The Public Radio: pre-tuned listening device gets ‘Grand Street’ debut

Chinatown’s Grand Street, a marketplace for creative hardware tech, has accepted  The Public Radio, a pre-tuned listening device from a Brooklyn pair, into its Beta program. This is a special category of Grand Street for new hardware that’s early to market. By buying in Beta, you don’t just get an interesting piece of technology, but you get to give input into its future.

Get in on The Public Radio Beta by ordering one for $60.

In an email to Technically Brooklyn, Spencer Wright, a Public Radio cofounder, told us that Grand Street approached them just as the team of two was getting close to doing a limited release to their email list. It has upped their exposure and given them some sense for retail, he explained.

The Public Radio is innovative in what it strips away. It’s a radio built into a mason jar, with a speaker and a volume nob that also turns it on and off. The radio comes preset to whatever station you select. The assumption here is that even in the Internet age, lots of people are still loyal to one radio station, but just one. So why not have a tiny, simple AA powered radio that comes set to that station?

Wright has built The Public Radio with his longtime friend and cofounder Zach Dunham, from Wright’s place in Bed-Stuy. Both of the cofounders have interesting backgrounds. Among other things, Wright once built custom bicycle frames and Dunham has made all sorts of fascinating audio devices.