The Polish Philips factory, established in Warsaw in 1922 at 59 Żelazna street, initially operated as Polsko-Holenderska Fabryka Lamp Elektrycznych SA. Manufacturing of radio receivers began there in 1930, later to become an important component of the company’s product range. Designs of all radio receivers were developed at the Philips facility in the Netherlands. The plant’s production was seasonal, lasting from autumn until spring, which means that – as was the case with other major manufacturers – new radio models were offered every new season.
In the 1937-1938 season, models from the so-called “Symphonic Series 38” were launched. The novelty of that season was a speaker with sound spreader. It was an add-on component, patented by Philips, made of “philite” plastic and mounted on the speaker diaphragm. It dispersed the treble sound in many directions, which gave the impression of stereo reception, thus improving the sound. In ordinary speakers, the directional range of spreading the treble was narrow. Another novelty was the slanted scale, which slid out beyond the outline of the receiver housing. The “monoster” was also introduced, i.e., a special tuning control, similar to a joystick. This manual control allowed almost all functions of the device to be controlled, including setting the range, tuning, and adjusting the volume and tone.
In model 8-38A, which allowed short, medium, and long wave radio band reception, new signal tuning indicators were used in the form of an electron ray tube widely known as a “magic eye”, that emitted green light. In general, the electric design of the radio, which was a superheterodyne powered from the mains with AC current, included nine vacuum tubes. In the second half of the 1930s a horizontal box layout became mandatory, and manufacturers devoted more attention to the aesthetics of the housings. Device controller was also made easier. The housing of the model 8-28 is in the category of luxury radios, equipped with all the novelties of the 1937-1938 season. It has a built-in dynamic speaker with a sound spreader, electron-ray tube tuning indicators, a horizontal housing layout, a slanting scale, and a tuning control (“monoster”). In addition, to tell it apart from the Philips radios produced outside of Poland, a decorative strip of pressed glass is mounted in the front.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski

The Krokus type 10501 radio was manufactured in 1965 by Zakłady Radiowe Diora in Dzierżoniów. It is one of the first Polish designs using transistors and a printed circuit board as components of the electrical system. It is a mains-powered or, when the need arises, a battery-powered superheterodyne equipped with 8 transistors and 2 germanium diodes. Inside the housing there is a built-in ferrite antenna and a Tonsil GD 12,5/15FW speaker. The Krokus is designed to receive radio waves in long, medium and short wave bands using amplitude modulation (AM). The device was the first Polish portable transistor receiver that offered the ability to receive the short wave band. The Krokus was also a multifunction receiver, designed for travel or home use. It is also the first Polish radio designed to be used in passenger cars. In order to enable installation of the device in a car, the scale with two knobs and the three button switches were placed in the top wall of the housing. Furthermore, the receiver was equipped with a car antenna socket and a multi-contact connector. The detachable handle, mounted on the body, allows the radio to be carried and conveniently supported in the horizontal position. To install the Krokus in this position under the dashboard of cars such as the Warszawa, Syrena, Trabant, Octavia or Wartburg, special mounting brackets had to be used, which were sold together with the radio.
The Krokus presented here is untypical. It was probably assembled by an amateur from parts available in shops of the Bureau for Trade in Machines and Materials (Biuro Obrotu Maszynami i Surowcami – BOMIS) network. It was a trading agency, as well as wholesaler and retailer of substandard goods and parts from returns and warehouse stocks. The electronic parts it sold usually came from returns or did not meet the required standards. The origin of the radio seen here is suggested by the stamp “brak” (Eng.: rejected) on the tuning unit, the absence of an antenna socket (at the respective hole in the housing), as well as the self-made battery tray and range switch. DIY attempts were encouraged not only by the technical education system in communist Poland, but also by magazines such as the “Młody Technik” (Eng.: “Young Technician”) or the “Radioamator i Krótkofalowiec” for radio and ham radio amateurs, where design diagrams were printed. Promotion of technology and inventive resourcefulness in the conditions of a deficit economy was also significantly boosted by the “Zrób to Sam” (Eng.: Do It Yourself) television programme, which was broadcast without interruption between 1959 – 1983.

