National Panasonic

Here are some of my Panapet 70s. I also have a red and white one. There was also a violet one made under licence in South Africa that may be FM only, as well as a European LW version made under licence. All seem to have Japanese sourced parts, except for the South African version that may have been injection moulded in South Africa.

These are a simple 6 transistor set that was originally made for the World Expo in Osaka in 1970.

From around 1972 there was a R70S that ran on 3 volts.

See also the Colour Radios page for advertising.

From " future-forms.com " for the first series, National Panasonic Panapet R-70: "The quirky ‘Panapet’, produced by Panasonic in 1970 to commemorate the World Expo in Osaka, was a ball-shaped radio that hung on a chain. Two chrome-plated dials on the surface controlled tuning and volume, and the tuning display itself was set into the ball. Initially released as an AM-only radio, customers could choose from red, yellow, white, blue and avocado green versions.