A Transistor Museum Interview with Joe D’Airo

Transistor History at Trans-Aire Electronics Inc

Concluding Comments

Throughout the 1950s, beginning with the introduction of the historic TR-1 transistor radio by Regency in 1954, American radio manufacturers dominated the US market for these products.  Well established companies such as GE, RCA, Magnavox, Philco and Zenith produced huge quantities of transistor radios for US consumers, with substantial prices (and profits), at least initially.  By the late 1950s, Japanese manufacturers, such as Sony and Toshiba, were able to sell well designed and highly popular radios into the US at much lower prices.  Only a few US companies were able to maintain a market presence into the 1960/70s, and Trans-Aire was one of those companies.  This Oral History has provided a first-hand account of the saga of Trans-Aire Electronics, a little known and almost forgotten pioneering US company that succeeded for over 15 years in producing transistor radios in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving technological environment.   The Transistor Museum is grateful to Joe D’Airo for his active participation and support of this important Oral History.

 

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You’ll find many more pages of related historical material at these sites:

 

 

Joe D’Airo 1972 Publication in

 Radio Electronics Magazine

 

 

Photo Gallery of 1950s and 1960s

Trans-Aire Radios

Concluding Comments

 

These Audio Links are Excerpts

from a 2010 Transistor Museum

Interview with Mr. Joe D’Airo.

 

 

Working at Trans-Aire in the 1960s

Joe D'Airo Audio Clip #1

 

 

Trans-Aire Hong Hong Production

Joe D'Airo Audio Clip #2

 

 

Using Transistor “Fall-outs”

Joe D'Airo Audio Clip #3

 

 

The Many Different Brand Names for Trans-Aire Radios

Joe D'Airo Audio Clip #4

 

 

The Trans-Aire Vietnam Radio  

Joe D'Airo Audio Clip #5

 

 

Trans-Aire Advanced Circuit Design 

Joe D'Airo Audio Clip #6

 

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COPYRIGHT © 2010 by Jack Ward.  All Rights Reserved.  http://www.transistormuseum.com/

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