Author: Filip Wróblewski

The ZK-140 T portable reel-to-reel tape recorder is a four-track mono tape recorder with a single tape speed, designed for the playback and recording of sounds. It is one of many models of tape recorders in the ZK-100 series. It was launched at a public presentation of the two-track ZK-120 tape recorder at the Poznań International Fair in 1968, where the device met with huge public interest. Soon afterwards, work on the ZK-140 began, followed swiftly by the ZK-140 T. Until the end of the 1970s the tape recorder was produced by the Zakłady Radiowe im. Marcina Kasprzaka in Warsaw, and production was then moved to Zakłady Mechaniki Precyzyjnej Unitra-Magmor in Gdańsk, where, from the beginning of the 1980s until December 1989, the ZK-140 TM version was produced with modified technical parameters. The ZK-140 T was manufactured in two versions – basic and a “deluxe” – the difference being mostly the design of the housing (including the front panel) and little difference in the parameters.
The devices in the ZK series use a licence from the Grundig company of Germany. The early models used vacuum tubes (ZK-120, ZK-140, ZK-145) but that solution became obsolete, due to changes in audio equipment production standards, and was replaced in the 1960s with a transistor-based electrical circuit (hence the letter “T”).
The ZK-140 T tape recorder is AC mains powered. The tape recorder allows the recording of sound from microphone, radio or television receivers, a gramophone, or another tape recorder (after connecting it using sockets on the rear wall); the playback of its own recordings or recordings made on another tape recorder; locating a point on the recording using a four-digit counter; fast-forwarding and fast-reversing of the tape at speeds of up to 9.5 cm/s; recording monitoring using an earphone; mono playback of stereo tracks; synchronous recording using an additional amplifier. Playback of recordings is possible thanks to the built-in Tonsil GD 14-9/3 speaker. The playback time of a full reel of tape is between four and six hours, depending on its thickness. The tape recorder is operated using the controls on the top panel: tone and volume controls, a recording button, a counter, an arrow signal indicator, and a rotary mode switch.

Author: Filip Wróblewski

The 522W speaker was manufactured by the Western Electric Corporation of the USA in the 1920s. The company, whose origins go back to 1856, specialised in the production and sales of telecommunications and cinema audio equipment and in the provision of telegraph, and later telecommunications, services. In the late 1870s, the co-owner of Western Electric, inventor and engineer Elisha Gray, fought a losing battle with Alexander Bell for the patent for the invention of the telephone. Ironically, several years later Western Electric was acquired by the Bell Telephone Company, which allowed the consolidation and monopolisation of the telecommunications market to take place in the United States. At the break of the first and second decade of the 20th century the radio industry was still in its nascent stage, and radio as a medium was only beginning to be promoted to the public. The first complete radio receivers were yet to be made, but before that happened, other solutions, accessible to potential recipients, were sought. Radio signals were usually received using a receiver of a simple design (sometimes equipped with an amplifier) that was enclosed in a wooden or Bakelite box to which different attachments were connected, e.g., antenna, speaker, or ground wire. The 522W speaker was an add-on to the radio receiver that allowed the device to be used. The modular design was economical, enabling the use of equipment that was already owned.
In terms of design, the 522W speaker is a slightly enlarged telephone receiver. The membrane and acoustic transducer were enclosed in a metal can. Connection with the receiver was provided by a cable sheathed in cotton and ending with an additional ribbon that was tied to the housing to protect the plugs from accidental disconnection. In order for the sound from the speaker to be audible, a resonating cone had to be installed, so the 522W speaker was equipped with a cylindrical ending of the speaker opening. This allowed a horn to be installed on it, as used in Victrola phonographs that were popular in the United States at the time. In 1922 the speaker cost 12 dollars, making it cheaper than the horn. The black conical horn installed on the speaker is made of plastic and is not an original item of the era. It is probably the addition of a later user, intended to amplify the sound.

Authors: Filip Wróblewski

Apart from using vehicles intended for carrying passengers, transportation companies worldwide use technical support vehicles to enable their enterprises to operate effectively. This was also the case in pre-war Breslau.
The BT-1 G-51 towing car originated from the redesign of a slow-speed tram car manufactured by Linke-Hofmann-Werke AG. The rebuilding was carried out in 1920 or thereabouts, in the workshop of Städtische Strassenbahn Breslau. The tram engine resulting from the redesign was used to serve the Wroclaw powerplant, among other things. The SSB tram network was used, and the engine was mostly used for transporting railroad cars carrying coal. The twin-axis riveted bogey was unmodified by the redesign, but the wooden/steel body was remade: the original steel frame, shortened by the platforms, was covered anew. The engine was controlled with a single controller placed in the centre of the cabin. The vehicle was equipped with two brakes: an electrodynamic one and a manual mechanical one, operated with a crank. The car was powered by two DC motors, which no longer remain. In their place, LT31 motors from N-type cars were installed. A single, railway-type, scissor pantograph was used to connect to the overhead catenary for power.
Between WWI and WWII the engine was designated as BT1 – Betriebs Triebwagen (service/freight car). The model presented is probably the only vehicle from Wroclaw of this type to survive WWII. After the war it took part in the campaign of clearing the post-war rubble in Wroclaw. The tram was operated in Lower Silesia until the 1970’s. It arrived in Krakow, at the Nowa Huta depot, in 1984, as car with rolling stock number G-051 (post-war denomination). It has been part of the Museum of Urban Engineering’s collection since 2001. In 2016, thanks to subsidies obtained by the Museum, a restoration of the car was carried out in collaboration with MPK SA. The first presentation of the towing car BT-1 no. G-051 from Wroclaw took place on 22 December 2016.

