BP-10 Personal

• Country
• United States of America (USA)

• Manufacturer / Brand
• RCA (RCA Victor Co. Inc.); New York (NY)

• Year
• 1940–1942

• Category
• Broadcast Receiver - or past WW2 Tuner

• Radiomuseum.org ID
• 54174

• • alternative name: RCA Manufacturing || Victor Talking Machine

• Picture
• Schematics

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Click on the schematic thumbnail to request the schematic as a free document.

• Number of Tubes
• 4

• Valves / Tubes
• 1R5 1T4 1S5 1S4

• Main principle
• Superheterodyne (common); ZF/IF 455 kHz

• Wave bands
• Broadcast only (MW).

• Power type and voltage
• Dry Batteries / 67,5+1,5 Volt

• Loudspeaker
• Permanent Magnet Dynamic (PDyn) Loudspeaker (moving coil) / Ø 3 inch = 7.6 cm

• Power out
• 0.05 W (0.12 W max.)

• Material
• Leather / canvas / plastic - over other material

• from Radiomuseum.org
• Model: BP-10 Personal - RCA RCA Victor Co. Inc.; New

• Shape
• Very small Portable or Pocket-Set (Handheld) < 8 inch.

• Dimensions (WHD)
• 230 x 80 x 93 mm / 9.1 x 3.1 x 3.7 inch

• Notes

• First flip top lid (coat pocket size) model. On-off by lid action. Battery #467. Together with Sonora Candid the first models using miniature (7 pin) tubes.

  Later models have an arm to limit lid opening so they can be used flat, on back. Earlier models are better suited to sitting on front edge when open as the lid folds open 180 degrees.

  LT is from a D cell (replaced more often than the HT, perhaps 18 hours or more use).

  HT battery UK equivalent is B101 (other US equivalents on page), perhaps more than 50 hours use.

  RCA offered its RCA-branded VS-016 "B" battery with the radio and recommended the Eveready #467 as a spare.  RCA's own estimate of the battery life was 3 to 5 hours for the D-cell "A" battery and 25 to 40 hours for the "B" battery with intermittent use.  RCA introduced the prototype at the 1939 World's Fair along with the development of the four new miniature tubes, but the radio was not available until Summer of 1940, appearing on the cover of the August 1940 issue of Radio Retailing. The schematic appeared in Radio Retailing in the October issue.  Two different speaker sizes were used, a round 3 inch and an eliptical 2 by 2.75 inch size.  The body of the radio was metal with a plasticized fabric coating but the spring loaded lid which also contained the antenna was Bakelite.  The handle at first introduction was mounted on the opposite side of the controls but was quickly moved to the control side, enabling use with the radio upright with the lid at 90 degrees or 180 degrees. The price was $20.

• Net weight (2.2 lb = 1 kg)
• 4.25 lb (4 lb 4 oz) / 1.930 kg

• Price in first year of sale
• 20.00 USD

• External source of data
• Ernst Erb

• Source of data
• The Radio Collector's Directory and Price Guide 1921 - 1965

• Circuit diagram reference
• Rider's Perpetual, Volume 12 = ca. 1941 and before

• Mentioned in
• Collector's Guide to Antique Radios 4. Edition

• Literature/Schematics (1)
• The Portable Radio in American Life

• Literature/Schematics (2)
• Radio Retailing (Radio & Television R.) (July 1941.)

• Literature/Schematics (3)
• RCA Victor Service Notes "Red Book" Series

• Literature/Schematics (4)
• -- Original-techn. papers. ("The 'Personal Portable' - RCA BP-10", R Post, The Spectrum Monitor, March 2024, p75-79)

• Other Models

• Here you find 5134 models, 3237 with images and 4174 with schematics for wireless sets etc. In French: TSF for Télégraphie sans fil.
  All listed radios etc. from RCA (RCA Victor Co. Inc.); New York (NY)