In 1965 the Swiss company Velectra / Biennophone in Biel/Bienne developed a portable transistor radio used for the reception of the public broadcast channels in shelters and command posts of the Swiss Army and the Swiss Civil Protection organisation:
In case of a natural disaster or another type of catastrophe the population is alerted by sirens in the whole country and is requested to tune in to the 1st program of Swiss National Radio.
In case of a collapse of the complete public broadcasting net or a foreign invasion with destruction of the powerful national transmitting stations, a complete infrastructure of an emergency broadcasting systen has been created. Swiss popular radio speakers and journalists had to serve with the "Abteilung Presse und Funkspruch", the APF had to produce radio and television programs and newspapers to inform the public. The studios of this emergency broadcasting system and even additional FM emergency transmitters had been protected in shelters at secret places throughout the country.
To give the opportunity to listen to these broadcasts and other sources in informations, the Army and Swiss Civil Protection organisation ordered a rugged transistor multiband radio powered from batteries or mains in quite large quantities.

The E-606 is a portable multiband radio covering longwaves - it has a special connector to link it up to the "Telephonrundspruch" (a nationwide wired broadcast network with six channels broadcast over telephone lines in the longwave band) - mediumwaves and two shortwave bands as well as the VHF / FM broadcast band.
The set can be powered from different mains voltages as well as from two pocket torch 4,5 V batteries.

A row of pushbuttons is used to select the waveband, "T" stands for "Telephonrundspruch", the wired H.F. network broadcast over telephone lines as mentionned above. To receive the off air longwave band, You have to press the two buttons "T" and "external Antenna Y/ AFC" together, for mediumwaves the "M" (the "Y/AFC" button activates the external antenna connector) and for the two shortwave bands "K1" or "K2". "U" is used for the FM broadcast band, the AFC button will activate the AFC in this case. The "T" and "M" buttons pressed together will activate a DIN tape recorder jack for reproduction from a tape or cassette.
The functions of the other controls are self-explaining, the big control at the left is the combined on/off and volume control; the set comes with separate bass and treble tone controls which is a quite uncommon feature for a military used radio.

The receiver is a solid state single conversion superhet, the Germanium transistors which are partly special selected ones might be very hard to find in case of need of replacement.
The radio is stored in a specially designed olive - green wooden transport box together with the mains cable and a user's manual, it can be found from time to time in online auctions.

© Martin Bösch 23.1.2010