The Ramona 62118 radio receiver, manufactured in 1960-1964 by Zakłady Radiowe Diora in Dzierżoniów, is one of four types of the receiver (apart from 62132, 22241 and 22244). The Ramona, fondly nicknamed the “piglet”, is a mains-powered superheterodyne, designed to receive long, medium, short and ultra high frequency waves, and was equipped with amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) systems. Electrically, the receiver has a similar system to the Calypso and Rumba radios that were also manufactured at the time – it uses six vacuum tubes, three germanium diodes and a selenium rectifier.
Design work on the device was done by a team that included metalworker Jan Kowalczyk, who was responsible for designing the appearance of the housing. Its bilaterally convex, lens-like shape created a trend in Polish industrial design of the 1960s. In recognition of its originality, the radio was awarded a gold medal for the most impressive model in the Polish collection at the 30th Poznań International Fair in 1961. That success led to the Ramona being exported to the United Kingdom and other European countries. It also contributed to manufacturers becoming more willing to cooperate with artists to improve the aesthetics of devices, both in terms of form, and of the materials and finish applied. In Lower Silesia, Diora was a pioneer in that respect.
The radio’s chassis was enclosed in a wooden housing that was supported on four narrow feet in the form of cut off cones. The housing was made of veneered wood. In the sidewalls, behind a mesh of cream-coloured plastic, two oval Tonsil GD 18-13/2 speakers were placed in a parallel layout. The front panel was slightly slanted and covered in a tightly woven fabric, framed by narrow, enamelled slats. In the middle there is a horizontal, rectangular cutout in a frame of angled panels of wood, rendering a sense of depth. Inside there is a backlit scale behind a glass pane. On the sides, two rotary switches are placed symmetrically: a volume and tone knob on the left, and the AM and FM tuning knob on the right. Above the left knob there is a volume indicator, and above the right one there is a magic eye tube and the Diora logo. Below the scale there are five rounded button switches with descriptions used for turning on the device or for switching radio bands. On the back of the device there is a knob for adjusting the built-in ferrite antenna, as well as input sockets for an antenna, ground, gramophone, external speaker, and the mains power cord.

Author: Filip Wróblewski