Portable Transistors
One month after the introduction of the first Royal 500 hand-wired radio, Zenith introduced their first portable transistor radio. It was called the Royal 800. The Royal 800 was a lunch box sized nylon cabinet portable radio that had a pop-up handle on top that also served as the antenna.
The Royal 800 really packs a punch. It is powered by 8 “C” size batteries and has a large 4″ front speaker, seven transistors, and undistorted output of 500 milliwatts (5 times the Royal 500). The Royal 800 was a radio that was ahead of it’s time. Zenith made the Royal 800 in Black and also a scarce gray version. They sold for $89.95 and in my opinion, that was a lot of performance for the price. But the popularity of the smaller Royal 500 led to the 800’s short life and limited production. This makes them quite a find today for the collector.
The Royal 800 was soon replaced by two leather portables in 1957; the Royal 700 and Royal 750. The change to leather was a trend that would continue as Zenith produced several other leather lunch box sized portables over the next few years. In 1958, they introduced the first Navigator with the Royal 760. 1959 saw the Royal 675 “Independence” and the Royal 710 “Yorktown” from the Americana series, as well as the Royal 755’s and another Navigator, the Royal 780. In 1961, the Royal 650 was introduced along with a redesigned Royal 675, 710, and yes, another Navigator; the Royal 790 Super Navigator.
Of all the portables Zenith made, I like the earliest ones the best because of their styling. Their grills look like they were patterned after the cars at that time.
Check out these Portable Transistors radios.
Black Royal 800Gray Royal 800
Royal 700
Royal 750
Royal 760 Navigator
Royal 675 Independence
Royal 755LF
Royal 755LG
Royal 755LK
Royal 790 Super Navigator
Royal 880 AM/FM Portable
Scarce Black Leather Royal 750
Portables
December 29th, 2006 at 4:06 am
This blog is great!
February 4th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
good blog i like the layout
May 15th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Very nice. Love this place!
Keep up the good work!
May 25th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I like your site. Well done!
I’ll come by again soon.
July 15th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Hi Gary, this is Michael Jack here. I met you the other day at the Lansing EXTRAVAGANZA show. I’m the transistor radio collector from north of Toronto.
As promised I am forwarding you my website link so you can check out my humble collection. http://squirl.info/collection/show/86
By the way, you site, knowledge and collection is top notch!
Nice to meet you. We’ll see you again next year!
October 6th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Thank you for sharing!
March 1st, 2008 at 10:38 am
HI GARY I AM HAPPY TO SEE THAT SOMEONE ELSE SHARES MY PASSION FOR OLD TRANSISTOR RADIOS.MINE IS THE CHANNEL MASTER RADIOS. I BAUGHT ONE AS A KID IN MAINE BACK IN EARLY SIXTIES. THE 6515 MODEL. I TOOK IT EVERY WHERE I WENT IT WAS MY IDENTITY. I TOOK IT INTO THE NAVY WITH ME AS WELL I STILL HAVE IT TODAY, AND I USE IT ALL THE TIME. I IS GREAT AT PICKING UP DISTANT STATIONS. I HAVE STARTED BUYING, FIXING, AND SELLING THEM ON EBAY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE I CAN FIX YOURS. I WOULD ONLY CHARGE FOR PARTS. DONT GET ME WRONG I AM NOT TRYING TO DRUM UP BUSINESS HERE, I JUST THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO HAVE THE RADIOS WORK. I HOPE YOU WILL AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE MY EMAIL. I ALWAYS WANTED A ZENITH TRANSOCEANIC RADIO, BUT MORE THAT I COULD AFFORD. TAKE CARE GOOD COLLECTING. LENNY WA1LCW
April 26th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Hi Gary,
Again, thank you for the great 1000D.
I lived in Caracas Venzuela from 1951 to 1959 since my father worked for United Geophysical located in Pasadina, California and Venezuela had a lot of oil exploration activity in the 1950s. Around 1958 I conected my father’s Zenith Royal 500 to a long-wire antenna and pick-up stations in New York and Los Angeles, California at night. I was thrilled since I was born in Los Angeles and missed the place of my birth in 1939. Lots of reading and soldering lead to jobs as a Chief Engineer and happy retirement. Some day I would like to get my hands on a Royal 500 in good condition. Reliving your childhood is one of the nice activities of retirement. The 1000D was one of many fond memories.
Mike Louder
August 31st, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Lenny, I just obtained a Channel Master AM/SW radio that I can not get to work very well. I was wondering if you would like to try your magic on it? Let me know if you are interestd and we can discuss the arrangements.
Thanks, Gary 313 310-4660
October 18th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Hi, Gary. Robbay at Worthpoint suggested I contact you about a transistor radio I have. It’s a Zenith Royal 800, just like yours…same color scheme…not in as good condition as yours (which looks perfect) but mine doesn’t seem to have any major flaws, either. I haven’t tested it yet, and to be honest, besides putting batteries in it and turning it on, I’m not sure HOW to test it.
Anyway, I’ve been having a heck of a time getting a bead on what it might be worth and where the best places are to post if for sale. I’m hoping you can help.
I can send pictures, etc. if you like…and thanks in advance for your time.
June 8th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Hi Gary, I just wanted to let you know that the two radios I purchased arrived on Monday morning 6/8/09 in perfect condition! I am completely satisfied with the radios, and they both work. Thank you for the good packing and the fast delivery. They only took two days to arrive! Sincerely,
April 27th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
i have about 6 zenith royal 500s and only my blue gray works well so i decided to get them working again. i have had them along with many other transistors for many yrs. 20 plus. well i have known norm smith for many years and i saw him at a recent radio meet here in florida and he said that he will work on them for me. isnt that a stroke of luck. norm is very knowlagable and i could listen to him talk about transistors for hrs.