Looking back

July 1960

Portable short-wave-radio sets were one of the radio industry's newest enticements for consumers' dollars, promising a world of entertainment. Decades before the Internet, the promoters of those radios offered broadcasts of news, music, and plays from all parts of world. One of the top radio portables, though, weighed a hefty 18 pounds. The Philco T9 cost $229.95 ($1,690.68 in 2010 dollars) and required six D batteries. Our review said the new transistor technology helped to extend battery life.

In quotes

"However, the listening habit that such receivers serve has not been important to most Americans since the dawn-period of radio broadcasts, in the early twenties."