Realistic (brand)
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| Industry | Electronics |
|---|---|
| Fate | Renamed Radio Shack brands |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Products | Record players, Audio receivers, Cassette decks, Ham radios, Speakers |
Realistic was a brand produced by RadioShack, a division of Tandy Corporation, to market audio and video products for home use. The brand name is no longer in use by RadioShack and was largely discontinued by the early 1990s. The brand was officially discontinued in 2000 after RadioShack entered an agreement with RCA to market their products.
History
The brand began in 1954 under the name realist, but was subsequently changed due to an existing camera trademark, Stereo Realist.[1] The company's most notable products under the Realistic brand included the extensive line of TRC series Citizens Band radio transceivers, which dominated the CB Radio market during the 1970s, and included the Navaho series of CB base station units. A 1977 motion picture entitled Handle with Care was actually sponsored at the time by Tandy Corporation, in part to showcase the Realistic line of CB radios. Also notable were their 8-track recorders under the TR- model line and their compact cassette decks under the SCT- model line. They are also the company responsible for the Realistic Mach speaker line. A very wide range of products was marketed under the Realistic brand. These included record players, stereo receivers, cassette decks, ham radios,[2] musical synthesizers and a few quadraphonic receivers and shortwave radios. They also became popular for great quality speakers and amplifiers.
Optimus
In the early 1990s, the Realistic brand began to change their name to Optimus, a brand of speakers RadioShack had been offering since the 1970s. Both Realistic and Optimus brand names have since been retired.
Models
The Realistic DX-60 is an AM-mode only shortwave radio marketed by Radio Shack in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. The radio receives 3 MHz to 27 MHz AM shortwave in three bands, 26.965 MHz through 27.405 MHz HF CB in one band, 540 kHz to 1620 kHz standard AM broadcast in one band, and 87 MHz to 108 MHz monaural standard broadcast FM. The radio exists in two versions, model 12-764 and a nearly identical but production-cost-reduced 12-764A.
References
External links
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