Brown SK 1
The Braun SK 1 is a tube radio that was designed by Fritz Eichler and Artur Braun for the Braun company in 1954. The newly developed table radios "SK 1" and "SK 2" were presented in 1955 at the Düsseldorf radio exhibition. The "SK 1" was one of the first products for Braun from the Department of mold design and initiated the new product design of the company. These Braun devices were sold as Kleinsuper-SK in specialist shops.
Emergence
Erwin and Artur Braun found indications that the end users were tired of the "blown up splendor" of the furnishings and wanted simple and functional household items . In order to do this justice, Erwin Braun then asked Fritz Eichler for help. He showed him a catalog from the New York Museum of Modern Art and reported on the work of the Dessau Bauhaus . Fritz Eichler worked until then, among other things, as a director and design officer and studied art history and theater studies in Berlin from 1931 to 1935 .
Convinced of the need to change the appearance of Braun products, Artur and Erwin Braun decided to realign the company and reorganize it internally. This also included the introduction of a design department, whose task it should be to design simple and functional devices . The "SK 1" radio receiver developed in 1954 corresponded to this idea . First presented at the Düsseldorf radio exhibition, the radio was nicknamed "rabbit hutch" in the industry . The newly designed music cabinet series “PK-G”, the table super devices “TS-G” and “G-11” and the suitcase receiver “combi” were also presented at the radio exhibition. In 1956, following the new design concept, the radio-phono combination "Phonosuper SK 4" designed by Hans Gugelot and Dieter Rams appeared .
The “SK 1” and “SK 2” were also presented in 1957 at the La Triennale di Milano (11th Triennale in Milan), where the company received the Grand Prix for the entire program. The new product design brought the company a huge image boost in the following decades.
The small super SK models
SK 1
The Braun table radio "SK 1" consists of an impact-resistant plastic housing ( Bakelite ) in the form of a cuboid, which was initially available in the pastel shades of light yellow, light green or beige. In 1956 it was also offered in the colors light beige, light blue and graphite. A white lacquered perforated plate was used for the front of the radio , on which there are two unlabelled control buttons, as well as a large circular frequency scale with a large Braun logo.
The round dial is divided in color in the middle, the upper area is white, while the lower area is similar to the housing color. The radio has a 13 cm loudspeaker , has an output power of 3.5 watts and has five electron tubes . It is only designed for the reception of ultra-short wave transmitters (VHF), has a tone control and a connection for a dipole antenna . The SK 1 was offered as a second radio or kitchen radio in 1955 and cost 129 DM . Adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency, this currently corresponds to around EUR 300.
SK 2 In
1955 the technically advanced model, the "SK 2", for FM and medium wave reception (MW) came onto the market. The housing was available in the colors light yellow, light green, light beige, light blue and graphite. In the first devices, the round dial was divided in color in the middle and still has the large brown lettering.
Later models of the "SK 2" and also their successors had a switch-on indicator by means of a light bulb, which can be seen as a luminous point on the scale below the small Braun lettering. Some of them have a tone control and a low-frequency connection on the back. A record player or tape recorder can be connected to the audio connection. In order to be able to hear the record, the SK must be set to medium wave and turned on the scale ring. The sales price was already 145 DM in 1955.
SK 3 and SK 2b In
1956 the "SK 3" with the wave ranges long wave (LW) and VHF was presented as well as the "SK 2b" with the wave ranges medium wave and VHF. The only difference between the two devices is that the "SK 3" is designed for long wave and the "SK 2b" for medium wave . There were no separate nameplates for the “SK 2b”, so the rear panel and the nameplate of the “SK 3” were used for the “SK 2b” and provided with a sticker or a stamp. Both models partly had a tone control, an operating display and the small Braun lettering on the scale.
SK 2/2 and SK 25 In
1959 the "SK 2/2" (Type RC2) appeared, in which the font on the circular scale was changed. The scale is completely white and has a smaller Braun logo. Instead of a red dot, a red line was embossed on the round plastic disc in front of the frequency scale. It is designed for FM and medium wave reception, has a tone control, a phono connection, an operating display and a plastic rear panel. Otherwise it is identical to its predecessor.
The individual devices differ technically only marginally from each other except for the last model, the 1961 built "SK 25" (type RC25). It has a modified VHF circuit and a modified electronic tube assembly. In the predecessors, a system consisting of an ECC85 electron tube takes over the oscillator and mixing function together with an EF89 electron tube, in the "SK 25" an ECH81 electron tube was used for the mixer stage instead of an EF89 . The "SK 25" is otherwise visually identical to the "SK 2/2". In 1961 the price was 167 DM, in 1962 it was 179 DM.
