Who invented the first portable radio?

Question

If also where was it invented?

Answer 1

Good question!

The first portable radio was really bulky compared to today's standards, but was technically portable. Called the "Portaphone" it was developed by the US Bureau of Standards in Washington in 1920.

As with many discoveries and inventions, the military and war precipitated the first truly portable radios (defined as usable while a person is in motion). The first of these smaller units was developed for use on the battle field by US Military scientists in 1938 code named: SCR-194/BC-222. However the more reliable portable was the SCR-536 developed a couple of years later in 1941.

Though Texas Instruments (of the USA) invented the transistor, the Regency TR-1, announced on October 18, 1954 by the Regency Division of I.D.E.A (Industrial Development Engineering Associates of Indianapolis, Indiana) and put on sale in November of 1954, was the first practical transistor radio made in any significant numbers.. Japan's Sony introduced their transistor radio in 1954 and then a more popular version in 1957 that was truly a "pocket radio." Though sales were slow at first, the transister made very small radios, operated on inexpensive batteries, available to the masses and by the early '60s virtually everone had such a device.

-a guy named duh

BTW the above link switches to another URL just before displaying a blank page, and the poster just joined yesterday - I'd be careful of it.