Regency Showcase
featuring the TR-1, Regency Ads, additional Regency Products
TR-1 configuration descriptions & production variations - visit:
Eric Wrobbel at http://www.ericwrobbel.com/books/regency.htm
Steve Reyer at https://www.collectornet.net/regency/
(REF: original website location: http://www.mequonsteve.com/regency/)
Use image links below to view Steve's TR-1s
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Rare pearlescent colors: Meridian Blue, Powder Pink, Lavender, Pearl White. Click-on each color to view full image |
Click image above for full size view of this beautiful array of 11 TR-1s |
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Click-on a color below and view the full size image of each TR-1 |
Swirl Colors came in: Mahogany with black swirls Green with white swirls |
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Personal Electronic Device colors in 2005 had the look of 1954...READ MORE
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1954 TR-1, 1956 TR-1G, 1957 TR-4
The black TR-1G shown above is part of the Smithsonian Institution's collection of TR-1s at https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1817324
background - 1958 Fender Stratocaster, 1958 Fender Deluxe Amp
The serial #2 Regency TR-1 was presented to Ed Tudor, Regency's President during the development of the TR-1. [click to read background information and view additional images of this radio].
50th Anniversary tribute from 2004
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The TR-1's 50th Anniversary was celebrated AROUND THE WORLD. In the UK, the BBC featured TR-1 expert Steve Reyer and UK radio historian Enrico Tedeschi in a radio interview; in the U.S., NPR's Science Friday program featured Robert Simcoe, author of "The Revolution in Your Pocket"; and in Australia, www.regencytr1.com creator Don Pies was interviewed on live Sydney talk radio station 2UE. Sydney continues to celebrate the Regency TR-1 with a display at the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences Powerhouse Museum with curator Geoff Barker's collection, and with a mahogany TR-1 viewed by Matt Pies in 2015.
CLICK to hear the BBC interview
CLICK to hear the NPR interview
The seven transistor Regency TR-7 (above) was a perfect companion for picnics and play time. The handle rotated into a locked position behind the radio which allowed you to tip the radio speaker upwards. The 1958 radio shown in this photo still puts out a great sound.
Also ready for a beach party was the picnic portable Regency TR-5C (below) from the late 1950s. Before singer/song writer Jack Johnson became popular, he taught surfing at the Campus Point surf break, located at the top of this photo near Santa Barbara. The ad below the photo appeared in Holiday Magazine.
Early Regency Ads 
1951 brochure for the Radio Parts and Electronic Equipment Show in Chicago [CLICK to view brochure]
1954-55 Early TR-1 ad (Holiday magazine) [CLICK to view TR-1 ad]
1956 TR-1-G ad [CLICK to view TR-1-G ad]
1956 TR-1-G, TR-5, TR-6 ad (Dallas Morning News, Dec. 20, 1956) [CLICK to view 1956 Regency ad]
1956 TR-1, Neiman-Marcus ad
(Dallas Times Herald, April 22,
1956) [CLICK to view Regency Nieman-Marcus ad]
1957 Regency transistorized record player, PR-4 and XR-2a radio ad (Holiday magazine, circa '57) [CLICK to view Regency record player and XR-2a]
1957 TR-4 and XR-2a ad (Fortune magazine, December, 1957) [CLICK to view Regency ad in Fortune magazine]
circa 1960 Regency brochure XR-2a, TR-11, TR-99, misc broadcast receivers [CLICK to view 1960 Regency radios and receivers]
More Early
Regency Products 
TV Signal
Boosters were Regency's first major product line.
Regency models DB-213, DB-400 & DB-520 are shown here [CLICK for additional views].
Regency Tube FM-AM Tuner
Regency model AF-250, circa mid-1950s...tuner in photo still works today [CLICK for additional views]
Transistor Amateur
Radio
Amateur Radio hobbyist entered the transistor
world in 1956 with the Regency ATC-1
Regency Tube Mono Audio Amplifier
Regency model HF-350-P, built 1955 [CLICK for additional views].
Early Couch
Potato TV Remote
The RT-700 allowed TV viewers to change channels,
control volume and fine tune from across the room [CLICK to enlarge image]
TR-8A Transistor
Radio
Specs: 6 transistors, 4 3/4" W
x 3 1/4" T x 3 1/4" D,
4.5v Burgess 2Z3 battery [CLICK to view TR-8A]
more IDEA-Regency
artifacts
Artifacts from IDEA-Regency co-founder, Joe Weaver, are on display at the
Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation in
Glendale, Arizona.
End of the Early I.D.E.A./Regency Years
Although Japanese competition squeezed Regency out of the portable radio business in the early 1960's, the company's Monitoradio Division prospered. This division was formed in the early 1950's and built FM, VHF and UHF emergency frequency band receivers. When I.D.E.A. Inc became Regency Electronics Inc in 1961, the communication receiver business was growing at a 15% rate annually. By 1964, Regency's total sales had grown to 2.7 million dollars.
The Police Alarm PR-9/74 shown on the left was one of I.D.E.A./Monitoradio's early products (ref: tuning range 72mc-76mc, PR-9 range was 152mc-174mc). After 1961, Monitoradios were sold under the Regency Electronics label. The MR-33B on the right was one of Regency's final products with vacuum tubes.
Into Regency's Future
Regency grew operations in the 1960's with the Metrotek subsidiary (citizen band transceivers) and the Avionics Division (general aviation communications and navigation equipment). By the late 1970's, Regency's expanded radio business included 2-way amateur FM and marine radios, professional business and public service 2-way radios, and more than 25 models of VHF and UHF band Monitoradio scanner receivers. A 1980 Regency quarterly report showed annual sales had reached 57 million dollars.
The two scanners shown at the bottom of the following montage of Regency products were used as props in the movie industry [click to view details]
Regency became RELM Communications in 1989, and as of 2020, BK Technologies has carried Regency's legacy forward in the radio business. The 1991 Annual Report featured the TR-1 on the company's 55th anniversary.
