I joined E.K. Cole at the Priory Crescent site in January 1953 having previously worked for S.T.C Southgate, the Gramophone Company (HMV), Murphy Radio and served in the RAF as a wireless Mechanic in South East Asia and as I was getting married, we decided that Southend was the place to live.
I was interviewed by Mr. Hunt and went to the Car Radio section (with a Mr. Chapman as the senior engineer), as I had designed a 6 wave-band inductor tuned car radio for Smiths Radio Mobile while at HMV, but within a month I was sent to join Peter Harvey's group who were producing a batch of 100 CE39 car mobile phones for the London Metropolitan Police, where Ted Ellis and the Model Shop were producing the metal work, the assembly and wiring was done by the wiring section under Mrs. Frost and Mrs. Moltino el al with Ken Clod, myself and Dick Greener doing the testing. At this time, I believe that there was an agreement between EKCO and Plessey in that EKCO would do the CE39 car sets and Plessey would do the motorbike sets.
The CE39 was an ultra low consumption radiotelephone, which used 1.5v filament valves as used in the portable radios of the time and these were wired in a series of 4 to a 6v gas filled stabilvolt; with the transmitter using 6v filament power Amp. The transmitter was crystal controlled and used push pull Amplitude Modulation (AM), which combined with a 90° quaditure voltage to produce FM (frequency modulation) or PM (phase modulation) and multiplied by treblers and doublers 18 times to get 15Kc deviation with 50Kc channel spacing in the frequency range 70-95 Mcs.
The 100 sets were made and delivered with the company making a profit. Following this, another order for a 100 was received. These were made by the factory, who wound the coils, put them into the stores and promptly lost them, thus another set had to be made, which meant that the company lost money on the job run.
The receiver performance of the CE39 was excellent and I remember that the police base station 150 watt transmitter at Denmark Hill (in South London) could be received at Shoeburyness (some 40 miles away) but the 5 watt mobile transmitter lacked the power to operate the 'mute' on the police receiver.
I remember being stationed on top of Benfleet water tower (at the top of Essex way) when the Queen returned from her world-wide tour, with the CE39 and telephone, for the purpose of controlling ambulances, which were keeping pace with the royal yacht as it proceeded up the Thames since casualties were expected among the large crowds who gathered to greet her. In the event the crowds were smaller than expected and without casualties, but the CE39 worked as expected and as far as Tower Hill (in London).
The only recurring fault on the CE39 was that a piece of solid wire (the only piece of solid wire) between a relay tag and an 'earth point' used to break. This was cured by simply changing to a multi-stranded piece of wire in all the sets.
About the same time, the Fleet Air Arm and RAF both wanted reduced channel spacing on their VHF radiotelephones to increase available channels so I joined Tony Byczynski (who also worked for Peter Harvey) on developing the new IF (Intermediate frequency) unit for their sets.
These sets were TR1520, which was the STC Type 15 set and was a 4 channel 100-125Mc/s VHF Transmitter Receiver with similar performance to the original TR1133 - 1st VHF set, which was quickly updated and replaced by the TR1143 (100-125Mc/s) that had been copied by the USA Bendix corporation as the SCR522 (RAF ref TR5043) although this latter set, while 4 channel, covered 100-156Mc/s but it was the same weight and size as the TR1143 and used the same aircraft wiring harness.
The outcome of the work was that TR1520 was updated to 10 channels as TR1934 (100-125Mc/s), TR1935 (113-138Mc/s) and TR1936 (125-156Mc/s) using a type 373 IF unit. The new IF unit designed by MoD was a lash up – the first 'production standard' models were made as the type 476 and this resulted in TR1985 (100-125Mc/s), TR1986 and TR1987 VHF sets.
The new IF used coil formers made by EKCO Plastics and the type 476 unit was to be made by EKCO and Plessey but their test data was significantly different and eventually Tony and I attended a meeting at Plessey, where we found that the performance of our unit changed when connected to their power unit, which had insufficient RF de-coupling, which we rectified and then both units gave identical performance and both went into production.
Tony and I were then given the job of designing a 100-156Mc/s version of the TR1985-7 to reduce the need for services aircraft to carry 100-125Mc/s and 125-156Mc/s kit for full band coverage.
This we achieved as the TR1997-8, one for the RAF and one for the Navy - after many arguments, cutting off and re-soldering of vanes on ganged condensers etc. I seem to remember the Navy was going to use 90Kc/s channel spacing while the RAF would use 100Kc/s spacing so 'in service' really meant that they could not communicate with each other and they would each be their own design authority for their own set.
