Museum Quality 1955 Zenith Royal 800 Transistor Radio & Cloth Bag Serviced For Sale

I wascollecting Transistor Radios before Marty Bunis, and many of the transistors inMarty and Sue’s books are pictures they took at my house of my sets. My son hastaken what he likes most and over the next few years I will offer the others on- BIN. You will find cheaper Transistor Radios on , but you will notfind better!! PERIOD! These are the BEST of my 50+ years of Transistorcollecting!! Enjoy!

MuseumQuality 1955 Zenith Royal 800 Transistor Radio & Original Cloth Bag!Serviced

Here for your consideration is a MuseumQuality 1955 Zenith Royal 800 Transistor Radio with its Original Cloth Bag thathas been serviced and plays excellent.

Anyonewho collects Zenith Transistor Radios already knows that the 1955 Royal 800 isthe rarest of all the Zenith transistor sets.

Ata steep retail price of $89.95(equivalent to roughly $1,000 today) it was not a huge seller- particularlywith the Royal 500 being such a good seller.

Theones who really know Zenith transistor sets know that this highly elusive colorfulset is 10 times rarer than the Black version.

Now,the real truth, the original cloth bag is 10 times rarer than the radio!

Itis in excellent condition, and I am only aware of one other cloth bag-Period.

Itis no stretch to tell you that this Royal 800 offered here is the “Best on thePlanet”!

This9.5” x 7” x 2.5” Royal 800 being offered here was serviced and buffed by myfriend Lenny who you might know better as the transistor radio seller “NHRADIOMAN”on Radio Attic.

Hechanged the capacitors, tuned it up, and buffed the cabinet.

Thereare no chips or cracks in the radio.

Itlooks like the day it was made.

HonestyStatement: All 800 sets have some amount of cabinet warp on the back cover.This one has some but is still the best I’ve ever seen.

Checkinside the case at those 7 beautiful, original GE “Top Hat” transistors!

Theantenna handle pops up and down as it should and locks in the down position.

Itplays loud and clear and picks up over a dozen stations across the AM dial.

Thisset comes with a fresh set of Alkaline batteries.

“Beston the Planet”, what else needs to be said?

FromAI on the NET:

TheZenith Royal 800, introduced in December 1955, has the historicdistinction of being the first portable transistor radio

manufacturedby the ZenithRadio Corporation. Released just one month after Zenith\'spocket-sized Royal 500, this \"lunch box\" sized portable was highlyadvanced for its time. Because it had to compete against its smaller, highlypopular sibling and carried a steep retail price of $89.95 (equivalent to roughly $1,000 today), it suffered from lowsales and a short production life of only about two years. This rarity makes ithighly sought after by vintage radio collectors.

Key Specifications & Design Features

• Audio Power: Driven by a hand-wired, 7-transistor chassis (Chassis 7ZT41) providing a powerful 500 milliwatts of output—five times the audio output power of the pocket Royal 500.

• Speaker & Controls: Features a large 4-inch permanent magnet dynamic speaker situated behind a signature gold metal grill, a Vernier gear-reduced tuning knob on the right side, and a volume control knob on the left.
• Cabinet Construction: Built with a durable nylon-plastic cabinet, primarily manufactured in black (ebony) with a highly elusive gray version, and a tan option.
• Innovative Handle Antenna: Equipped with a mechanical, spring-driven pop-up carrying handle that cleverly encapsulates the high-performance ferrite loop core AM antenna.
• Power Requirements: Powered completely via a red internal battery tube holding eight \"C\" cell batteries (delivering 12 Volts total).
• Dimensions & Weight: Measures approximately 9.5 x 8 x 2.25 inches and weighs a hefty 4.25 pounds without batteries installed.

Collector\'s Notes

• Common Failure Points: Collectors should note that the back plastic panel is notorious for warping over time due to material aging, though the structural mounting tabs usually keep it secured.
• Servicing: Like most early mid-century electronics, original units almost always require a complete capacitor replacement (re-cap) to restore them to their full, loud 500mW operating condition.

These items all come from a SMOKE FREE, SMELL FREE Home.

RADIOORPHANAGE INFORMATION:

1) 2026 is my 28th year selling on . I have bought, sold, and collected 25+ to 100+ year old Vintage Electronics for over 50 years. As I trim my collection, I try to sell a variety of interesting, hard to find Radios, Amplifiers, Record Players, Vinyl, Stereo Receivers, Speakers, Telephones, Transistor Radios, Tube Hi Fi and Audio, Television, Amateur Radio and Communication Devices, Vacuum Tubes, Telegraphs, Gaming Equipment, Early Computers and Calculators.

2)Check out all my other JIVE BINs and sales, and mark me as a Favorite Seller. September to May is my selling season. There is something here for any vintage electronics collector or nostalgia buff.

My current response is 100% with over 7000 responses.

I was the President of the New England Antique Radio Club and then the New England Vintage Electronics Club for six years. I stepped down at the end of 2018 to concentrate on finding new owners for the Vintage Electronics my son is not interested in.

3) I value you as a customer, and more importantly, a returning customer.

I reward your fast payment with excellent packing, and lightning fast shipping.

4) I have no interest in taking advantage of anyone, and I have no need to.

If you understand what you are buying, and how Vintage Electronics work, you will be very happy.

If you don\'t understand how to put an antenna on an old tube radio, or how to connect speakers to a Vintage Amplifier, join a local Antique Radio or Vintage Electronics Club.

If you don\'t know where your closest club is, let me know, and I\'ll tell you.

If you don\'t know how to hook up or use what you are buying, or know someone who does, please don\'t buy.

ASK QUESTIONS about anything you don\'t understand. I want you to be happy.

5) Shipping is expensive.

You can pick your item up with NO SHIPPING costs at my home 50 miles north of Boston with advanced notice.

The concept of \"free shipping\" is one of the 3 biggest lies.

We are the best packers on , and pack YOUR item the way we\'d like to receive it-if it was being sent to us.

We take extra care in packaging, (Bubble wrap, foam pellets, proper boxes, etc.)(NOT the wadded up newspaper trick) There is a cost for doing this right.

Our goal is to get it to you in good shape, and for you to not have to file those fruitless shipping claims.

Let\'s face it, once it\'s broke, it\'s broke.

We have lost a significant amount of money in packaging costs over the past 25 years, and will continue to do so to get it to you in one piece.

6) YOU & US: Note that the majority of what we sell is antique, vintage, and/or collectable electronics.

For liability purposes, Radioorphanage / Bruce Phillips accept NO responsibility for how the buyer uses or misuse of the items.

We see you as a valued customer, and want you to be happy.

Buy with confidence, as we are in this for the long haul- not for a quick buck.

If you are not happy, for any reason, let us know and we\'ll try to make it right.

7) Questions? Please ask!