[Collins] Re: black beauty

[Adam Farson]

Hi Jerry,

Many thanks for the detailed response to my questions. My original questions
were motivated by situations in precisely the two areas I addressed which I
encountered whilst working for a large multinational telecom-equipment
manufacturer. The only difference was that the discipline involved was
wireline telecom rather than radio.

It is refreshing to hear that Art ultimately put the well-being of the
company, and the absolute need for regulatory compliance, in their correct
perspective - although to his great credit, he had the courage to take big
risks which ultimately paid off, such as the autotune transmitter for VOA.
In this light, the firm's aberrant (and ultimately ruinous) side-trip into
big-iron computers seems all the more inexplicable and incomprehensible.

I have a great deal of respect for Rockwell Collins in their present
incarnation. They appear to be preserving the Collins tradition of forward
thinking and innovation very successfully. The textbook "HF Radio Systems
and Circuits" by Sabin et al. gives a marvellous insight into their thinking
on radio architecture, and is one of my main references. Their skilled
exploitation of DSP technology is most impressive.

Cheers for now, 73,
Adam VA7OJ/AB4OJ