Vintage 1960s RCA Victor Radio 'Infomercial'

Vintage pieces from an old 16mm movie reel. Plug for RCA Victor portable radios from the 1960s.

[@geralderdek282]

My mother worked at RCAs semiconductor plant at Bridgewater nj doing transistor quality inspection. She would get employee discounts on things from the company store. I still have the RCA x4 solitaire she bought in 1960,and it still plays! Also have an RCA 8 transistor radio she bought my sister for Christmas in '64. Needless to say I'm an RCA fan!😊

[@garbagebanditdayz819]

I love seeing these radios brand new. No yellowed plastic or cracks. RCA made great stuff in 1959

[@TS-1267]

1:14 ... Nicotine Stained Yella'… URRGHHH!…! Twas' The Trend Back In't Day Eh?… 🤔🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✌️

[@pcno2832]

0:55 "ON, OFF, VOLUME", now that's living the good life.

[@YoutubeCensorsYou]

"Volume, now with 'Up&Down' technology! Gone are the days when volume could go in only one direction and could not be reverted! Now, you don't have to buy a new radio to lower or increase the volume to it's original position!"

[@Johnnydazguy]

“The best AM sound ever heard”. Wowza!

[@mikecubes1642]

they had style and lasted for years, now a radio is lucky to get dust on it before it breaks down

[@milestone_achiever4634]

No one is really using radios anymore since you can download all the streaming apps now. Some smart phones still have the FM tuners app and the screen recording.

[@DIY-valvular]

This film is a visual information gold mine for restorers and collectors!

[@Suddenlyits1960]

Thanks for posting this. This film has surprising good picture and color. The 1959 X-4HE is my favorite of the lot shown here. For some reason RCA never got as wild and futuristic with their designs as some of the other radio makers did. Motorola started using printed circuits years before Rca.

[@maha77]

Those radios are gorgeous. What I always loved about the old transistor radios is how they smelled, always a unique, specific smell, I think it was the transistors themselves

[@medavaramjitamitra8120]

What a marvelous explanation and it is not a commercial... Real value for the money

[@richardgray8593]

I'm really keen on these swell new models. Eight transistors???? Holy Cow!!!

[@user-Jon526]

I am really liking the fact that their is no hater dislikes. Vintage radios are something to like and I like them they look very nice even for my modern radio today I only like to hear certain music and radio so when the normal radio is not going so well with specific shows news and music I go on youtube and use a radio styled video.

[@HoneyPastry]

3:57 It thought this was an outtake. Seriously though, these are actually quite gorgeous.

[@AlbertBenajam-ww1db]

It was a dealer/salesman training film. Note when he talks of "$ALE$" and "TURN OVER" and "PROFIT$". That said these 58 items were STYLISH, full featured in the upper priced models and MADE IN USA.

[@pcno2832]

2:26 I used to hit that thing more like 10 times, but I don't remember the limit. Anyway, those "lever-matic" controls make me think it's a Wesclox movement, rather than the more common Telechron.

[@justsumguy2u]

This was around the time RCA started going downhill in terms of quality. Most of the radios here use printed circuit boards instead of metal chassis. These boards warp, crack and develop cold solder joints (intermittents)

[@geralderdek282]

I know you said that 2years ago but I just read your comment and had to say your right on. My X4 solitaire board warped badly from the Tubes heat but it did take quite a few years to do so. Zenith held on to metal hand wired chassis the longest.

[@randyab9go188]

Yep. It was all bean counters trying to get the profit margins up. At the time to get you to buy the more expensive sets you had to have something to give the consumer such as a plastic case without a compressed wood back. Everybody had a wood radio back then plastic was new and colorful. It gave you a little something different when you were spending a lot of money on those transistor sets. Then in the '60s you saw how the styling went downhill and the number of models decreased. Back again to those bean counters. I do find it a pity that a company like RCA who made everything from computers to radios, televisions, phonographs, atomic batteries (Yes they did) all kinds of military widgets and today they are completely gone other than a trademark that you can license. You too could make an RCA radio just license the name and have somebody in China make it and slap the name on it.

[@RCALivingStereo]

I have the X4 model he shows in the beginning Played it today

[@randyab9go188]

"Golden Throat" was just a phrase. They honestly sounded no better than anything else. It was just Madison avenue marketing.

[@coffeeisgood102]

Never knew RCA offered so many models in a fiscal year. I’m going to check eBay and see what is still out there.

[@WC0125]

Actually these are part of the 1958 line.

[@gildersleevefan67]

Ah! I was placing this between 1957 and no later than 1962 based on the woman in bed's hair style and the designs of the radios.

[@pumasgoya]

I would take anyone of them. So nice.

[@cookieman876]

I recently purchased a functioning AM clock radio by GE and it has the same buzzer alarm. Tried it out today just for fun. Not fun, you think apple alarms are bad get yourself a vintage clock radio.

[@DEATHVIPER1777]

This is great!!🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@eighteenin78]

2:37 "One hundred and eighty Eight minute reprieves in all"

[@ohger1]

These aren't infomercials, they're sales training videos. Car manufacturers still do this today. I have a T1 portable and it's a dog (not Nipper). I think it might have a bad IF transformer.

