[Boatanchors] KW Electronics photos

[Robert Nickels]

Since we seldom get a glimpse inside the radio factories of yore, I 
thought it was worth re-posting these 1960s era photos of KW Electronics 
Ltd.of Dartford, Kent, England.

In the 1960's KW Electronics was a big player in the amateur radio 
market and produced a wide variety of transmitters, receivers, 
transceivers and ancillary equipment, mostly using  tubes  (valves).  
They also made commercial versions of their equipment.  After the 
company was acquired by Decca, they continued to produce amateur 
equipment for a few more years but under the Decca name but for the most 
part, the gear was never exported to the US, and remains scarce here.

The photos were provided to the KW group by Chris Ridley, G8GKC.  You'll 
also see two strip cartoons from the Evening Standard of 1967 showing 
adventure heroine "Modesty Blaise" featuring a KW-2000A that was roughly 
patterned after the Collins KWM2 and/or the Heathkit SB-100 family. 

A good selection of KW gear can be seen in the photos, and quite a bit 
of Heathkit (aka Daystrom UK) test equipment, too. 

73, Bob W9RAN

PS:  If you're wondering why Modesty Blaise never caught on in US 
papers, read the wikipedia entry ;-)