SWL of shortwave radios in AM, Medium wave and Long wave, with WEB SDR in Europe by SWL F14368 Frank near Paris France. Informations about radio receivers for SWL, antennas, etc. Organiser of SWL contest 2023 and 2024.. This is my blog number ONE. Please visit my 2 other blogs about my listening. Thank you. 73
In 1973, Tandy Corporation began an expansion program outside their home market of the US, opening a chain of RadioShack-style stores in Europe and Australia under the Tandy name. The first store to open was in Aartselaar, Belgium on August 9, 1973. The first UK store opened October 11, 1973, in Hall Green, Birmingham. Initially, these new stores were under direct ownership of Tandy Corporation. In 1986, Tandy Corporation formed its subsidiary InterTAN as separate entity though connections between them were still visible. For example, catalogue number compatibility was maintained so that the same catalogue number in both companies would refer to the same item.
Tandy stores in the UK sold mainly own-brand goods under the 'Realistic' label and the shops were distinguished on the high street by continuing to use written sales receipts and a cash drawer instead of a till as late as the early 1990s. Staff were required to take the name and address of any customer who made a purchase, however small, in order to put them on the company's brochure mailing list, which often caused disgruntlement. A popular feature of Tandy stores was the free battery club, in which customers were allowed to claim a certain number of free batteries per year. In the early 1990s, the chain ran the 'Tandy Card' store credit card scheme and the 'Tandy Care' extended warranty policies which were heavily marketed by staff.
Collins, Art, 9CXX/WØCXX. Founder, Collins Radio Co.; set the standard for amateur radio
equipment in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s.
Seventy-five years ago a small radio communications company, operating from the owner's basement, officially incorporated in the state of Delaware. From these humble beginnings arose one of the nation's foremost communications and avionics companies -- The Collins Radio Company. Arthur Collins, W0CXX, started building high quality Amateur Radio equipment that from the very beginning was to make the Collins brand legendary among ham radio operators worldwide. The Collins Radio Company was incorporated with $29,000 in capital and eight employees during the depth of the Great Depression. In 1973, Collins was acquired by Rockwell International. In 2001 the company was spun off into what is today Rockwell Collins, Inc with over 19,500 employees worldwide and annual sales of $4.415 billion.
Fifty years ago, and 25 years after incorporation, in September 1958 Collins Radio introduced a completely new line of amateur communications equipment -- the S/Line. The 75S-1 receiver, 32S-1 transmitter and 30S-1 power amplifier set a new standard of excellence in areas of styling, reliability, frequency accuracy, stability, signal quality and linear amplification. The S/Line enjoyed a long production history and today still commands premium prices among classic radio enthusiasts and collectors.
Arthur Andrews Collins (September 9, 1909 – February 25, 1987) was a radioengineer and entrepreneur. He first gained national recognition as a teenager for significant advances in radio communication. He later founded his own radio engineering and manufacturing company in 1933, Collins Radio Co. Rapidly expanding during World War II, Collins Radio eventually grew into a Fortune 500 leader in avionics, telecommunication, and military, space and commercial radio communications. Collins and his company ultimately became pioneers in melding computer and communication technology. Widely considered a genius in electronics innovation, he shunned personal publicity and is relatively little known today, even within the electronics community.
Arthur A. Collins was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma to Merle H. Collins (a mortgage banker) and Faith Andrews Collins (a graduate of Rockford College in Illinois). The family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa when Arthur was 7. Merle founded Collins Farms Company in 1925,[1] which combined inefficient small farms into one collective enterprise, using the best available equipment and modern practices (contour plowing and erosion control, crop rotation, newly available hybrid seed corn) to achieve greatly increased productivity. This novel approach was initially successful but faltered as the Great Depression hit. His son Arthur was intensely interested in radio, became a licensed amateur radio operator at age 14, and designed and built his own equipment, purchasing expensive vacuum tubes with his father's help. Arthur Collins became an expert in circuit design and wave propagation, publishing several articles in specialty journals.