[@19king14]

Yes, we knew that. That's why we used half-quotation marks - 'Infomercial'

[@60gregma]

What your dealing with is called "silver mica disease". There are integrated capacitors in the base of the coil and they go bad with age. This is not unique to RCA. Almost all radios of this era have this problem. There are a few guides here on KZbin that provide solutions.

[@ohger1]

@@60gregma Nope, not smd

[@delsongalasinao706]

I want to have a vintage radio.

[@altfactor]

As this was produced in the 1960's, a number of these were probably all-transistor models.

[@SamWesting]

These are ALL transistor radios. Not a single vacuum tube model among them.

[@sassymenses]

Looking at these in 2020 it feels somehow like these radios look like from the future...

[@luisreyes1963]

If you don't mind the CONELRAD markings on the radio dial. ☢️

[@MsJoshisfat]

I'm sold where can I buy one of these radios today?

[@RCALivingStereo]

MsJoshisfat Go to your local authorized local RCA dealer Pick one up today.

[@tigertiger5050]

@@RCALivingStereo is that worthy

[@wildro95]

Local antique stores if you can find one that works

[@TerryMurrayTalks]

2:04 That buzzing sound in a woman bedroom can be heard today but it's not coming from her C4 Sandman clock radio.

[@user-Jon526]

Also to add I did grew up with a cell phone but I did use a digital clock radio for tunes and alarms not my cell phone till this day even with modern technology I would still like to use a clock radio just to have and use.

[@luisantoniomarrega1120]

Receptores de uma beleza que não se encontra mais no mercado. Abraço

[@TS-1267]

1:01 … "…On Off and Volume…"… WOAH!!!… Steady On Now Herbert… 3 Whole Functions… ✌️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🤓

[@VirantRoss]

*Now my phone has an FM Radio 📻 built in..*

[@VirantRoss]

But still here we are in 2020 and AM/FM is still gurgled scratchy & unclear when driving through the trees & woods.

[@SamWesting]

@@VirantRoss Staticky AM/FM is still better than being in the boonies w/zero cell tower reception.

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

Why do I have trillions of transistors now in my pocket, but my wine hasn't gotten a bit better?

[@mattf5207]

He really should be smoking while presenting.

[@slamkat2859]

In 50 years someone will be laughing at our current cellphones just like we're laughing at AM radio today.

[@Dovaz921]

I wish they still sold radios like these

[@JG-dt2ub]

They had a radio that lasted 5 years on 1 charge crazy

[@tigertiger5050]

Because they come with 5 years warranty 😂

[@dougkoudelka3089]

I had an X4 back in the day

[@keefmeister77]

@2:51 : Alexa, the early years.

[@YenTran-eg7cy]

🎉❤

[@DerkuiDerkui]

Amazing! Which junkyard can I find these in?

[@tigertiger5050]

6:13 i am supprised how they pop up wowwwww

[@Pkg597]

So this would have been like 500 dollars now

[@larryshaver3568]

is the stereo jack so you can use the speakers as a remote channel ?

[@altfactor]

Maybe this film was intended for dealers and distributors.

[@SamWesting]

Definitely a film for training sales people. Not a broadcast TV informercial.

[@tigertiger5050]

I have searched for it. Do you?

[@johnm893]

when that guy was sityting he was packing an enormous trouser trout for r c a

[@DavidBerquist334]

was this on the internet when the radios came out

[@glennso47]

Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet yet.

[@NickG123]

This seems more like late 50s to me, the tube portables (4:40) totally died out after 1957ish.

[@Suddenlyits1960]

That’s because the film is from the late 50’s. Specifically 1959.

[@NickG123]

@@SamWesting I have collected and repaired vintage radios (especially transistor) and all of these models are from at the latest 1959. Transistor radios by around 1961 were in everyone’s pocket, and the size of maybe 2 decks of cards back-to-back. You have a point that tubes stuck around for up to the 70s. But if I had to make an educated guess I’d guess 1958 or even mid ‘57 based on the portables size and designs.

[@KingOfTheRedSkulls]

Hi. Who do I contact is order to use this video for a music video?

[@19king14]

The number is at the end of the film.

[@arthurmahieu6832]

Kijk wat de vogel heeft gedaan

[@Jeff-gi6dh]

A little creepy when the narrator talks about entering this woman's bedroom to tell about the radio!

[@ronaldwilliamson4762]

The concept of style has gone out of style.

[@beatrizcarrillogarcia6128]

yo tengo un radio de esa marca le interesa a un colecionista?

[@pilotplant5203]

"Here's your AM"... kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3nXgZqci8yaZq8

[@tigertiger5050]

My KZbin automatically shuts after 60 minutes. KZbin cheats from victor

[@geom9087]

all this talking trying to convince you to buy but i hear no music bieng played

[@Karmen2010]

It's like perfume adds in magazines that have no sample scents

[@erin19030]

AM sound was always crap. Cheap fucking junk.