Production of the Aga radio began in Poland in 1947, under licence from Aga-Baltic of Sweden and using parts, components and documentation it provided. The Aga model, as one of the first produced soon after the War, was assembled both at the Państwowe Zakłady Tele- i Radiotechniczne and at the Państwowa Fabryka Odbiorników Radiowych in Dzierżoniów. Due to the high cost of both production and sales, the general impoverishment of society, and ongoing shortages of goods, the Aga radio wasn’t expected to bring radio reception to the masses quickly. As a result, plans were made to develop a Polish design for a cheap radio. Considering the post-war conditions, the Aga is a device with a complex design – it is a mains powered, six-tube, variable amplitude, superheterodyne, designed to receive short, medium and long wave radio. Its components were reused in the design of the Pionier radio, which was targeted at the mass market.
In 1949, the production of the Aga radios was moved to Zakłady Radiowe im. M. Kasprzaka in Warsaw. The receiver underwent modernisation and domestically produced components were incorporated. Over a period of several years, the Aga radio was continually modified and improved, which resulted in the development of seven types: Aga-1742, Aga-1651, RSZ F (the “subscriber Aga”), RSZ-47 (Aga-1743), RSZ-F-3W, RSZ-H-3W and RSZ-F-8W. The differences between them mostly involved the type of vacuum tubes or electric systems used. In the RSZ-47 model, the electron-ray tuning indicator was omitted. The development work on the Aga inspired the ZRK to design completely new receivers, so the Aga gave rise to models such as the Syrena, Wola, and the popular Stolica.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski