Nordmende 9072 "Transita de Luxe" Transistor (1963)

This charming German Nordmende portable resembles my Schaub-Lorenz but it uses transistors instead of tubes. I purchased it for 20 Swiss francs (US$14) during a 1999 visit to Switzerland.

The Transita de Luxe is a nine-transistor, three-band receiver, covering the longwave band from 150-300 khz, standard broadcast band from 550-1600 khz, and FM broadcast band from 88-104 mhz. The German band markings identify these three bands as LW (lang welle), MW (mittel welle), and UKW (ultra kurz welle). The dial also has a set of red markings labeled Kanal and numbered 2-10-20-30-40-50. These are channel numbers for the FM FM band, similar to those once used in the US (see Philco 42-350).

As in the Schaub-Lorenz, the cabinet is made of thin wood covered with a green leatherette fabric. The grille and dial bezel are brass; the embossed Nordmende name at the bottom of the grille is quite beautiful.

The controls are located on top. The left thumbwheel controls the volume and the right one is the tuner. Five pushbuttons on the top include the power switch, three band selection buttons, and a two-position tone control.

I bought this radio at an antique fair in Fribourg, Switzerland:

When we got back home to the US, I cleaned the set up and put it on display next to the Schaub-Lorenz. These two European portables make a great pair.

This radio uses a pair of 4.5-volt flat batteries to form a 9-volt power supply. After reaching home, I temporarily powered up the radio using a small 9-volt battery and a pair of alligator clips. It worked perfectly!

Duracell still makes flat 4.5-volt batteries which are used for cave-explorer's headlamps and other specialized applications. I believe they would fit this battery carrier, but they are rather expensive at around US$6 per battery. An alternative would be to replace the original battery carrier with one that holds six 1.5-volt AA batteries.

I have gotten the following additional information from Stefan Rossbach, a fellow collector from Germany:

Your Nordmende Transita de Luxe is from selling season 1963/64
(selling seasons in Germany in the 1950s and 1960s last from 
July to the following June). It is made by Nordmende of Bremen,
full name: Norddeutsche Mende Rundfunk KG.

That company existed until the early 1980s. The name was used 
by the French Thomson Company up to 1995. Nordmende was one of
the big ones in German television production from the 1950s to
the 1970s.

The channel numbers on your Transita refer to the UKW (FM) 
range. In Germany, the UKW range is divided in channels but these
numbers never have been very popular. They are still in effect,
but almost forgotten in the public mind. Most Germans "think 
in MHz," not in UKW channels.

Your Transita's original recommended selling price in 1963 was 
248 DM (price maintenance had been given up in 1961). So it was 
sold for about 220 DM, in these days about US$45.

Thanks for this information, Stefan!

My Blaupunkt Derby is a similar German portable transistor.