Some years later, just before I left EKCO, the Navy returned one of the early trials units – clearly marked for trials purposes only – with a request that EKCO refurbish it. When we saw where we had cut and re-soldered rotor and stator vanes, we were surprised it was not a mangled mess, but we said it was a rogue set and was only fit for their museum – not for reuse.
Tony Byczynski was just one of the poles we had working for us at the time and he had volunteered for the Polish Cavalry before the war, but his mother raised hell. So he transferred to the artillery but he was taken prisoner by the Russians. He was one of 6,000 escapees' of which 600 reached Italy and allied forces. I know he was a student of the Polish University in London, but whether this was during the war or after I don't know.
Tony was married and had a son 'Stephan' and there came the time when he decided that Australia was the place to go, so he emigrated with his family and I think he joined the Australian Post Office
Incidentally, during this period, the Russians decided to make life difficult for the RAF by setting a 'megawatt' commercial station right on the RAF I.F. frequency of 9.72Kc/s, which caused serious trouble until cured by the addition of an IF rejector circuit in the receiver RF (radio frequency) amplifier.
Thinking of the Russians and Tony Byczynski, during my time at EKCO, there were a few polish chaps and once when we had a Russian delegation visit us, we had to gather all these poles together and lock them into one of the labs to prevent trouble. Another incident with Tony was when I first took him to RAE. When signing in at the gatehouse, he only got as far as signing Bycz whereupon security grabbed him and it took 30 minutes before he was released for the meeting.
With Tony gone, I was left to start an updated version of the CE39 called the CE97 at the request of the Lancashire Police who ordered them on the advice of the London Metropolitan Police.
For the CE97, I had responsibility for the transmitter side of the project and Michael Foggity and Johnny Walker joined me. This set was a VHF 10 watt car transmitter/receiver linked to a 25-watt base station transmitter + receiver, which used CE97 Tx Rx units with additional power supplies combined in cabinet for local & remote control.
For the project we used a new range of 6.3v 0.15amp valves and we designed an updated CE39 transmitter using a similar AM modulator, a 90° quaditure signal to produce 15Kc deviation either FM or PM modulation with Xtal frequency being multiplied by 18 times for final frequency. This system reduced the change in modulation due to any change in car battery voltage or power supply.
Some of the base stations were sited at remote locations out on the moors – controlled by landlines and power lines. Incidentally, these moorland base stations had a phone line to the police and were equipped with food and drink so that they could be used as refuges for anybody who got lost on the moors or trapped by poor weather.
The initial requirement was for the base stations to use batteries in the event of a mains failure and we produced a power unit, which switched the heaters to the batteries when the mains failed and a vibrator input to the higher voltage transformers so that one could switch AC mains on or off without effecting transmitter or receiver performance.
The eventual solution for the police was to have an alternator running as a motor, which used the momentum of the alternator motor to start its diesel and supply power in the event of a mains failure cleaning up the transmitter power unit.
The only problem with the Lancashire police network was interference from a German commercial FM station on the same frequency where in the absence of modulation, the increased carrier power could open the 'mute' circuit by quieting the background noise.
Overall, the Lancashire police were so pleased with the CE97 that they recommended it to the Ambulance service and fire service, that's when the problems began.
The CE97 was efficient and economical in power, but the ambulance service complained of the sets causing a heavy drain on ambulance batteries, which we could not understand and remained unresolved until one afternoon a police car out on the moors noticed an ambulance parked outside a roadside house and noted that its headlights were shrouded in brown paper, which was hot. They drove around the corner and parked out of sight and stayed there until the ambulance left 25 minutes later. Next time the battery problem came up, the police asked the question 'why were ambulances driving with their headlight on in daylight' and were told 'simulating winter conditions'? Then asked why were the lights on when parked up and were told 'the driver forgot they were on'. Needless to say the complaints stopped, but when we heard of this in the lab, we called this type of event 'the PYE effect.
While hunting for a suitable 'vibrator' for the base station, I remember visiting a firm in Nottingham who had earlier claimed to have developed a suitable one with a 1-½ inch diameter case. On arrival, I was told that they had experimented with various gases and found hydrogen was the best. Examples were produced and some were put in 'life test', which was promising until one sample exploded and the heavy gauge aluminium departed through the roof of the lab, which promptly ended that test. When I visited the lab, the hole was still visible.
While working on the CE97, we modified a set for 'maritime PM (phase modulation) use', devising suitable tuned co-axial resonator circuits for single aerial use, transmitting and receiving simultaneously with 4 Mcs channel spacing.
