[Boatanchors] WJ closes and completely exits

[Barry Tuttleman]

 WJ's main operation was located in Scott's Valley, CA (bordering Santa Cruz on the north by a couple miles); it consisted of a large CNC/manual fabrication/machineshop which was a certified military contractor, the electronics section with the separate radio mfg'ing facility (part of a larger electronics mfg'ing area.  I worked at AIM Precision Machining (gone in 1995) in Santa Cruz (we were a certified defense contractor machineshop also and vied for some of the same military contracts) for a few years and had friends who worked in the WJ machineshop; sometime around mid-late 90s the radio mfg'ing section was moved to WJ Palo Alto as sales of radios were declining; eventually that section was sold off to Digital Radio Service of Maryland ("to be closer to Langley" as one of the employees told me) and most of the engineers were also picked up by DRS. one friend moved from the WJ machineshop to the electronics section in the mid 90s; security at this section was always super tight; once in a while I would see a manual (always marked "classified") make it out, sometimes some poorly machined cases/parts/etc also,   I doubt that WJ destroyed the information because they were in a huff but because they felt it was a security risk as most equipment was made specifically for US gov't agencies. I doubt you'll ever see anything new that resembles the old WJ equipment. barrycarson city, nv


     On Monday, September 28, 2015 12:20 PM, Dave Brown <tractorb at ihug.co.nz> wrote:
   

 History of WJ/CEI here-
http://watkins-johnson.terryo.org/

They made a very large number of specialist receivers and other gear.
Check out the catalogs on the above website.
I have a couple of their interesting pieces of hardware-acquired surplus 
after closedown of facilities.
Dave
ZL3FJ

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "rbethman" <rbethman at comcast.net>
To: <Boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2015 7:14 AM
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] WJ closes and completely exits


> On 9/28/2015 6:01 AM, Rob Atkinson wrote:
>> Word comes via the SWL column in the September CQ that Watkins-Johnson
>> has shut down.  I never owned a WJ receiver (too high end $$) but the
>> legendary spook rx company picked up in the years following the R390
>> series and some of their sets made it down to the ham market.
>>
>> Quoting from CQ:
>> "The Watkins-Johnson firm, which manufactured excellent (and
>> expensive!) communications receivers, has closed operations.  Not only
>> that, but all the remaining parts, chassis, partials, schematics,
>> manuals --everything-- were destroyed.  It's as if they were angry at
>> the world and closed down in a huff [probably had more to do with
>> proprietary and classified designs-Rob]  They certainly built great
>> units ... I used one once for a few hours, at a friend's QTH in
>> California."
>>
>> Rob
>> K5UJ
> That quote from CQ is missing a number of actual happenings.  W-J actually 
> was CEI, (Communications Electronics Incorporated.)  I obtained the Type 
> 28, Model 906-1A.
>
> Ran it like crazy while the entire world was in shock over the World Trade 
> Towers Sep 11, 2001.
>
> The radio noted above, received from 30Mc to a bit over 315Mc.  I used a 
> Military Surplus Discone that had also been languishing until I gave it a 
> home.  The particular office in Gaithersburg, MD, where this one was 
> produced received the same treatment when it changed hands from CEI to 
> BAE.
>
> It took several years before I could locate and obtain a complete Manual. 
> The interesting part to that endeavor was the fact that the manual with 
> classified markings on the covers, came from an Amateur Operator in 
> Europe.  Mine specifically noted on the rear apron, that is was used at an 
> FCC Monitoring Station, and even had an FAA barcode sticker for inventory 
> control.
>
> 1) March 2008: WJ Communications acquired by TriQuint Semiconductor 
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TriQuint_Semiconductor>. 
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watkins-Johnson_Company#cite_note-9>
>
> 2) August 2000: Initial Public Offering of WJ Communications, W-J 
> successor, by Fox-Paine
>
> It will take time, but these fine radios WILL turn up under a different 
> name.  It has been their history since the beginning in 1957.
>
> Regards,
> Bob NØDGN
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