The Prexer AP-44 film projector, manufactured in the 1970s, is designed to project films from a 16mm tape. It was designed to be used in small projection rooms or other rooms with limited dimensions. It was manufactured by Łódzkie Zakłady Kinotechniczne (ŁZK) – the only manufacturer of film projectors in communist Poland. The enterprise began operation in 1945, initially repairing damaged units and making replacement parts for them. Soon, the core activity of the factory became the production of equipment for Wytwórnia Filmów Fabularnych at the Łódź film studios, established in January 1950. Due to the development of film and television, the range of devices was extended to include 35 mm film projectors with an arc lamp for permanent cinemas, and projectors with a filament lamp for the narrow 16mm and 8 mm gauges, intended for use in small projection rooms and travelling cinemas. Mass production of the first projector was launched in 1947 – it was a wide-gauge device of the AP-1 type. Popular transparency projectors with a cult following were made by Łódzkie Zakłady Kinotechniczne, such as the B-2 Bajka and B-9 Ania, photocopiers, 8-, 16- and 35-mm projectors, as well as weapons, reels for angling, circular saws, lathes, grinders, and milling machines. In the 1970s and 1980s, ŁZK Prexer was part of Zjednoczenie Przemysłu Zmechanizowanego Sprzętu Domowego Predom. It ended its operations in 1990.
As an optical device, the Prexer AP-44 allows projection of images onto a projection screen, for which it uses film tape wound onto two reels. Enclosed in the body of the device is the mechanism for the continuous movement of film at a speed of 16 frames per second or more, enabling the creation of the impression of a moving image. Like other projectors made by ŁZK, this device was advertised as “easy to operate” and “durable in use”, and, above all, as providing a “sharp, stable and clear image and clean, undistorted sound”. For these reasons it was a device useful for teaching in schools and universities. The body of the projector, with folding arms for film reels, was placed on a durable metal plate to which the protective case is mounted with clips. Such a design, combined with the relatively small weight of the device (below 20 kg), makes the Prexer AP-44 a portable projector. This allowed the equipment to be used in training sessions or in ad hoc propaganda campaigns in the field.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski

The Model 5100 was one of the most technically advanced radio receivers in communist Poland. The receiver with a built-in amplifier allowed reproduction of pseudo-quadrophonic sound (quasi-quadro). The quadrophony effect involved using the difference in the signal strength between the left and right channels, which gave an illusion of spatial sound. The Radmor 5100 was developed at Zakłady Radiowe Radmor in cooperation with the A/V section of the Industrial Telecommunications Institute (Przemysłowy Instytut Telekomunikacji – PIT) and with the Industrial Design Centre of PTH Unitech (OWP PTH Unitech). Prototypes of the 5100 model were built in 1976, and mass production began a year later, which was continued until 1979. The Radmor 5100 was sold in Poland and exported to France.
The Model 5100 is the first in a series of luxury class hi-fi radio receivers manufactured by Radmor. It employs a modular design typical for radio telephones for which the Zakłady Radiowe Radmor were famous. The electronic system of the receiver and its technical design was developed by Grzegorz Strzelewicz, the author of many designs of popular electronic devices (including Amator, Julia and Maria radios, as well as the Hi-Fi Mini, Slim-Line audio sets and the MD 3401 SD studio tape recorder). The external housing of the Radmor 5100 is a cuboid, one-part, chipboard veneered box, with a cross-section in the shape of a horizontal letter U. The receiver was built on an aluminium, anodised, spatial chassis on which structural components were installed, including the electrical system and the front housing panel with controls. On the one hand, such a solution enabled a streamlined production process, and on the other it facilitated repair work resulting from faults of electronic components. The disadvantages were the increased production cost and the necessity to lead wiring harnesses throughout the device. The front plate was made of brushed aluminium in two colour versions: black and silver. Due to the technology used, the black panels were sensitive to sunlight, which caused fading and discolouration to a copper or yellowish colour. Therefore, black versions of the receiver are rare.
The device was controlled using split knobs for source selection and radio reception mode. The receiver has a sensor programmer unit for eight radio stations and five rectangular VU meters. For the user’s convenience, the indicators are backlit in green. The 5100 receiver is designed (both in terms of external and technical design) to work with the Radmor 5171 graphical corrector and the Radmor 5122 AM tuner.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski

