Solar powered radioIn 1956, a radio made to run either on batteries or solar-cell power was first sold in the U.S. The Sun Power Pak was made by the Admiral Corporation, Chicago, Ill. By using six transistors instead of vacuum tubes, the radio needed so little electricity that with six ordinary flashlight batteries it could give 700 to 1,000 hours of use. The $60 radio was small (about 3 x 9 x 10 in.) and weighed only 5.25 pounds. The $185 auxillary Sun Power Pak provided electrical power from sunlight using a silicon "solar cell element." The Admiral Corp grew out of an earlier business, founded in 1924, selling battery chargers for radios. By 1934, it was making radios, then military electronics during WW II and afterwards became a pioneering TV brand.« |
