Gary S. Crutchley
Ever Ready Sky Leader, Bloxwich 05/02/2014
This immaculate Ever Ready Sky Leader is another of the sets in my vintage radio collection. The Sky Leader was one of the very first transistor radios to be commercially available. The advent of semiconductors made radios truly portable for the first time, and battery manufacturer Ever Ready seized on the opportunity as a way to promote it’s battery products.
Produced by the Ever Ready Co. GB Ltd.; London, the Sky Leader is a six transistor two-band portable receiver radio. This particular example, which is in full working order, was originally owned by a gentleman in Newton-on-Trent, Lincoln and dates to the early 1960’s.
The Mullard transistors used in this radio are quite unlike modern transistors as they are semiconductors based on Germanium rather than Silicon. Germanium transistors operated on a different technological principle to their silicon successors, however, they proved immensely reliable and many sets like this one contain the originals.
In addition many audio specialists still today prefer the sound produced by Germanium semiconductor based amplification circuits over those which utilise silicon transistors. This preference gives rise to the term “Germanium sound”, as it is claimed that Germanium semiconductors produce a smoother and more acceptable distortion. For this reason amplifiers based on Germanium transistors are still in use, and original Mullard transistors sell rapidly on sites like eBay.
This radio also contains a high quality Celestion speaker. The Celestion company began manufacturing speakers in 1924, and is still operational today. Celestion speakers became known as the 'voice of rock & roll', and were the preferred choice of iconic musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Slash. Their products installed in radios like this one, and earlier valve sets are still performing flawlessly many decades after they were produced.
Other components in this set such as capacitors were manufactured by Plessey, a company founded in 1917, and of course one which is still at the fore front of the electronics industry today.
Unlike the electronic component manufacturers, Ever Ready faced more difficult times, as eventually battery manufacture became a commodity and migrated to low cost manufacturing countries in the Far East. However, although not well known, Ever Ready has a strong link with Walsall, because in 1972 the company acquired J. A. Crabtree & Co, who had a factory in the town. However, Ever Ready (and indeed Crabtree) was the subject of a hostile takeover by Hanson Trust in 1981. The Hanson Trust effectively ended Ever Ready’s long history, and the last Ever Ready radios were produced in the early 1980s.
Ever Ready Sky Leader, Bloxwich 05/02/2014
This immaculate Ever Ready Sky Leader is another of the sets in my vintage radio collection. The Sky Leader was one of the very first transistor radios to be commercially available. The advent of semiconductors made radios truly portable for the first time, and battery manufacturer Ever Ready seized on the opportunity as a way to promote it’s battery products.
Produced by the Ever Ready Co. GB Ltd.; London, the Sky Leader is a six transistor two-band portable receiver radio. This particular example, which is in full working order, was originally owned by a gentleman in Newton-on-Trent, Lincoln and dates to the early 1960’s.
The Mullard transistors used in this radio are quite unlike modern transistors as they are semiconductors based on Germanium rather than Silicon. Germanium transistors operated on a different technological principle to their silicon successors, however, they proved immensely reliable and many sets like this one contain the originals.
In addition many audio specialists still today prefer the sound produced by Germanium semiconductor based amplification circuits over those which utilise silicon transistors. This preference gives rise to the term “Germanium sound”, as it is claimed that Germanium semiconductors produce a smoother and more acceptable distortion. For this reason amplifiers based on Germanium transistors are still in use, and original Mullard transistors sell rapidly on sites like eBay.
This radio also contains a high quality Celestion speaker. The Celestion company began manufacturing speakers in 1924, and is still operational today. Celestion speakers became known as the 'voice of rock & roll', and were the preferred choice of iconic musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Slash. Their products installed in radios like this one, and earlier valve sets are still performing flawlessly many decades after they were produced.
Other components in this set such as capacitors were manufactured by Plessey, a company founded in 1917, and of course one which is still at the fore front of the electronics industry today.
Unlike the electronic component manufacturers, Ever Ready faced more difficult times, as eventually battery manufacture became a commodity and migrated to low cost manufacturing countries in the Far East. However, although not well known, Ever Ready has a strong link with Walsall, because in 1972 the company acquired J. A. Crabtree & Co, who had a factory in the town. However, Ever Ready (and indeed Crabtree) was the subject of a hostile takeover by Hanson Trust in 1981. The Hanson Trust effectively ended Ever Ready’s long history, and the last Ever Ready radios were produced in the early 1980s.