Empire portable

[robert.copley1]

hi all anyone know anything about this portable year , of manufacture etc ? thanks Bob

[Graham G3ZVT]

the only reference I can see is this
https://tinyurl.com/muzwxh3r
Also known as the Excel EX-1 with a slightly different case.
I would guess 1961 as the year.
By the way, what type is that "B" battery, your pictures have poor definition as if the lens needs cleaning.

[paulsherwin]

It does look Japanese. There were quite a few very small Japanese valve portables made around 1960, primarily for the American market.

[Herald1360]

The 1R5, 1T4 etc 50mA filament valves might suggest earlier than 1960- the 25mA filament types were available from the early/mid '50s, though perhaps the low HT dictated the choice?

[robert.copley1]

couple more pictures , why would they use valves and not transistors?

[paulsherwin]

Because in 1960 transistors were very expensive. A small transistor portable typically cost twice as much as a small valve portable. Of course, the running costs of the valve set were much higher, but that was actually an incentive for major battery manufacturers like Ever Ready and Vidor.

[Paul_RK]

Transistors themselves were still relatively expensive, though the saving from buying a miniature valve radio like this would soon be eaten up by battery costs. Such sets as this may have been inspired by the Braun Exporter, though Braun had moved on from valve portables by 1960:

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/braun_exporter.html

Paul (crossed with Paul S.)

[robert.copley1]

thanks all for the replies as you all suggest it's Japanese made for the American market