Note on common (single) aerial working. In situations such as an RAF HF signal station, it is normally necessary to separate the transmitter stations and the receiver stations by several miles to prevent the transmitter radiations saturating the microvolt receiver signals. With maritime vessels, this is obviously not possible and so alternative means of overcoming this was needed particularly when up to 10 UHF channels could be receiving and transmitting simultaneously. The solution being to separate the transmitted and received signal by inserting a tuned cavity in the receiving or transmitting aerial with each cavity tuned to the required frequency so that it will only accept the required signal, rejecting all the others although even this may not stop 'radar' pulses, which may require receiver de-activation for the microsecond of the radar pulse. This is why we had to develop a suitable tuned co-axial resonator circuit for the maritime CE97
I went to the GPO headquarters who at that time were in St Martins Le Grand – London in order to get 'type approval' and was taken to meet the appropate departmental head on the 7th floor, big desk, posh carpet and coat stand. He looked at the CE97 and said 'looks good, my second in command is your man' and he took me to meet his deputy, a performance repeated with people in progressively smaller offices until I finished up in the basement with a man almost dressed in rags who said 'I can't test this set as I haven't got suitable equipment'.
Not to be put off, I said I'd get all the equipment from my lab, Signal Generators, Power Output Meters etc and then you can check the calibration and this he did, following which we obtained the necessary 'type approval' but as far as I know we never produced the required handbooks and maintenance information for users, so we failed to sell any – which at the time was a puzzle to me, but as I was to learn, was not unique to the CE97.
While many of the engineers within the Electronics section were producing 'outstanding' work, many of us got the impression that the designs we were producing were somehow peripheral to the rest of the (domestic products) company and never truly supported by the sales activity.
Of the people I remember, I'm pleased to see the contributions from Tim Davis and Dave Smith both of whom I remember well and I've been a friend of Alan (and Joan) Moltino ever since my EKCO days and I see that Max Callender gets a mention, which reminds me of a story concerning Max and the 'spot wobble' patent for EKCO televisions, where an oscillation was used to increase the width of the horizontal line on the screen and to blur the space between the lines in those days, when due to valve circuitry it was usual to have a slightly displaced image on picture figure outlines.
Somebody thought of the idea of testing Max – and as EKCO had their own picture generator, they turned the picture generator camera through 90° degrees, increased 'spot wobble' and turned a television set coils also through 90° degrees then called Max and showed him the picture and the overshoot (displaced picture effect) at the bottom vertically instead of horizontal.
Max looked thoughtfully at this and returned to his office to start work - to return a week later saying 'you buggers are wasting my time' and proceeded to tell them what they had done having deduced from first principles they only way they could have done it.
I also remember a Mr. New who was a mechanical engineer who was a very nice person but unfortunately died while at EKCO. His daughter was Janet, who at that time was Tony Martins secretary or joint secretary with a much older lady who was very motherly – but I can't remember her name.
I remember once flying to Malmesbury in the Anson where, upon turning up at the (Southend) airport on a Monday morning, John Meredith had to clear a bird's nest out of one of the engine intakes since over the weekend a bird had obviously thought 'this is a nice warm place to make a nest'. Apparently this was not that unusual at certain times of year.
I also remember a fire at EKCO. I was playing tennis on the sports field and we eventually gave up due to the smoke billowing from a chimney near to the entrance, so, as we wandered back to the lab to get changed, we passed the security gate hut where I said to the guard 'where's the fire'? He said what fire; I said 'look at the smoke gusting'. That got his attention whereupon we chased into the factory entrance just behind the hut and found that the 'impregnation plant' was on fire inside the oven.
He rushed off to call the fire brigade; while I marshalled some late working staff to go and collect all the fire extinguishers they could find and when we had 4 we set them off, when somebody opened the oven door. A mass of flames gushed out and set fire to the ceiling and our efforts not having effect, we quickly closed the door and concentrated on extinguishing the ceiling fire. The fire brigade then turned up, got their gear ready with foam, called 'water on', opened the door and killed the fire with masses of foam and water going into the oven. All that was left to do then was clean up although everything in the impregnation plant was ruined.
My break came with EKCO when, with a young family growing up, I asked Peter Harvey for a rise but 6 months later and not hearing anything, I decided that this would not be forthcoming so I started looking around. I was offered jobs at PYE, Marconi and Plessey and decided that Plessey was my best option. When I told Peter, he said my rise has just come through to which I said sorry but I'm off and when I told him it was Plessey, he was surprised since he told me that there was an arrangement in place between the two companies – which he said they had obviously broken. Needless to say I still left EKCO.
Postscript. Southend was quite a nice place to be in those days, especially for my children who still follow Southend United. EKCO was a nice company to work for but Plessey was more rewarding but you had to be able to stand the pressure and quite a few people moved to Plessey from EKCO only to find the pressure too great and quit.