The Smyk B30 was designed in 1957 at the Automotive Industry Design Bureau in Warsaw by a team of engineers that included Karol Wójcicki, Janusz Zygadlewicz and Andrzej Zgliczyński. The vehicle was to carry two adults and two children. Its design was intended to enable cheap, mass production, and ensure ease of operation and low running costs. These design goals forced the use of many extraordinary and unique technical solutions, the most important of which was the Polish designers’ patented, all-wheel independent suspension, which was a combination of torsion bars and suspension links, as well as a single, lifting door that was integrated into the front wall of the body. The monocoque body was made of sheet metal formed using the simplest of methods, and it was propelled by the engine from the Junak motorcycle produced by the Automotive Equipment Factory in Łódź, which was adapted for this purpose. The gearbox was equipped with an inversion gear that was used to change the direction of rotation, resulting in the vehicle having four gearbox speeds both forward and reverse.
Like the Mikrus, with which the Smyk competed for implementation in mass production, as an inexpensive substitute for a passenger car the microcar was intended to promote individual motoring in Poland. Twenty prototypes were built. The rush in which the project was carried out resulted in numerous design flaws and a high failure rate of the vehicle. Consequently, work on the Smyk B30 was discontinued in 1959. The vehicle was intended for production in the Szczecin Motorcycle Factory, but the decision was made to produce the Mikrus in Mielec instead.

The TVG-10 gaming console was designed in 1978 by Wrocławskie Zakłady Elektroniczne Elwro, and mass production began a year later, when the device was also launched on the market. The design concept of the device was prepared by Benedykt Jan Hadyński – the head of the industrial design studio of the enterprise at the time.
The TVG-10 is a video game for children and adults that develops reaction speed, coordination, concentration, precision, and perceptiveness. The peak popularity of such games was in the 1980s. Their widespread promotion in Poland was begun by the Mera Elwro enterprise (operating in 1959-1993), which developed the TVG-10 console on the basis of the improved AY-3-8500 chip from General Instrument. It was both the first and the only Polish videogame manufactured in communist Poland. It is a copy of the Pong game, popular at the time, produced by Atari. As soon as it appeared, the TVG-10 enjoyed significant interest but unfortunately the high price and the low number of units manufactured made it difficult to buy. Due to the lack of dollars with which the production enterprises could pay suppliers, the use of the imported integrated circuit implemented in the design proved to be an additional problem and caused production bottlenecks. Due to the lack of hard currency with which to import the component, in 1981 the decision was made to transfer the production rights to the Ameprod Polish diaspora/Foreign Enterprise in Poznań for a fee. It had easier access to foreign technologies and, until production ended in 1984, it marketed about a 100,000 units of the console. In the 1980s the first personal computers began to appear in Poland, like all over the world, which reduced the interest in consoles.
To use the TVG-10 it was necessary to connect the console to a standard television receiver with UHF band reception. Each of the 10 games available in the device is accompanied by simplified, black-and-white imaging and basic sound effects. The console starts working when it is connected to the TV receiver’s antenna output, then the game was selected by pressing one of the buttons in the front panel (the type of game is signified by a simplified icon) and turning the TV set’s tuning dial until a clear image is achieved. The game is controlled using two cylindrical sticks that slide out of pockets on either end of the console, each with an orange button on top. Over time, Wiktor Możejko designed a light gun called the Videotraf for more complicated arcade games. The controller allows shooting at objects moving on the screen.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski

The Neptun OT 1491 television receiver in the basic version was produced by Gdańskie Zakłady Radiowe Gezar from autumn 1959 until spring 1963. It is the first in a series of more than 20 television receivers manufactured by the GZR (later transformed into Gdańskie Zakłady Elektroniczne Unimor) until the 1980s.
The Neptun is a mains-powered television set designed for reception of television programmes, equipped with the differential method of audio reception and a black-and-white 35 MK 1 CRT with a screen diagonal of 35 cm. In terms of the electrical system, it is a heterodyne with 16 vacuum tubes and 4 diodes. The device design was developed by the design team of the Technical Development Resource of the Gdańskie Zakłady Radiowe: inż. Krupa, inż. Kula, inż. Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, inż. Muszyński, inż. Chmielewski, and inż. Z. Witczak. According to information presented in an internal paper of the enterprise of 1958, the Neptun television receiver was intended as an upgraded version of the Belweder TV set. The Gdańskie Zakłady Radiowe, which undertook manufacturing of the Neptun, was established, built, and its operation started during the 1956-1960 five-year plan.
In 1959-1965, the Neptun OT 1491 model was utilised to produce several variants of the device, differing in terms of the CRTs used in the design (14 or 17-inch), the electrical systems, or the appearance of the housing. Overall, 364,763 units were built. As part of the first series based on the Neptun OT 1491, models such as the Neptun A (1963-1964), Neptun B (1963-1965), Neptun C (1964-1965), Neptun CB (1965), and Neptun D (1965) were manufactured. Neptun TV sets originated as part of the so-called ‘cosmic series”, where models were named after celestial bodies: Helios, Jowisz, Saturn or Uran.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski