[AMRadio] B&W Co-Founder passes

[wwd at netheaven.com]

How about the 'Williamson' hi-fi amplifier circuit? A classic creation
that even has his name on it.

>* B&W co-founder John F. "Jack" Williamson, W3GC, SK: Jack
>Williamson, W3GC, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, died March 19. He was
>95.

>Williamson was the co-founder of Barker & Williamson--B&W--once a
>well-known US manufacturer of Amateur Radio equipment.  First licensed in
>1921, Williamson in his youth earned a widespread reputation for his
>radio knowledge, and even radio manufacturer Atwater Kent and his
>engineers sought Williamson out for his technical advice.  After leaving
>his electrical engineering studies at Drexel Institute when the
>Depression hit, he and long-time friend Barrie Barker, W3DGP, then out of
>work, launched a new business to manufacture RF coils for amateurs.

>B&W did so well in the pre-World War II years that Hallicrafters
>engineers, frustrated in their attempts to design an antenna tuner for
>the BC-610 that could match short antennas to Signal Corps
>specifications, approached the fledgling company.  B&W's prototype was
>accepted, and a production contract was awarded for the tuner, known  as
>BC-939.  That led to additional contracts.

>After WWII, the company was successful in both the military and ham radio
>sectors.  Most notable in the B&W amateur line were their coils and
>transmitter variable capacitor products and the model 5100 all-band
>transmitter.

>While Barker  retired, Williamson continued operating B&W until its sale
>in 1964. He had been an ARRL member for 22 years and had continued as an
>active amateur until recently.

>--Bob Thomas, W3NE