Realistic was a private label consumer electronics brand produced by RadioShack. Initially only a home audio equipment brand, its product line expanded to include CB radios, walkie-talkies, and video camcorders by the 1980s. The brand was discontinued in 1994, but revived for a short time in 2016 for use on Bluetooth devices sold by the chain.
History
The brand began in 1954 after Radio Shack management were approached by stereo newcomer Harman Kardon, who offered to help create a line of private label audio equipment for the company. The original brand name, Realist, was pitched by the manufacturer and approved by Radio Shack. The first Realist-branded products - an FM receiver, an AM receiver, and a matching 10-watt amplifier with a built-in preamp - were introduced later that year. These would be the only Realist-branded products, as the brand’s name was challenged by the David White Company, manufacturer of the Stereo Realist camera[1] in 1955. The change to Realistic that year was reportedly made just in time before Radio Shack’s 1956 catalogs were to be printed. The company's most notable products under the Realistic brand included the extensive line of TRC series Citizens Band radio transceivers, which dominated the CB Radio market during the 1970s, and included the Navaho series of CB