Hello

I am wondering if anyone has or knows of someone, who might have a 1955 Philco TPA-1 or TPA-2 All-Transistor phonograph that come out in the summer of 1955. Philco only made this item from 1955-56. This Philco model was the World's first all-transistor phonograph that was made. It was a 45rpm portable phonograph that operated operated on (4) 1.5 "D" batteries. The chassis had used (3) Philco germanium alloy-junction PNP type transistors in its circuitry, instead of vacuum tubes.


Thanks Rick

I'd be interested in seeing one of those myself. I wonder if it uses an RCA style 45 rpm changer or is it manually operated? I'm really not surprised by this, as Philco introduced the first transistorized portable TV in '59.

Hi Radiotvnut

This unit does NOT have an automatic changer unit, like the RCA 45prm players that were developed in 1949. The 1955 Philco TPA-1 All-Transistor Phonograph uses a 45rpm record player platter and spindle that you have to manually place 45rpm record on it to play. And then you manually pick up and place the phonograph's tone control arm cartridge stylus needle onto the 45rpm record to play it. And when the 45rpm record is finished, then you have to manual pickup the phonograph's control arm and return to its control arm rest position.

I am also trying to locate someone, who might have this 1955 Philco Phonograph example.

Rick

I hate to say it,but last year,somebody beat me to one of those TPA 1's,at the Goodwill Clearance bins. I have no idea if it worked,the guy bought it without trying it to see if it worked.

Hi Cobra-Matic,

Do you remember how much this Philco TPA-1 sold for ?

Thanks Rick

It appears I may be one of the few that has one of these in captivity. For many years I thought they may not have been manufactured, as I had only seen 1 mention of it in a Popular Science magazine from 1955. This one turned up a while back on eBay, listed in the Sporting Goods as a wildlife caller.

Hi Mr Lee,

"Yes", this is a Philco Model TPA-1. I also have a few questions for you, if you don't mind .....

1) Did you try to see if this unit turns on and plays ??

2) How much did you pay for it on ebay ?

3) When did you get this item ?


Thanks Rick

I thought they used tubes until like 1963?

Rick

My apologies for the delayed reply, many things keep me from being a regular participant in the forum. To answer your questions, it has been several years since I found the Philco (and haven't seen another one since), the delivered price was in the $50. range, and it has been sitting quietly on a shelf since. I have never tried it, so do not know of its performance. It is on the short list of restorations to complete when time is not so much my enemy. The 45 and its playing machinery has been a specialty of this house for a long time and the Philco fits in nicely.

Lee

I bought a TPA-1 at the Bouckville antique fair last week ($50.00). It works well but is weak. I plan to replace the transistors and caps from the bottom of the board leaving the unit looking intact from the top. The date codes run from 5542 on the transistors (I presume the 42nd week of 1955) back to 532 and 537 on other parts. Must have been made and sold in late 1955. If I can find a schematic, I'll stick it inside the unit for future techs. Thanks to all for the input.

Hi everyone,

I have been searching to acquire a 1955 Philco model TPA-1 All-Transistor portable 45rpm phonograph for over 10 years. And I just recently had finally acquired this "Rare" Philco item, which was one of Philco's FIRST consumer products to use transistors instead of vacuum tubes.

Philco had first announced its "NEW" consumer product using transistors in the Summer of 1955 and started selling it to the market in the fall of 1955 ($59.95), for Philco's 1956 season of its new line of radios and phonographs. This 1955 Philco consumer product, was the World's FIRST All-Transistor phonograph to be developed and produced. After the 1956 season had ended, Philco had decided to discontinue the All-Transistor portable 45rpm phonograph models, for transistors were too expensive compared to vacuum tubes.

Philco's All-Transistor portable 45rpm phonographs came in (2) models, which were TPA-1(M-32) and TPA-2(M-32A). The "TPA" stands for "Transistor Phonograph Amplifier" and its circuitry used (3) Philco Germanium PNP alloy-junction transistors (NO Vacuum Tubes). These models played only 45rpm records and used (4) 1.5v "D" batteries for its power supply. And the phonograph tone arm contained and uses a monaural Astatic crystal pickup cartridge with a "K" 1 mil. diamond or sapphire stylus needle (Philco Part #325-8001 cartridge assembly). This Astatic crystal cartridge needle assembly, delivers a 3.0v voltage output and uses a 10 gram tracking force for the phonograph tone arm.

The Philco model TPA-1 All-Transistor portable 45rpm phonograph that I have just acquired, is in "Like New" condition. The phonograph's wood cabinet (9" x 8" x 6.5"), is covered with a dark green leatherette material and has a leather carrying strap on top. The circuitry is 100% original, with its (3) Philco transistors (L-5021, L-5022) all having date codes of (5542), which is the 42nd week of 1955. And underneath the record platter is another printed date code (541), which is the 41st week of 1955. The inside transistor circuitry drives a 4" permanent magnet dynamic speaker, inside the front of the wood cabinet, which gives this unit good sound acoustics and volume.

