What would have been an average sort of wage back then? I've never given dates much thought and have no idea when they first became available to the masses. If you had just asked me I wouldn't have said that early after invention... my error of course.
I wasn't around then anyway 😉
I wasn't around then anyway 😉
I think around $3k, the same as the average car price. The TR-1 radio (AM only, of course) sold for $50.
You do have to recoup those development costs. Wikipedia says:
"The TR-1 uses Texas Instruments' NPN transistors, hand-picked in sets of four. A 22.5 volt battery provides power, since the only way to get adequate radio frequency performance out of early transistors was to run them close to their collector-to-emitter breakdown voltage. ...........A review in Consumer Reports mentioned the high level of noise and instability on certain radio frequencies, and recommended against purchase"
You do have to recoup those development costs. Wikipedia says:
"The TR-1 uses Texas Instruments' NPN transistors, hand-picked in sets of four. A 22.5 volt battery provides power, since the only way to get adequate radio frequency performance out of early transistors was to run them close to their collector-to-emitter breakdown voltage. ...........A review in Consumer Reports mentioned the high level of noise and instability on certain radio frequencies, and recommended against purchase"
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(as Rayma said)
https://www.google.com/search?q=average+sort+of+wage+1955FWIW: radio tubes sold $3 list price, $2-$0.60 mail order. The "emergency" caused a parts shortage and price spike in 1951.
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Interesting, I just wondered. Thanks folks 🙂
I'm just trying to imagine what it felt like letting the magic smoke out of one of those new fangled things for the first time 😱
I'm just trying to imagine what it felt like letting the magic smoke out of one of those new fangled things for the first time 😱
My father was making $210 a month with company supplied house & utilities. Coal camp.
Allied Radio catalog was the first contact I had with real transistors. You had to call them long distance to find out the freight charge, which cost about as much as the freight. R*** S*** sold garbage then and always.
Website is editing out the proper number of *'s.
Americans usually give yearly wages which is not too practical for day to day expenses; US Census Bureau gives $3400 a year which means U$283 a Month or better to compare this price to: U$63 a week.
Somewhat expensive (for what it is), probably equivalent to a burger and Coke but "payable" for an experimenter.
For a full comparison: what would a 12AX7 or an EF86 cost in that same year?
Just thinking in the "gain block" category.
Or some octal preamp pentode?
EDIT:
so about four plain burgers and Coke.
A Movie ticket was 46 cents.
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Easy to do the math? (They DID teach arithmetic to every child.)
Easy to find old catalogs. 1956 Allied:
https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Allied-Catalogs/Allied-Catalog-1956.pdf
Amazing how costs have gone up, eh?
I remember my mom, rest her soul, once back around 1965, complained to us about the electric bill.
"Why is this so high!.... $6.35!"
"Suzie, you're going to have to cut back on using the hair dryer!"
Today, my mom would roll over in her grave if she knew what I pay for a single potato at the supermarket.
Let alone, what my electric bill is these days....a "budget" $48.
I remember my mom, rest her soul, once back around 1965, complained to us about the electric bill.
"Why is this so high!.... $6.35!"
"Suzie, you're going to have to cut back on using the hair dryer!"
Today, my mom would roll over in her grave if she knew what I pay for a single potato at the supermarket.
Let alone, what my electric bill is these days....a "budget" $48.
Actually, I thought that’s what “common core” math was supposed to be able to do for you. Or at least get you to a “pi equals three” level approximation in a second or two. But what in the world is wrong with getting a piece of paper and a pen out if you want the result to six significant digits? Oh, thats right - we can’t find a piece of paper and a pen in the house anymore. We normally don’t need them anymore since even Grandma is on facebook now.
Or into that plastic and glass thingie that's in "everyone's" pocket now.
Speaking of cheap transistors, this conversation would not be complete without someone mentioning "Poly-Paks".....No time to test em."
When you blow stuff up like I did, you got to get stuff cheap.
Huh?...... really?
In people's pocket?
I observe that those devices are in everyone's FACES, not their pockets.
Any given evening, I can sit on my front porch, and watch the parade of mesmerized zombies, their faces glowing from the screen's illumination, reminding me of human fireflies floating down the street.
And I sometimes hear them saying things like: "I'm right down the street from you, I'll be there in a few minutes."
It's an addiction, like drugs, alcohol, etc.
Not me.
But of course, some will tack on "names" when they don't like someone's post, in an attempt to discredit them.
Yes I remember "Poly-Paks".
When I was in high school I had to order my fake 2n3055/2955 pairs from a mail order catalog.
When I was in high school I had to order my fake 2n3055/2955 pairs from a mail order catalog.
When I was in high school all you could get were 2N3055/MJ2955 pairs. Which I ordered and tested for Vceo, then ran at 80 volts. Better parts like 2N3773, 2N5631, and all manner of Japanese parts were “available”, but not to the casual user without an open account and tax ID. Yeah, I could walk into a TV repair shop and have them order a dozen ECG284’s - at $33 EACH (Their typical ask was 3X what they got them for, which was overpriced to begin with). Only a years worth of budget. MCM came along and it was a godsend - 2SD424’s for $3.90 and they’d sell ‘em to me. Then I could fix the dead PL400 and CS800, and start making some real noise.