NEC NT-6A
NEC NT-6A
Meet one of the two models that NEC released simultaneously in March, 1957 as the company's first transistor radios. In contrast to the massive presence of the NT-7H, which was designed as a cordless "handy" radio, the NT-6A featured sleek portable proportions that were meant to be flaunted out in public. The list price in Japan was 17,000 yen. And, to the best of my knowledge, the model was available only in the Japanese market.
I'd say the above photo speaks for itself, even if it fails to show the cabinet color perfectly. This is one beautiful piece of engineering. The clear plastic panel covering the tuning dial knob features reverse painted numbers in black and a large painted section on the right in the body color. Vertical gold traces run through the painted section, which seem to point toward the tuning dial. Part of the clear plastic dial itself is also reverse painted in gold.
Of the few extant samples I've spotted in all my years of watching out for the model, I have confirmed three color variations of the NT-6A — the green shown above, red, and a brownish-grey. The reverse painted section on the red and brown/grey variations is colored black. I do have one period magazine that states there were four body colors. But unfortunately, that magazine doesn't list what those colors would have been. Hopefully some day we'll confirm whether a fourth color ever really made it into production.
As a side note, one might suggest that some of the design elements were influenced by the highly successful Sony TR-6, which had already been on the market for almost a year by the time the NT-6A shipped.
215 mm x 100 mm x 42 mm (approx. 8-1/2" x 3"-7/8" x 1-5/8")