Growing as a Radio Manufacturer

Based on the idea that “one of the secrets to business success is to get an early jump” and “in boom times, get ready for the wave of slow sales that will surely follow,” and buoyed by the success of his crystal radios, Tokuji lost no time in starting to prepare for his next business venture. It was the development of a vacuum-tube radio. At the time, crystal radios, with their clear sound and inexpensive price, were the mainstream. Vacuum-tube radios were an imported item, and expensive. In addition, at the time, they were battery-powered and replacing the batteries was a time-consuming process. The batteries, too, were expensive, and such radios were far from being in widespread use. However, Tokuji focused on how vacuum-tube radios had a wide reception area and, best of all, made it possible for the whole family to listen to the sound from speakers without using headphones. He quickly noticed that this was the up and coming style of listening to the radio. The early models of the “Sharp Dyne” vacuum-tube radio were battery-powered, but in 1929, he developed and introduced a long-sought vacuum-tube radio that ran on AC current, in other words, taking power from household electrical wiring.