[Hammarlund] Hammarlund Outercom FM-60A

[Glen Zook]

I haven't seen one of them for "years".  Last time was
in the 1970s when I owned the Motorola reconditioned
equipment center for the south-central US.  We got
several in as "trade in" equipment for Motorola
equipment.  All "foreign" (non-Motorola) equipment was
promptly destroyed.

If I remember correctly, the FM-60A was a "low band"
(30 - 50 MHz) unit and ran 60 watts input (it may have
been output, but I think it was input power).

Hammarlund, Hallicrafters, and several other amateur
manufacturers got into the commercial FM
communications market during the 1950s and into the
1960s.  Only E. F. Johnson and Aerotron (Ameco ham
gear) ever made a "go" of it.  Johnson then "split"
off the CB and amateur operations from the two-way
company.  Johnson was either #3 or #4 in the business
for many years.  Aerotron was "sold" a number of years
ago and finally "went under".  Hammarlund was a very
minor player (well below Link and the other minor
players - Link was a "major" player in the early 1950s
but fell by the "wayside").  Of course, Motorola was
the "biggest" player with General Electric second (GE
is now Ericsson).

Midland, Yaesu, Kenwood, etc., all got into the
two-way market well after Hammarlund left.

Performance of the Outercom was "marginal" at best
when compared to the "big" 4 (Motorola, GE, Johnson,
and Aerotron).

Glen, K9STH


--- JOE <k1ike@snet.net> wrote:
 
> I just picked up a Hammarlund Outercom FM-60A
> transceiver.  It appears to 
> be a single channel piece of commercial lowband
> equipment.  I wasn't award 
> of the fact that Hammarlund was in the commercial
> business, anyone know 
> about this transceiver?


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax
http://taxes.yahoo.com/