Special models
SK 22 U - export version for the USA
The export model, the "SK 22 U", was developed for the American market in 1958 . It was equipped with the electron tubes ECC85 or 6AQ8, EF89 or 6DA6, EF89 or 6DA6, EABC80 or 6AK8, EL84 or 6BQ5. It has an intermediate frequency (IF) of 455 kHz for medium wave and 10,700 kHz for ultra-short wave, furthermore six circles for amplitude modulation (AM) and nine circles for frequency modulation (FM). The frequency range for VHF is from 87.9 to 107.9 MHz and for medium wave from 520 to 1640 kHz. The output power is 2.4 watts, which is delivered to a 13 cm loudspeaker in a permanently dynamic design without an excitation coil. The lettering on the circular scale was done in English and the font was changed. It also had a light bulb that could be seen through a hole in the scale when it was switched on.
SK 3 - for Lufthansa
In 1957 a small series of the “SK 3” models was produced especially for Lufthansa . Except for the modified long-wave reception area, these were identical in construction and were used as control receivers for offices and workshops.
Small super
The term "Kleinsuper" or "Kleinsuperhet" is used for tube radios that were constructed in such a way that they enable the superhet principle for radio reception with as few electron tubes as possible. A typical feature of the small super receiver is only a single intermediate frequency filter . That is why the SK models from Braun are among the devices that work according to the small superhet principle.
Technical specifications
Technically, all SK models consist of a high frequency part with mixer , intermediate frequency stage, demodulator , low frequency stage and power supply .
| Data of the small super SK models | |
|---|---|
| Models | SK 1, SK 2, SK 2b, SK 3, SK 2/2, SK 25 |
| Electron tube | all models: ECC85, 2 × EF89, EABC80, EL84 SK 25: ECC85, ECH81, EF89, EABC80, EL95 |
| Frequency band | SK 1: only VHF SK 3: LW and VHF all others: MW and VHF |
| Number of circles | all: 6 circuits for amplitude modulation (AM) and 9 circuits for frequency modulation (FM) SK 1: 9 circuits for frequency modulation |
| Intermediate frequency | SK 1: UKW = 10,700 kHz SK 3: LW = 460 kHz; UKW = 10,700 kHz SK 25: MW = 455 kHz; FM = 10700 kHz all others: MW = 460 kHz; FM = 10,700 kHz |
| speaker | permanent dynamic design without excitation coil, 13 cm diameter SK 25: 12 cm diameter |
| Output power | SK 1: 3.5 watts SK 25: 2 watts, all others: 2.5 watts |
| Tone controls | SK 1, SK 2, SK 2/2, SK 25 partially SK 3, SK 2b |
| casing | Plastic (bakelite) |
| Housing colors | Light yellow, light green, cream, light beige, light gray, light blue and graphite |
| Dimensions | 234 mm × 152 mm × 130 mm (W × H × D) |
| Weight | all models: 3.3 kg SK 2/2 and SK 25: 3.4 kg |
| Operating mode | 115; 150; 220 volts alternating current |
literature
- Magazine Der Braunsammler. later Design + Design (Eds. Jo Klatt and Günter Staeffler), Hamburg.
- Wolfgang Schmittel: Design, concept, realization: Braun, Citroen, Miller, Olivetti, Sony, Swissair. Zurich 1975.
- More or less. Braun - design in comparison. Exhibition catalog. Museum of Arts and Crafts , Hamburg 1990.
- Regine Scourtelis: Some like it pure. In: ZEITmagazin. 42, 1990, pp. 80-88.
- Jo Klatt, Günter Staeffler: Braun + Design Collection. 40 years of Braun Design from 1955 to 1995. Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-9803485-3-9 .
- Hans Wichmann: Courage to set out. Erwin Braun 1921 to 1992. Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7913-2023-8 .
- Bernd Polster: Brown. 50 years of product innovations. Dumont, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-8321-7364-1 (English edition 2009).
Web links
- Braun Kleinsuper in the radio museum
- Jogis Roehrenbude Braun SK 1
- Development of the "Braun Design"
- Braun Radio SK 25
- Radio show article about Audion - Kleinsuperhet
Individual evidence
- ↑ Magic rectangle , in: DER SPIEGEL 45/1964, p. 77
Remarks
- ↑ This figure was based on the template: Inflation determined, rounded to 10 EUR and applies to January 2015.