The unique layout in this radio uses a printed circuit board for the core electronics, while a hand-fabricated aluminum board plays home to the tuning capacitor, volume switch and one of the battery holders. These boards are connected by the two screws you can see to the right of the black plastic battery holder.

Speaking of batteries, here again we have a unique design. Two of the four AA-cell batteries that power this baby lay side-by-side in the black plastic holder. The other pair sits one atop the other in the battery holder moulded into the cabinet itself, (which can be seen at the lower left).

One could offer endless speculation for the choice to use a socket only for the top transistor. Instead, I'll sneak by with venturing that Victor wanted to make sure they used the best-performing 2T51 series transistor available in any given lot. The socket, then, was a good way to make a last minute change when tuning a nearly completed set.

Adding background, this is still an era when Japanese makers found it difficult to produce high-frequency transistors. Only a few percent really performed up to the desired specifications. Granted, Totsuko's 2T512 was an improvement over the original 2T51 devices.

So, here we have a last tribute to the earliest days of transistor production and transistor radio making in Japan. Before 1957 would draw to a close, Sony realized true mass production and consistent performance with the introduction of their next-generation 2T7 series. This new family of transistors would lower transistor prices, increase radio production capacities and improve performance in one fell swoop. Why even mention the 2T7 series here? Well, if for no better reason, the 2T7 series made it into the TS-600 by late 1957, as demonstrated by the other variant on display here. With the arrival of the 2T7 series, Victor said goodbye to the socket mount for the top transistor.

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Next up is the Sony 1T23 diode.

This stubby bakelite-covered 1T23 is one of two "pinch hitter" diodes Sony shipped in mid '57, when production of the current type wasn't doing well at all. This shorter 1T23 re-adopts the form of the much earlier 1T33 found in the very first Sony radios. I'll cover the other pinch hitter diode soon with another radio.

Okay, I might have cropped more closely had I not felt compelled to leave the electrolytic capacitor and its manufacture date showing proudly in the background.

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In closing, at least until I post additional pages for this entry, is the mandatory photo of the product label.