Artefacts

Minifon P55 portable wire recorder

Post Metadata

https://soundandscience.net/artefacts/minifon-p55-portable-wire-recorder/

Post Date: February 28, 2023

Last Modified: February 28, 2023

Minifon P55 portable wire recorder

Maker:

Protona company

Period of Production:

1955 – 1960

Place of Production:

Hamburg, Germany

Current Place:

Media Theory Department of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Part of Collection:

Media Archaeological Fundus
(Accession Number: 148)

This picture shows the Minifon P55 portable recorder, produced by the Protona company in Hamburg, Germany. It belongs to the same group of electromagnetic wire recorders as the Webster Chicago recorder and the MN-61 military recorder. It is notable for its small size, which facilitated covert operation. According to a collector’s website, special accessories such as a hidden microphone were sold for the Minifon. The device required three different kinds of batteries to work.

Collector’s website containing a detailed description of the Minifon (automatic translation)