Tennelec
Encyclopedia
Tennelec was a US electronics company founded in the early 1960s by Edward Fairstein in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company came to prominence producing instrumentation for nuclear studies and later, programmable scanning radios.
The TC-200 amplifier was a successful early design that established Tennelec as a leader in the nuclear instrumentation field. Following on the heels of the TC-200 success, the company developed additional components necessary for precise nuclear measurement, including detectors and particle counters.
Tennelec also manufactured innovative scanning radios in the 1970s. The first programmable radio scanner
was the Memoryscan from Tennelec Commercial Products Division, introduced in 1974, and later known as the Memoryscan 1 (model MS-1). This was followed by a slightly improved model, the Memoryscan 2 (model MS-2). Prior to the MS-1 and MS-2, scanners were "programmed" by inserting a series of hand-cut crystals tuned for different frequencies. The scanner would then switch between the frequencies, stopping when the user pressed a switch. With the MS-1 and MS-2, the user selected up to 16 frequencies they wanted to monitor by setting them up using binary
codes entered via two pushbuttons on the front panel. Sixteen toggle switches allowed the user to select which frequencies were of interest at any given time. The system could cycle through the selected frequencies until stopped. The advantage was that the system could be set up to monitor different sets of frequencies, e.g., police one night, fire departments the next.
The first scanner allowing direct entry of decimal frequencies on a keypad, was the Tennelec MCP-1. The scanner was released at the Winter 1976 Consumer Electronics Show
in Chicago
. The system was a hit, and was soon picked up for Radio Shack
. To help users get started, Radio Shack also purchased thousands of copies of Police Call, a guide to various radio frequencies
Partly due to poor quality control of their scanner line, Tennelec filed for bankruptcy soon after introducing their latest radio models. By this point other manufacturers, in particular SBE
and Regency and Electra, had already introduced their own programmable models.
Tennelec, still located in Oak Ridge, TN, is now a division of Canberra Industries, which is owned by Areva
.
The TC-200 amplifier was a successful early design that established Tennelec as a leader in the nuclear instrumentation field. Following on the heels of the TC-200 success, the company developed additional components necessary for precise nuclear measurement, including detectors and particle counters.
Tennelec also manufactured innovative scanning radios in the 1970s. The first programmable radio scanner
Scanner (radio)
A scanner is a radio receiver that can automatically tune, or scan, two or more discrete frequencies, stopping when it finds a signal on one of them and then continuing to scan other frequencies when the initial transmission ceases....
was the Memoryscan from Tennelec Commercial Products Division, introduced in 1974, and later known as the Memoryscan 1 (model MS-1). This was followed by a slightly improved model, the Memoryscan 2 (model MS-2). Prior to the MS-1 and MS-2, scanners were "programmed" by inserting a series of hand-cut crystals tuned for different frequencies. The scanner would then switch between the frequencies, stopping when the user pressed a switch. With the MS-1 and MS-2, the user selected up to 16 frequencies they wanted to monitor by setting them up using binary
Binary
- Mathematics :* Binary numeral system, a representation for numbers using only two digits * Binary function, a function in mathematics that takes two arguments- Computing :* Binary file, composed of something other than human-readable text...
codes entered via two pushbuttons on the front panel. Sixteen toggle switches allowed the user to select which frequencies were of interest at any given time. The system could cycle through the selected frequencies until stopped. The advantage was that the system could be set up to monitor different sets of frequencies, e.g., police one night, fire departments the next.
The first scanner allowing direct entry of decimal frequencies on a keypad, was the Tennelec MCP-1. The scanner was released at the Winter 1976 Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The system was a hit, and was soon picked up for Radio Shack
Radio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
. To help users get started, Radio Shack also purchased thousands of copies of Police Call, a guide to various radio frequencies
Partly due to poor quality control of their scanner line, Tennelec filed for bankruptcy soon after introducing their latest radio models. By this point other manufacturers, in particular SBE
SBE
SBE may refer to the following:*Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition*The Sacred Books of the East*Scarborough Board of Education*Social, Behavioral and Economic Science*Society of Broadcast Engineers*South by East point of the compass, SbE...
and Regency and Electra, had already introduced their own programmable models.
Tennelec, still located in Oak Ridge, TN, is now a division of Canberra Industries, which is owned by Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
.