Ron -
That's a pretty accurate description.
Collins had a long history with the military, which was their primary customer. Art Collins started
out in his basement building transmitters for commercial customers. Of course there were amateurs
who could afford his products, mostly well-to-do by necessity!
The AM era stuff, 75A and 32V series, was primarily for ham use, but still priced pretty high
compared to Johnson, WRL, Hallicrafter's, etc. Higher quality, but not 'greatly' superior in
functionality. The KW-1 was a very low production item, (~250?,) and many of those were grabbed by
shortwave broadcasters in third world countries.
The 75A-4 and KWS-1 were 'for ham use', but were sold to the military for use worldwide, including
airborne use by Art's friend Curtis LeMay for 'his' Strategic Air Command. One interesting tidbit
was that Leo Meyerson was invited on the checkout ride with LeMay, Collins and others. They had the
75A-4 / KWS-1, 75A-3 / 32V, Globe King 500, and other gear of the time to compare the effectiveness
of SSB v. AM for worldwide coverage for SAC planes. As they were getting on the plane, LeMay asked
Leo, 'where's your SSB equipment', and Leo had to admit he had none.
All the S-Line equipment, starting with the KWM-1, was designed with the military in mind, and so
included complete parts lists, chassis photos, etc. typical of government contracts. Simple
circuitry and operation were a primary goal. There were still hams who could afford Collins
products, although I only knew of a few!! :-)
Bottom line, Collins was designed for the military and government, with ham use a very small part of
their total production.
Essentially, Drake came along and found less expensive ways to emulate the Collins equipment and
circuitry to make it more affordable for the 'average' ham. Drake was just the reverse of Collins,
i.e., the majority of their business was with hams, with a small (if any?) government segment.
Heath did somewhat the same, although they went a little too far, in my opinion, and ended up with a
product that felt 'cheap' and flimsy, compared even to the Drake. Drake was not fancy, but WAS and
IS solid in construction.
I've probably omitted or gotten things wrong, but that's the best I can do from
memory.
73, Garey - K4OAH
Glen Allen, VA
Drake 2-B, 2-C/2-NT, 4-A, 4-B, C-Line
and TR-4/C Service Supplement CDs
<www.k4oah.com>
Ron wrote:
I came into this as computers were making a mark on the electronic industry and taking away the
appeal of ham radio so I may have this a little wrong.
I recall being told that Collins radio equipment was manufactured for the government at a time
when money was flowing easy. Drake on the other hand did manufacture items for the government,
but their radios were primarily for the ham radio consumer market.
If true, then John's statements ring very clearly.
Was I told wrong?
73,
Ron WD8SBB
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