Heinzelmann (radio kit)
The Heinzelmann radio was a kit for a tube radio for assembly by the buyer, developed by Hans Eckstein on behalf of Max Grundig and sold in Germany from 1946 . The kit laid the foundation for the success of the Grundig company .
Development and production
In the post-war period , the population had a great need for information, while the Allies strictly managed the supply of radio equipment to private individuals. Initially, the devices were only available on a subscription form.
In December 1945, the small business owner and businessman Max Grundig from Fürth decided to produce a radio kit for hobbyists. In doing so, he succeeded in circumventing the Allied ban on the production of radio sets and closing the gap in the market for radio receivers. The circuit diagram was completed by July 1946 and in August 1946 official approval for production was granted. Series production began in Fürth in October 1946. Deliveries began in January 1947. By the end of 1947, over 12,000 units had been manufactured and sold. In 1948 around 39,000 kits had already been produced. Until the currency reform of 1948 , the radio cost 176 Reichsmarks as an all-current device and 189 Reichsmarks as a variant for alternating current , which was a high price at the time. In relation to 1947, adjusted for inflation, this corresponds to 560 or 610 euros in today's currency.
Grundig has announced a new version of the device for September 2020. The radio equipped with the latest technology is limited to 5000 copies.
description
The device was able to receive medium , long and sometimes short wave transmitters . Technically, the receiver is a single circuit feedback .
The radio kit was sold in a cardboard box that contained almost all of the individual parts and a construction plan. The wooden device housing was not part of the kit and had to be made by the buyer himself according to a plan. The radio tube required for the radio was not included, as Grundig was unable to include any radio tubes due to the tube factories that were destroyed or dismantled in the war . You had to get the buyers yourself. In doing so, they sometimes resorted to the Wehrmacht tubes , such as the RV12P2000 , which were still plentifully available at the time via the black market . Filling material from unexploded air mines served as insulation . The assembly required a certain technical understanding on the part of the purchaser.
The namesake for the kit (initially nameless in 1946) was most likely the "Funkheinzelmännchen" by Hans Bodenstedt from 1924/1925, the title character of what is probably the earliest children's series on German radio.
See also
literature
- Peter Reichel: The Heinzelmann. In: Kleeblatt Radio , Issue 8 / January 1994. pp. 33–40. (Originally in: Radio Fernsehen Elektronik , Issue 40, 1991).
- Hans Knoll: The technical variants of the "Heinzelmann" . In: Radio and Museum . Magazine of the Rundfunkmuseum der Stadt Fürth, issue 66, September 2008, pp. 5–18.
- Hans Knoll: Origins of the "Heinzelmann" radio module . In: Radio and Museum . Magazine of the Rundfunkmuseum der Stadt Fürth, issue 71, December 2009, pp. 9–16.
Web links
- Pascual Jordan: The tube radio »Heinzelmann« as a description at the Deutsches Museum Bonn (pdf)
- Max Grundig and his "Heinzelmann" with circuit diagram
- Grundig's "Heinzelmann" vs. Hitler's Volksempfänger in: Die Welt on November 26, 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ Max Grundig: Ascent with the Heinzelmann in: The time of December 15, 1989
- ↑ From the “Radio City” to the Uferstadt ( memento from June 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) at Altstadtverein St. Michael Fürth
- ↑ The figures were based on the template: Inflation determined, rounded to 10 EUR and apply to last January.
- ↑ The RV12 P 2000 story
- ↑ Entertainment policy at the Deutsches Museum Bonn
- ↑ Hans Knoll: Origins of the radio kit "Heinzelmann", p. 14. In: Rundfunk und Museum. Magazine of the Rundfunkmuseum der Stadt Fürth , issue 71, December 2009, pp. 9–16.