There are few manufacturers of amateur radio gear left outside of the far East any more and when talk of the past starts and nostalgia kicks we usually hear talk of KW and Collins, but sometimes someone will mention a some make less well known.I was talking to my friend Mike G4BLH who lives up near Nelson in Lancashire on two metres today and he asked if I was interested in old radio gear. At first I thought he must be trying to off-load some ancient piece of kit, probably an AM transmitter that puts out 1 watt and is the size of a small bungalow, but he wasn't. Mike has been investigating the history of TW Radios and his website, while being still being worked on, makes for interesting reading. There are gaps and if you can help with either photographs, manuals, information or magazine articles Mike would like to hear from you. His email address is on the website.
Tom Withers G3HGE was the man behind TW Electronics Limited and the brand ran from 1958 up until 2000. This innovative British company pioneered the first 'All in one box' amateur radio transceivers for VHF. Where they went others soon followed and this small family business paved the way for the Japanese black boxes we have today. TW made its name by supplying well made VHF and UHF equipment to amateurs at affordable prices. The flagship rig was the TW communicator but that was only a small part of the story. The business started in a fifteen by eight foot shed and the rest of the fascinating story is as they say history.
Visit http://www.twradio.co.uk/ to find out more.
That is a wonderful website that really made me nostalgic for the days when equipment was simple and radio really seemed like magic, and when people could actually make a living building and selling radios from a shed in their back yard.
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