Hartmut Jatzke-Wigand
 
Jo Klatt: Braun Portable Receivers

Jo Klatt

Braun Portable Receivers


Braun produced their first portable receiver before World War II. lt was only logical to continue this line of production in 1955.

 

First to come out was the 'exporter', a redesign and the 'transistor1' with adjustable leather belt. The first sets of this series were fitted with a - at that time - modern mixed technology: batteries and transistors.

 

The second series was started with the T 52 which came with a metal grip lockable in various operating modes. Later sets were an example of the progressive transistor technology; the sets became smaller.

 

The following photos and descriptions of the individual models will offer an overall survey for the collector. lt points out special rareties, their value and availability. A complete list of all models can be found at the end of the article.

 

Portable Receivers 'transistor 1' and other models of these series.
The series directly derived from the 'transistor 1' is of less importance than the T 52 range. Exceptions are the T 22 with ultra short wave and the T 23 with four short wave channels.

 

Regretfully, the plastic housings tend to become yellow as the years go by. This can be seen in all sets of this period. The original color can be seen on the inside of the housing. The buyer may call himself lucky if he happens to pick up an otherwise flawless set, since the portable receivers are rarely found intact. lt is for instance almost impossible to pick up a set of the A catagory. Models with the simple plastic overlay are even less interesting since they are made of wood covered by a padded plastic overlay; colors are blue and graphit.

 

Portable Receivers T 52 and other models of the series.
As already mentioned, the T 2 series has been more successful. The last model was the white T 580 version which turned out the most interesting of all. White and light grey are the most common colors. Receivers with ultra short wave channels are usually preferred by collectors. Slight damages of the surface or even more serious ones as well as color defects are equally found. Models of the T 52 series are sometimes also damaged when opening the set's housing. A crossed screw and the so-called 'snab-in'-technology keep the housing together. Since the 'snab-in'-technology is widely unknown to most collectors we hope the following short instructions will help to come to terms with it.

 

Series, 'transistor 1'


Portable receiver 'transistor 1'
Design: Dieter Rams, 1957. Plastic housing, light grey. 4 keys, MW, KW, LW. Without telescopic antenna. Driven by 6 V tent batteries.

 

Portable receiver 'transistor 2'
Design: Dieter Rams, 1958. Plastic housing, light grey. 4 keys, MW, LW. Without telescopic antenna. Driven by 6 V tent batteries.

 

Portable receiver 'transistor k'
Design: Dieter Rams, 1959. Plastic housing, light grey. 5 keys, MW, KW, LW. Without telescopic antenna. Driven by V 6 tent batteries. Although at that time fully transistorized sets were available transistors for short waves operating were rejected because of their pour quality. A mixed tube-transistor technology was preferred. For the right voltage of the tubes a converter was used. Therefore a 6 V cell battery supplied sufficient power.

 

T 22 Portable receiver
Design: Dieter Rams, 1960. Plastic housing, light grey. 5 keys, MW, KW, LW, UKW. With telescopic antenna. Driven by mono cells.

 

Portable receiver T 23
Design: Dieter Rams, 1960. Plastic housing, light grey. 5 keys, MW, 4 x KW. With extra long teleskopic antenna. Driven by mono cells.

 

Portable receiver T 24
Design: Dieter Rams, 1960. Plastic housing, light grey. 4 keys, KW, MW, LW. Without telescopic antenna. Driven by mono cells.

 

Portable receiver T 220
Design: Dieter Rams, 1961. Wood with padded plastic overlay, blue and graphit. 5 keys, MW, KW, LW, UKW. With telescopic antenna. Driven by mono cells.

 

Portable rceiver T 221
Design: Dieter Rams, 1963. Wood with padded plastic overlay, graphit. Exportmodel. 5 keys, MW, TA, UKW, UKW automatic. With telescopic antenna. Driven by mono cells.

 

Portable receiver T 225
Design: Dieter Rams, 1963. Wood with padded plastic overlay, blue. Export model. 5 keys, MW, KW, LW, UKW. With telescopic antenna. Driven by mono cells.

 

Series T 52

 

Portable receiver T 52
Design: Dieter Rams, 1961. Plastic housing, light grey und blue-grey. Flat buttons, 3 keys: UKW, MW, LW. Telescopic antenna. Driven by baby cells.

 

Portable receiver T 54
Design: Dieter Rams, 1961. Plastic housing, light grey and grey. Flat knobs, 3 keys: KW, MW, LW. No telescopic antenna. Driven by baby cells. Further portable sets in small quantities or planned: T 53, T 55 (for US market), T 56, T 57.

 

Portable receiver T 520
Design: Dieter Rams, 1962. Plastic housing, light grey, blue-grey, graphit. Large buttons, 3 keys: UKW, MW, LW. Telescopic antenna. Car fasteners. Driven by baby cells.

 

Portable receiver T 521
Design: Dieter Rams, 1962. Plastic housing, light grey, blue-grey, graphit. Large buttons, 3 keys: UKW, KW, MW. Telescopic antenna. Car fasteners. Driven by baby cells. Further portable sets in small quantities or planned: T 523, T 524, T 525.

 

Portable Receiver T 530
Design: Dieter Rams, 1962. Plastic housing, light grey, blue-grey, graphit. Large buttons, 3 keys: 2 x KW, MW. Telescopic antenna. Driven by baby cells.

 

Portable receiver T 540
Design: Dieter Rams, 1962. Plastic housing, light grey, blue-grey, graphit. Large buttons, 3 keys: KW, MW, LW. No telescopic antenna. Driven by baby cells.

 

Portable receiver T 510
Design: Dieter Rams, 1963. Plastic housing, light grey, blue-grey, graphit. Large buttons, 3 keys: UKW, MW, LW. Telescopic antenna. Driven by baby cells.

 

Universal portable car receiver T 580
Design: Dieter Rams, 1963. Plastic housing, white, dark grey. Large buttons with colormarks. 4 keys: FM/AM, M/L, battery/car, UKW/autom. Telescopic antenna. Driven by baby cells.

 

Accessories
Car fastening TH 5 Car fastening TH 50 Car fastening TH 56 Security lock for car fastenings Dynamic small ear phones KTH 2 Leather case, light brown, dark brown, red brown

 

 

Source:
Klatt, J.: Braun Portable Receivers. In: Design+Design 26, Hamburg Sept. 1993, 5-15

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