Soviet technology: portable TV, tape recorder and radio in one device (6 photos)

1 February 2024

In 1984, the USSR Ministry of Radio Industry released another catalog with new consumer goods, with the help of which it clearly tried to prove that radio industry enterprises were in no way behind their foreign colleagues.

The main emphasis in the production of household radio equipment was placed not only on new design principles (block-modular, for example), external aesthetics, but also on the versatility of a number of manufactured devices. True, consumers did not always appreciate this versatility, but that was a completely different question...

The mid-80s was a time when even an ordinary cassette recorder was not in every home, and for many members of the younger generation it continued to be a cherished dream for which they saved money for a long time, saving it from scholarships or odd jobs.

And it is at this time that the Minsk Computer Equipment Plant presents an unheard-of “new product of the season” - a portable TV radio "Amfiton", with which you can watch TV shows, listen to radio programs, and also listen and make recordings on audio cassettes. This miracle of combined technology was positioned as a device for those who, even on the road, do not want to give up their usual comfort and are used to traveling with music (and now also with TV shows).

Photo from the 1984 catalog

The radio tape recorder was a TV with a 16 cm diagonal screen - the device received broadcasts in the meter and decimeter ranges; there was also a receiver - quite functional, because worked on long, medium, short and ultra-short waves. Well, the tape recorder was no different - it reproduced and recorded sound, everything as it should be.

Amphiton could also work at home - from a standard electrical network. But the fact that the manufacturer primarily intended this device to be used far from an outlet also implied the possibility of operating on batteries. And this is where the first problems began: 10 A-373 batteries, which this TV radio required, were enough for a couple of hours of operation, and taking into account the fact that batteries were not readily available everywhere, the power-hungry device had every chance of " road" to simply turn into a country TV.

Photo: https://rw6ase.narod.ru

But the problem with the batteries was not the most important drawback - those rare lucky people who could afford to buy this TV radio for 480 rubles often complained that the radio receiver and tape recorder in it worked flawlessly, but the TV regularly broke down either the kinescope or voltage multiplier, which was quite a shame, given the considerable cost of this device...

Well, in general, of course, few could resist the temptation to show off such a thing, as if by chance :) The owners of Zhiguli, Moskvich and Volga, leaving for the dacha, could arrange a real sell-out in their yard by loading the Amphiton into car, and turning on the TV - while urban conditions made it possible to catch at least some TV show more or less tolerably, outside the city this process was already greatly complicated and often one had to be content with only the work of a radio or tape recorder.