Philco Auto Radios – Philco Library

See Also

For a general history of radios in cars see ‘The History of Car Radio‘.
Link contributed by Dylan

The history of Philco auto radios can be traced back to the Automobile Radio Corporation, which was formed in 1927 by C. Russell Feldman to produce Transitone radios for installation in automobiles. The early Transitones had two-dial tuning and took up a lot of dashboard space. And with a price tag of over $150, the early Transitone car radios sold poorly.

There was another important name which would later become involved with Transitone, however. William M. Heina of The Bronx, New York, was a prolific inventor who had previously invented an axle bearing and a resilient automobile tire. He formed his own company, the Heina Radio Corporation, prior to the beginnings of Automobile Radio Corporation. In 1926, Heina applied for a patent for the use of a radio in the dashboard of an automobile, along with a loop antenna in the roof of the car. The patent was granted April 26, 1927. Heina’s company was acquired by the Automobile Radio Corporation in 1927.

Heina apparently stayed with Automobile Radio after the latter purchased his company, as he later invented a control unit for a car radio, to be mounted on the steering column of the car. This patent, assigned to the Automobile Radio Corporation, was filed on December 14, 1928 and granted on December 16, 1930.

Another Heina invention allowed a radio to be easily removed from a dashboard for service, by the use of a series of special electrical connectors mounted behind the radio. These connectors only made contact when the radio was in place in the dashboard.

Philco became involved with Automobile Radio Corporation in mid-1930. By August, they were not only selling Transitones through Philco dealers, but they were also building a single-dial unit for Automobile Radio. In December, Philco purchased the Automobile Radio Corporation, creating a new subsidiary exclusively for automobile radio – the Transitone Automobile Radio Corporation. Shortly afterward, Philco introduced a new Transitone auto radio, the Model 3, which was priced below $100.

When Philco purchased the Automobile Radio Corporation, it also acquired that firm’s elegant office furniture. Philco’s President, James M. Skinner, refused to allow it into the Philco offices. He was quoted in Fortune magazine as saying, “This is a factory. We don’t believe in fancy furnishings.”

As part of the Automobile Radio Corporation acquisition, William Balderston, a former Automobile Radio salesman, was made the head of Philco’s new Transitone subsidiary.

In late spring 1938, Philco dropped the “Transitone” name from its auto radios, using the name instead on a new line of low-priced radios for the home. Philco continued to make auto radios under its own name for the next several years.