[Collins] Collins 62S-1 Transverter Downconversion Gain??

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson]

Art was his own man running the company in the early 60s with 20,000 
employees as if it was still in his basement with 3 employees. He got 
bought out when the banks wouldn't loan any more working capital. 
Rockwell got the company for a cheap 1 year's annual sales. In my three 
years about twice a year each department lost one or two engineers 
because the banks required a 10% reduction in the white collar work 
force as conditions for making a loan. Little did they realize that such 
brains were what made Collins money.

Art did issue challenges and set a philosophy of quality over cost. Push 
the state of the radio art, hang the cost. We sold the 821A-1 for 
purchase parts cost (Art probably picked the bid price too). VOA wanted 
a radio that two men could tune in 20 minutes, we delivered one that 
replaced two of those for the price of one. Ours tuned in 16 seconds or 
less, just fine for a frequency change during a station break and 
required no operator skill. Just set the frequency, the new crystal, and 
at the appointed time push "tune start." It took care of itself. But we 
spent 3/4 million a year for 3 years on engineering and I don't know how 
much on fabrication over the cost of the purchased parts. Then since the 
output network was touchy, Art decreed any more such radios needed a new 
output network and because customers liked my diagnostic panel he 
decreed the replacement must have a new output network and be all 
computer controlled, no diagnostic panel, just a PDP8 or 11 and a 
teletype terminal. When I left, the 821A-2 had the PA tubes, the 
modulator tubes, and maybe the RF driver tube and RF driver tube socket 
in common with 821A-1. That's a good way to SPEND money, not make money.

Then without projects Art opened a business management consulting 
company. I think it did poorly because his management history was 
abysmal. I understand the mother hen management philosophy, I have it 
too but I saved myself by rarely having employees. And after more than a 
decade of being president of the Story County Amateur Radio Club I 
learned to delegate tasks and to not hover over that party, just let 
them do the work without my constant supervision and it all worked. He 
could have set goals and let middle management make decisions about 
product details, just justify them on the basis of furthering the state 
of the art or MAKING MONEY. But no, he had to have final say on 
technical details, even if the world state of the art had passed him 20 
years before. If it hadn't worked in 1938 it wouldn't work with better 
design techniques in 1964.

That mother henning got passed down. After my group was moved from Ceder 
Rapids to Texas, my boss had a nervous breakdown and didn't work for 
half a year. He'd only been in Cedar Rapids 25 years, had a lower badge 
number than Art, like number 5. I got stuck with a fellow that spent his 
evenings redoing every calculation done by his engineers each day. Maybe 
it was to stay away from his wife and their multiple young kids. It 
could be interesting working there, sometimes challenging, but sometimes 
not so challenging when cost was not a factor in making a circuit work, 
I stood it for a while, and I didn't go back. I probably made less money 
the subsequent 40 years but I'm not in jail from throttling some 
incompetent manger either.

I'm not alone in my evaluation of Art's management. I read one of the 
several histories hoping to find more details of an early Art trip to 
Ames for a ham convention, and the way it opened I expected it to be 
full of Art worship, but the final chapters were at least as critical of 
Art as I have been. Would I have done better, I don't know, I'll never know?

73, Jerry, K0CQ, Technical Adviser to the Collins Radio Association.

On 9/21/2010 3:22 PM, Glen Zook wrote:
> Art's attention to projects including his instance that every
> possible "up-grade" had to be made before the item shipped was the
> reason that virtually every division had a project just for Art.
> Basically, he kept coming up with "improvements" to equipment that
> had to be made before it shipped which resulted in virtually no
> equipment shipping at all since he would come up with another
> improvement even before the one before had been included.  In order
> for the company to get paid equipment had to ship.
>
> Therefore, the idea was to have a project that was never intended to
> ship in which Art's interest could be kept and therefore keep him
> away from the "real" projects.  In Process Division this project was
> "CCCS Marine" a.k.a. "the boat".
>
> I don't remember if it was in 1967 or 1968 that the Wall Street
> Journal came out with an article which basically stated that Collins
> Radio Company prospered "in spite of" and not "because of" Art
> Collins.  After that the Wall Street Journal was "persona non gratia"
> in the Collins Radio facilities.
>
> Glen, K9STH
>
> Website:  http://k9sth.com
>
>
> --- On Tue, 9/21/10, Dr. Gerald N. Johnson<geraldj at weather.net>
> wrote:
>
> From: Dr. Gerald N. Johnson<geraldj at weather.net>
>
> Art spent a lot of time in 401 supervising the HF high power
> transmitters. Too much time.
>
>
>
>