Asterisk (radio)
The Sternchen transistor radio was the first radio set manufactured in the GDR whose function was based entirely on the then novel transistor technology. It was brought onto the market by VEB Sternradio Sonneberg in 1959 after a development period of around one year. The trade name was in the long version "transistor pocket receiver asterisk ". The device enabled radio reception on medium waves in the frequency range from 510 to 1620 kHz. With its technical performance features and the external dimensions of 3.5 cm × 9.0 cm × 14.5 cm, it was a miniature device that was also internationally competitive in the early 1960s. The "Sternchen" receivers were manufactured in Sonneberg and from 1961 also in Berlin . Right from the start, they found huge sales among young people in the GDR. The demand was only from the mid-1960s gradually, as more modern FM came to the fore receiver. Today the devices are in great demand as collector's items.
The star is a superhet receiver with a ferrite antenna and a transformer-coupled push-pull output stage. It works with an operating voltage of 9 volts, which is supplied by a 9-volt block battery - which was relatively new at the time .
The asterisk has a jack plug for an earphone that was specially developed for this device.
The batteries were relatively expensive and the operating time was relatively short, so that there were various hobbyist solutions, for example with two 4.5 volt flat batteries connected in series.
The components for the asterisk could also be bought individually in the mid-1960s and they were popular craft objects.