Vicon Model M-8 Transistor (Body) Hearing Aid
The Vicon Model M8 transistor (body) hearing aid was manufactured by
the Vicon Instrument Company of Colorado Springs, CO in 1962.
It came in several versions with slight differences as shown below.
It measured 2⅝" x 1¾" x ⅝" (6.6 x 4.5 x 1.7 cm) and weighed 1.7 oz.
(48 g) without the batteries.
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View of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid showing the
gold-colored front with the Vicon name in the lower right corner and the
wire pocket clip (upper front).
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Front view of another Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid. This one
has a silver-colored front with the Vicon name in the lower right
corner.
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Front view of an even earlier version of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid, also with a silver-colored front. Note that the front panel
does not have a screw in each corner as the above two versions have.
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Top view of the gold-fronted Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid
showing the 0-8 volume control (left), the microphone port (center) and
the on-off-t-coil switch (right).
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Top view of the silver-fronted Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aids
showing the 0-8 volume controls (left), microphone ports (center) and
the on-off-t-coil switches (right). Note that the bottom version (no
screws in the front panel) does not have any numbers on the volume
control wheel.
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View of the left side of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid
showing the volume control wheel (left) and to the right of it the
3-hole receiver-cord jack. |
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Close-up view of the left side of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid
showing the volume control wheel (left) and to the right of it the
3-hole receiver-cord jack and the 3-pronged receiver cord plug above it. |
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Close-up view of the left side of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid
showing the volume control wheel (left) and to the right of it the
3-pronged receiver-cord plugged into the jack. |
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Close-up view of the left side of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid
showing the volume control wheel (left) and to the right of it the
3-hole receiver-cord jack. Note that the receiver cord jack is
recessed on the silver-fronted versions (top) but actually sticks out a
bit from the body on the gold-fronted version.
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Rear view of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid showing the
battery-door cover (lower half). The off-tel-on in the top left corner
and the Vicon name in the bottom right corner are barely visible because
of the low-contrast color of the inscription on the tan plastic body.
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Rear view of the two other versions of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid showing the
off-tel-on in the top left corners and the Vicon name in the bottom
right corners. The silver-fronted (screwed) version on the left has
higher contrast with beige ink on the gray body. The earlier,
non-screwed silver-fronted version on the right just has the words
engraved with no color added. |
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Close-up rear view of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid
showing the inscription in the top left corner on the screwed
silver-fronted version. Note the beige color of the ink for greater
contrast.
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Close-up rear view of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid
showing the inscription in the top left corner on the gold-fronted
version. When they changed to the beige-colored body, they forgot to
change the color of the ink to make it readable.
The switch is in the off position.
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View of the battery compartment of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid showing the clear plastic battery pull tab to make it easy
to extract the batteries to change them. Note this hearing aid has two
battery slots. It could be configured by the dispenser to work on either
one battery (low power) or two batteries (high power).
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View of the type "N" batteries used by the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid. On the left is a 1.4 mercury battery. On the right is a
dummy battery. For more on this
dummy battery, click here.
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View of the battery compartment of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid showing the "dummy" battery in place. When used it had to go
in this rear battery slot.
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View of the battery compartment of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid showing the "dummy" battery in the rear slot and the 1.4
volt mercury battery in the front slot. In low power mode, you used
this configuration. In high-power mode you used a mercury "N" battery in
each battery slot.
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Close-up rear view of the receiver of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid showing the receiver cord plugged into it. |
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Close-up rear view of the receiver of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid showing the receiver cord unplugged. Note the 3-pronged
receiver plug and 3-hole jack. Only the outside two prongs were used. |
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Close-up side view of the receiver of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid showing the custom-made clear plastic ear mold snapped to
the receiver.
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Close-up front view of the receiver of the Vicon model M-8 transistor
hearing aid showing the ear mold unsnapped from the receiver.
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Front cover of the operating instruction "manual" for the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid.
You can read this manual here. |
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Front cover of the information booklet for the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid.
You can read this booklet here. |
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The Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid in its original
case. |
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Original case of the Vicon model M-8 transistor hearing aid.
This hearing aid, case and documentation were donated by James Cost, Folsom,
CA. Thanks Jim!
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