Mike-Radio FM Microphone Radio (1961)

This charming novelty radio takes the form of an old broadcast microphone. Labeled with station call letters KFMX, it stands about 15 inches high and receives only one FM channel at 96.5 Mhz.

Single-channel "mike" radios were promotional items, perhaps given away as prizes to publicize a local radio station. I have done a little research indicating that KFMX 96.5 was located in San Diego and began broadcasting around 1961. That time is also consistent with the advent of stereo FM broadcasting. Since the radio's case boasts of STEREO as well as FINE MUSIC, we know it could not have been made in pre-stereo times.

This radio is in fine condition, except for a couple of little scrapes on the label. It was produced by Universal Publicizers in Chicago, who undoubtedly contracted with a radio manufacturer to provide the chassis.

The radio's case is made of sturdy white plastic with painted red lettering. The speaker is mounted in the circular base and the rest of the radio is contained in the rotating "microphone" body above.

Don't bother looking for a tuning knob on this radio. It doesn't have one! In place of a conventional tuner, it uses a crystal and coil to bring in the station at 96.5 Mhz. The only control, which you can see in the chassis photo, is a power/volume knob on the top, which is hidden by the KFMX station flag when you view the radio from the front.

The Mike-Radio uses five tubes, of types 12AV6, 12BA6, 12BA6, 19EA8, and 50C5. It is a conventional All American Five AC/DC design, with a multi-function 19EA8 tube used in the fixed-frequency front end. At the lower right of the chassis photo, you can see the plug-in crystal used to define the reception frequency.

While the chassis has no markings to identify its origin, four of its five tubes are labeled JAPAN and have no other marks apart from numbers, suggesting that it was built by one of the countless Japanese radio manufacturers who churned out inexpensive radios in the 1960s. The overall design, including printed circuit board, ceramic disc capacitors, and wire-wrap connectors, is also consistent with that time.

Given the inexpensive design and small speaker, you can't expect long-distance reception or high fidelity from this radio. We assume that didn't matter much to the people who received such radios, who must have lived in the town where the station was located.

With a little tinkering, you could convert this radio to receive a single channel at some other frequency. I would rather leave it in original condition, however. There happens to be an FM station at 96.5 in my locality ("The Point," playing 1980s rock), so I can actually use the radio, which is not always the case for single-channel sets.

If anyone knows more about the history of KFMX 96.5 FM in San Diego, particularly when and how these radios were distributed, please contact me with that information.