidola ( lv, VEF Spīdola, russian: ВЭФ Спидола) was the first mass-produced transistor radio with

short wave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the High frequency, high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (10 ...

band in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. It was manufactured by the VEF factory in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, since 1962. A small series under the name "Spidola" (''Спидола'' ПМП-60) was manufactured since 1960. It was named after the fictional witch Spīdola from the

n epic poem. The word "spidola" was a

genericised trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of Good (econom ...

for "transistor radio" for a long time in Russian (other

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

s included "transistor"). In many cases, the Spidola was used to listen to Western stations (such as the ''

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...

''). The criminal prosecution of at least one Soviet dissident involved confiscation of the Spidola as an "instrument of crime," but without specifying the "crime" committed with the confiscated Spidola.

Specifications

First, "Spidola" was a ten-transistor, seven-band superheterodyne. Some versions were eight-band. *

Intermediate frequency In communications and electronic engineering, an intermediate frequency (IF) is a frequency to which a carrier wave is shifted as an intermediate step in transmission or reception. The intermediate frequency is created by mixing the carrier sign ...

: 465 kHz. * Tuning range Longwave,

Medium Wave Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytime ...

and more than five short waves ranges (13, 16, 19, 25, 31, 41, 49 and 52–75 meters). * Power supply: six D cells, of 9 V total. * Output power: 150 mW. * Dimensions: 275×197×90 mm. * Weight without batteries: 2.2 kg. * Price (1960s): abt. 73 rubles.

References

Economy of Latvia Science and technology in the Soviet Union Soviet brands Goods manufactured in the Soviet Union Radio in the Soviet Union {{Latvia-company-stub

Specifications

See also

References