East Germany · Sonneberg / 1961–1962
Sternchen transistor radio
A room of sound, carried
A photograph of a Sternchen portable transistor radio. It is the model discussed in the object record, not the larger Beethoven valve receiver used as a contrast elsewhere.
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The Sternchen gave broadcast sound a portable body. The DDR Museum dates its example to 1961–1962 and identifies the maker as VEB Sternradio Sonneberg. A plastic-and-metal case and leather carrying strap make new electronics something held and moved. The museum describes the model as the first radio manufactured in the GDR to operate entirely with transistors. Its smallness invites a shift of attention from broadcasting institutions to listening situations: a sound source can now accompany a body. What anyone actually heard still depends on place, reception and choice.
- Date
- 1961–1962
- Maker / designer
- VEB Sternradio Sonneberg
- Material
- Plastic, metal, leather strap
- Context
- Portable consumer electronics made by a publicly owned East German manufacturer.
Evidence: Date established · Place established
Historical record
- Museum example dated 1961–1962, made in Sonneberg.
- Described by the museum as the GDR's first wholly transistor-operated domestic radio model.