Crystal radios were the first radios. They use no batteries or other power to receive stations; they are powered by the faint signals from the broadcasting stations themselves and can be heard only through earphones. Beginning in the 1920s, amplifiers were added to radios to make them loud enough to power speakers and those early, serious-looking crystal radios faded into history.

But as you see on this page, the crystal radio managed to survive in the form of a toy. Many a kid has been fascinated by these little radios, some of us even built our own.

Upper left is the Remco Tiny Tim, made in the USA in 1959. The box for it is shown below. Upper center is one of the many rocket-shaped crystal radios made during our early-’60s obsession with space travel. This rocket is the model MG-305 from Miniman (Japan). To its right, another gem from Japan, the Current NP-81 Pincushion Radio. This one is not only a radio, but is also an actual pincushion stuck with real pins, and it has a thimble and built-in retractable tape measure you can see peeking out on the right. For more on these delightful little radios, see my books, Toy Crystal Radios Volume 1 and Volume 2.