Collins became friends with fellow amateur radio "hams", including John Reinartz, who shared a special interest in radio wave propagation. Within the radio spectrum only longer waves were thought to be refracted by the atmosphere ("skip"), allowing long-distance communication at night, but not so the shorter wavelength relegated to amateurs. Reinartz and Collins discovered that such "skip" did occur in the 20-meter range and during the daytime, which allowed long-distance communication with this type of equipment. When Reinartz became the ship's radio operator on the National Geographic-sponsored MacMillan Arctic expedition in 1925 only he and Collins were able to maintain reliable communication, unlike the U.S. Navy using longer wavelengths. Collins gained national recognition.[2][3][4][5]
Collins founded Collins Radio Co. in 1933, building high quality amateur and commercial transmitters (not receivers for the domestic market). With recognition from success with the MacMillan expedition, Collins equipment was selected for the Byrd Expedition to the Antarctic (1933–1934).[6] Beginning manufacturing in his basement, Arthur Collins soon rented building space and eventually constructed the first Collins Radio factory in Cedar Rapids in 1940. At this time the company had sales of about $500,000 and 150 employees. Collins Radio was recognized for excellence in design and manufacture of amateur and commercial transmitters and receivers, and began building aircraft radios in 1935.[7]
Goddard, RCA, and the Collins vacuum tube patent suit[edit]
The heart of a radio transmitter, the oscillator, at that time used a vacuum tube to generate a radio frequency. RCA claimed it had exclusive rights to the de Forest vacuum tube oscillator circuit patent, and brought suit against Collins Radio and other purported infringers. In addition to rockets, Robert Goddard was also an electronics innovator, and when Arthur Collins discovered that Goddard's 1915 oscillator patent predated the de Forest patent Collins met with Goddard to explain that RCA's tube monopoly was a serious impediment to competitive innovation in electronics. With Goddard's help, the practicality of the Goddard design was demonstrated in court and the suit was dropped in 1938, allowing Collins and others to freely develop new technology. Goddard and Collins remained friends until Goddard's death in 1945.[8][9]
Amateur radio was never a dominant segment within the Collins Radio product line, but held a special interest for Arthur Collins since childhood and provided a key catalyst in the design of other equipment. Collin's amateur gear was always built to the highest standards and demanded a premium price. As part of KINEPLEX Collins developed the mechanical filter, a small device (about ¾ inch by 4 inches) using a series of precisely ground metallic discs linked mechanically and electrically. Determining the exact dimensions of these discs was critically important, and not easily discovered through empirical experimentation. A bright, young Indian mathematician named Roshan Sharma was fortuitously hired, based partly on his recent mastery of the necessary underlying mathematics needed to produce the resonating discs.
An input signal causes the first disc to mechanically resonate at a very precise and stable frequency, which passes an induced electrical oscillation to the next disc and in turn sequentially through the device. By filtering out unnecessary portions of the radio signal, the mechanical filter (a kind of "bandpass filter") allows the use of a very stable, precise single sideband frequency. (Previously, single sideband operation required a large, complex piece of equipment.) The mechanical filter was the heart of Collins single sideband (SSB) technology and made SSB practical for the first time. SSB offered clear, efficient radio communications, even during conditions that would disrupt and distort conventional radio signals.
In 1956 a SACC-97 transport was fitted with Collins 75A-4 / KWM-1 SSB amateur gear for a demonstration of the superiority of SSB, leading to contracts for Collins SSB military equipment on B-52 and other aircraft, as well as ground stations. Sales far exceeded that of amateur sets. [19][20]
Japan Radio Co., Ltd.(日本無線株式会社,Nihon Musen Kabushiki-gaisha)is a Japanese company specialising in the field ofwirelesselectronics for the communications industry.
The Japan Radio Company was established in 1915 and is
one of the oldest and largest electronics manufacturing companies
in the world. J.R.C. is a respected leader in marine radio equipment, mobile and satellite communications, computerized dam
and river management systems, computer graphics, fiber-optics,
radar, navigation equipment and avionics systems.
J.R.C. employes over 3,500 employees worldwide. J.R.C.
sales in 1990 exceeded ¥108 billion.
J.R.C. is best known in North America for their respected line
of NRD-5x5 receivers. This series started with the NRD-505 and
continues to the current NRD-535. A line of quality HF amateur
transceivers is also available.
Occasionally one may be lucky enough to find one of J.R.C.'s
commercial receivers available in the hobbyist market such as the
NRD-92 or NRD-93.
Please note thatJ.R.C. "commercial" sensitivity specifications
are very conservative compared with "consumer" specifications
used by other manufacturers.
Established in 1915, the company has produced a wide variety of products including marineelectronics, measuring equipment for telecommunication, radio broadcasting equipment, and amateur radio equipment, including the JST-145dx/JST-245dx HF transceivers, which were the last amateur radio transceivers produced by JRC, ending in 2002.
Robustly built and straight-forward to operate, this receiver remains
popular with utility DXers, tropical band enthusiast and general shortwave listeners.
The '515' has a nearly cult-like following. It was the first JRC priced to enter the
consumer market and enjoyed wide popularity. Matches the NSD-515 transmitter.
The BC Tune function (on the BFO knob) serves as a manual preselector on the MW
band. Requires a speaker. The optional external memory units store only frequency.
Clean lines, easy operation, a solid feel and outstanding performance come together
in this radio. Excellent for radioteletype, fax and Morse code
The NRD92-93 receivers were manufactured by the Japan radio company (JRC) in Japan until the 1984 and were used on most merchant ships and coast radio stations. Its excellent sensitivity and ease of use predestined it perfectly for this use.
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