Vintage MICRO transistor radio 'Tidy Tot' w/ rare display box Panasonic R-111

In the transistor radio era, if you were a farmer or factory worker, you might favor something like this in the way of a radio. A sportsman, or hunter, might take something like this along. Someone in, say, middle management might prefer this kind of thing. And if you're a kid trying to sneak a radio into school, you need something like this. But if you're the Man from UNCLE, this is what you want.

This Panasonic R-111 is what is called a "micro" radio. This is a category of radios that are made as small as the technology would allow them to be made... but without leaving anything out. In other words, these are "full-featured" radios with self-contained antennae and onboard speakers.

Micro radios fascinated me as a kid. Seeing one behind the glass counter at my local drugstore was like visiting NASA and getting a glimpse inside a space capsule, where some guy was going to be shot into space, then orbit the earth a few times and crash into the ocean. Fascinating. The fact that the micros were made in Japan ran counter to the still-prevailing idea that Japanese goods were cheap. These were obviously not cheap, in looks or in price tag. For many of us, the micro radio taught us that our past perception of Japanese quality had been myopic at best. This seemed to me at the time--I'm not sure why...it seemed to be a very hopeful discovery--not at all a negative one--and indeed that hope was confirmed... as within a few years the Japanese firm Sony made possible what no one else could or would--enabling me to make and record the music that shaped my young years.

The brand Standard was by far the dominant player in micro transistor radios, having produced 13 different micros, which they named "Micronic Rubys." Shown here on the right is perhaps their best known one, the SR-G430 model. For scale, keep in mind that the larger radio, to the left, fits in a shirt pocket. The Panasonic we are looking at is not as small as some of the Standards, but it is every bit as well-made. Unlike most micro transistor radios, Panasonic's "Tidy Tot" uses a single penlite battery instead of the expensive, leaky, and kind of dangerous mercury batteries that most of the other micros used. The battery loads from the bottom, into an all metal case. The only non-metal part of this radio's cabinet is the top... and I'll bet you can guess why that is. The front is mirror-finish chrome, the sides are painted a satin black, and the back is a semi-satin finish aluminum.

In micro radios, the parts are impossibly close together--and this was a treat to see for those of us who took the backs off of things to peek inside. It was probably NOT a treat to see for the radio repairman who was brought one of these for repair. I wonder how many of these that were handed across the counter in a repair shop... were met with a shaking head and words like, "noooo, no, nooo, can't help you with that."

This radio was among--or perhaps the first--to use Panasonic's new logo, which according to the company's official history, first appeared in 1966. This logo was derived from the earlier National logo. Both were brands of Matsushita Electric. There was actually an earlier Panasonic logo, this one, which designers at Panasonic apparently didn't like much since they rarely used it on products. The company's history, in fact, doesn't even mention it. This radio is a Panasonic, of course, but to be clear it is the brand that is Panasonic, the radio's actual maker was Matsushita Electric. And the company name remained Matsushita until 2008 when they adopted a new company name. Which was, duh, Panasonic. You saw that coming.

I don't know if all of these came in this plastic display box. I rather doubt it. But in any event, it's not likely that many of these display boxes have survived. I've only seen this one. The name "Tidy Tot" is on this box and in a very nice script lettering. The name appears on the instructions too, but does not appear anywhere on the radio itself. I find it impossible to remember this name--always misremembering it as TiNy Tot. And indeed you may find references to this radio in places as that other name. I don't want to say that other name again, it will just set it in my mind again. Let's get it out of our minds, shall we? It's "Tidy Tot." Out of our minds.

It's "pocketable," says the instruction folder. And indeed it is. Special features listed on the back of that folder are, number 1, Operates on One Penlight Battery. Number 2: 7 transistors plus 1 Diode. Number 3: Inverted Cone Speaker. Well, I never would have known, but I guess that helps explain the speaker grille shape and show just how efficiently they engineered this thing. Number 4: Built-in Ferrite Core Antenna. Yes, that's why the top is not metal, but plastic. For the antenna to not be shielded by metal from the radio waves it's intended to pick up. Special feature number 5 is Durable Die-cast Cabinet. And number 6: Earphone Jack.

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