And best of all....

It still contains the original Astatic crystal cartridge with Astatic "K" red 1 mil. diamond stylus needle and this unit still works "Great". I have made a short film clip of it and put it on YouTube. I have also added this YouTube video clip at the very end of this information page, for all to see.


Finally, if anyone has either of these Philco models TPA-1 and TPA-2, please contact me thru my PM (private mail).













.... Below is a Philco Annual Report from 1955 (credit "Philco Don" - Thank You)














The 1955 Philco TPA-1 All-Transistor Phonograph, went on sale to the public in the fall of 1955, for the price of $59.95 .
Below is a Department Store sales advertisement for the Christmas holiday shopping season, in December of 1955.





NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO SEE AND HEAR THE 1955 PHILCO TPA-1 ALL-TRANSISTOR PHONOGRAPH PLAY ..... SEE BELOW



Below is the YouTube Video link. Just "Click" on it to watch .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSSDh5-g0lw



Thanks and hope that everyone enjoys the above info. I would also like to personally thank "Philco Don", for his contribution of the 1955 Philco Annual Report.


Rick

I like reading vintage ads.Why didn't they opt for a ceramic cart in keeping with the 'new' theme? Crystals are more of a holdover from the tube era anyway.

I saw that there and almost bought it. I didn't realize it's place in history. I'm glad you got it.

Dave

Hi

I have finally finished my YouTube video on the ....

1955 Philco TPA-1 All-Transistor 45rpm Phonograph, which is the World's First All-Transistor phonograph to be developed and produced.



Below is the YouTube Video link. Just "Click" on it to watch .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSSDh5-g0lw


Thanks and hope that everyone enjoys the above info.

Rick

Hi

I was wondering if anyone has the 1955 Philco Model TPA-2 All-Transistor 45rpm phonograph ?


This is the "sister" model to the 1955 Philco TPA-1 and is "identical" to it, except for cosmetic cabinet appearance. The TPA-2 cabinet was slightly wider, for it had a storage compartment on the inside left side, which was used to store your 45rpm records.

Both Philco Models TPA-1 and TPA-2 were the "World's First All-Transistor phonographs" that were developed and produced by Philco in 1955.





Thanks Rick

Hi everyone,


I just acquired an August 1955 issue of the "Philco News", which was a monthly magazine that was issued to all of its employees and its authorized dealers.

In this issue, is an article that is written on the "Announcement" of Philco's "New" TPA-1 All-Transistor portable battery operated phonograph., which was the World's First All-Transistor portable phonograph to be developed and produced.

This magazine issue was copied for me, by John at Antique Radio Grill Cloth- "Thanks You".





Thanks Rick

Rick,

Great scans, really enjoyed them. Thanks.

I found one of these about 3 years ago but mine doesn't work. It's almost perfect inside and I wonder if it ever was played as it shows no wear except outside on a couple spots where the fabric covering is worn on the corners and some of the color is off the carrying handle. I was surprised to see it has a speed control knob on the right side and mine has a paper strobe disc on the turntable with the Philco name on the disc. I haven't tried anything but putting batteries in it and put it on the shelf when it didn't play. I wonder if they were made in other colors as mine is like the (green?) one in the ad.

Hi AK217,

I have had several of these Philco TPA-1 phonographs over the years and NONE of them worked except for ONE, which I show in my YouTube video (URL Address is in above thread). And all of the ones that I have owned were an "Olive Green" color, that you mentioned seeing in my ad ? However, this is NOT a Philco ad. This is a photo that I have taken of my "Actual" Philco TPA-1 phonograph, which looks like it is in "Brand New" condition. It is 100% original inside and out, with its original Astatic Needle and crystal cartridge assembly. And this unit still works "Great", with "Loud" volume.

Most of the time (providing that your needle cartridge is still good), the reason why early 1950's "old original" transistor equipment does not work, is the fact that they often used Germanium(Ge) alloy-junction transistors, which were very suspectible to Junction leakages (Iceo). And the other fact, is that there were Electrolytic capacitors used in these transistor circuits, which would also go "Bad" over time and would also cause the equipment not to work. The early transistor equipment could not compare to vacuum tube equipment. Vacuum tube equipment was much more durable, reliable, and would also have High-fidelity audio sound, compared to the early transistor equipment. And Philco realized this fact, for the TPA-1 and TPA-2 were only produced from one year from late 1955 - late 1956, when Philco had finally discontinued it. In fact, Philco never produced any other transistor phonograhs for the rest of the 1950's.

Finally, I was wondering if you could scan your Philco paper strobe disk and add this attachment to this thread, for I have never seen this before.


Thanks Rick

Interesting that they only used 3 transistors and what looks like a couple of transformers. I suppose in those days the transformers were cheaper than the transistors, which were expensive to manufacture back in the '50s. It also looks like they didn't worry too much about the physical size of the machine, which did not need to be much taller than the turntable if the electronics had been tucked away near the edges of the cabinet.