Arthur Andrew Collins. founder of Collins Radio Company.
Born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, on Sept. 9, 1909, Collins moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at an early age when his father, Merle established The Collins Farms Company there. Married in 1930 Margaret Van Dyke, who died in 1955.
Married second to Mary Margaret Meis. He is survived by four children.
Collins attended Cedar Rapids public schools, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1927, Coe College in Cedar Rapids for special courses, and the University of Iowa for advanced studies in physics.
received an honorary doctor of science degree from Coe College in 1954, an honorary doctorate from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1968, an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Southern Methodist University in 1970, and an honorary doctor of science degree from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids in 1974.
From 1945 through 1951, Mr. Collins served as a director of Coe College. He was a director of the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, Dallas, from 1962 to 1969, and served on the board of directors of the Herbert Hoover Foundation.
Mr. Collins belongs to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Navy League of the United States, the American Ordnance Association, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, and was a member of the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club.
received the Secretary of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award Citation in 1962, the Iowa Broadcasters Association Distinguished Service Award in 1966, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1968, received the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's David Sarnoff Award in 1979, and the Electronics Industries Association's Medal of Honor in 1980.
After leaving Collins Radio in 1972, he formed a new firm, Arthur A. Collins, Inc., based in Dallas, to carry out systems engineering studies in the communications and computer fields.
At about the age of nine, Arthur Collins became deeply interested in radio, Arthur and, Merrill Lund, made their first crystal receivers in Cedar Rapids.
The Federal Radio Commission, the predecessor to the Federal Communications Commission, passed a radio act whereby amateurs could get licenses. Arthur took the test and got his license in 1923 at the age of 14.
as a teenager, Arthur had constructed an amateur radio station using purchased components, make-shift materials and his own ingenuity.
During the winter of 1924-25, Collins had become familiar with John Reinartz, a 31-year-old German immigrant who was prominent in radio circles because he developed a "tuner" or receiver capable of predictable selectivity and reception. Reinartz and Collins carried on experiments, particularly in the use of short wavelengths.
The navy’s MacMillan expedition in Greenland was to make daily radio reports to the U.S. Naval radio station, but because of atmospheric problems, the land station in Washington, D.C., was unable to consistently receive Reinartz's messages. Throughout the summer of 1925, Arthur Collins accomplished a task that even the U.S. Navy found difficult. Using a ham radio that he himself had built, he talked by code with Reinartz in Greenland night after night. His signals reached the expedition more clearly than any other. After each broadcast, young Collins took the messages from the expedition down to the Cedar Rapids telegraph office and relayed to Washington.
At the age of 16, Collins was asked to write a technical article for Radio Age which was published in the May, 1925 issue. One statement in that article foreshadowed the motivational force which was to lead him to "great radio ambitions.
By the end of 1931 he had set up a shop in the basement of their home and began to produce transmitters to order. When the depression hit with full force in 1931, 23-year-old Collins turned his hobby into a vocation.
This was the first time radio transmitting apparatus, of any power output, was available for purchase as an assembled and working unit. Collins' ham gear was designed to eliminate the clutter by packaging the equipment in neat units. Because the gear was precisely engineered and well-built with the best parts available, it gave years of trouble-free service.
Arthur originally started his company as sole owner with only one employee. But as his business grew, he added personnel, Business in general in 1933 was not good, to put it mildly, but radio had come of age, and Collins recognized the need for advancement in the radio communications field.
info from "The First 50 Years … A History of Collins Radio Company" by Ken C. Braband.
and the Rockwell collins "history of" site.
Born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, on Sept. 9, 1909, Collins moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at an early age when his father, Merle established The Collins Farms Company there. Married in 1930 Margaret Van Dyke, who died in 1955.
Married second to Mary Margaret Meis. He is survived by four children.
Collins attended Cedar Rapids public schools, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1927, Coe College in Cedar Rapids for special courses, and the University of Iowa for advanced studies in physics.
received an honorary doctor of science degree from Coe College in 1954, an honorary doctorate from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1968, an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Southern Methodist University in 1970, and an honorary doctor of science degree from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids in 1974.
From 1945 through 1951, Mr. Collins served as a director of Coe College. He was a director of the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, Dallas, from 1962 to 1969, and served on the board of directors of the Herbert Hoover Foundation.
Mr. Collins belongs to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Navy League of the United States, the American Ordnance Association, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, and was a member of the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club.
received the Secretary of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award Citation in 1962, the Iowa Broadcasters Association Distinguished Service Award in 1966, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1968, received the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's David Sarnoff Award in 1979, and the Electronics Industries Association's Medal of Honor in 1980.
After leaving Collins Radio in 1972, he formed a new firm, Arthur A. Collins, Inc., based in Dallas, to carry out systems engineering studies in the communications and computer fields.
At about the age of nine, Arthur Collins became deeply interested in radio, Arthur and, Merrill Lund, made their first crystal receivers in Cedar Rapids.
The Federal Radio Commission, the predecessor to the Federal Communications Commission, passed a radio act whereby amateurs could get licenses. Arthur took the test and got his license in 1923 at the age of 14.
as a teenager, Arthur had constructed an amateur radio station using purchased components, make-shift materials and his own ingenuity.
During the winter of 1924-25, Collins had become familiar with John Reinartz, a 31-year-old German immigrant who was prominent in radio circles because he developed a "tuner" or receiver capable of predictable selectivity and reception. Reinartz and Collins carried on experiments, particularly in the use of short wavelengths.
The navy’s MacMillan expedition in Greenland was to make daily radio reports to the U.S. Naval radio station, but because of atmospheric problems, the land station in Washington, D.C., was unable to consistently receive Reinartz's messages. Throughout the summer of 1925, Arthur Collins accomplished a task that even the U.S. Navy found difficult. Using a ham radio that he himself had built, he talked by code with Reinartz in Greenland night after night. His signals reached the expedition more clearly than any other. After each broadcast, young Collins took the messages from the expedition down to the Cedar Rapids telegraph office and relayed to Washington.
At the age of 16, Collins was asked to write a technical article for Radio Age which was published in the May, 1925 issue. One statement in that article foreshadowed the motivational force which was to lead him to "great radio ambitions.
By the end of 1931 he had set up a shop in the basement of their home and began to produce transmitters to order. When the depression hit with full force in 1931, 23-year-old Collins turned his hobby into a vocation.
This was the first time radio transmitting apparatus, of any power output, was available for purchase as an assembled and working unit. Collins' ham gear was designed to eliminate the clutter by packaging the equipment in neat units. Because the gear was precisely engineered and well-built with the best parts available, it gave years of trouble-free service.
Arthur originally started his company as sole owner with only one employee. But as his business grew, he added personnel, Business in general in 1933 was not good, to put it mildly, but radio had come of age, and Collins recognized the need for advancement in the radio communications field.
info from "The First 50 Years … A History of Collins Radio Company" by Ken C. Braband.
and the Rockwell collins "history of" site.
Arthur Andrew Collins. founder of Collins Radio Company.
Born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, on Sept. 9, 1909, Collins moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at an early age when his father, Merle established The Collins Farms Company there. Married in 1930 Margaret Van Dyke, who died in 1955.
Married second to Mary Margaret Meis. He is survived by four children.
Collins attended Cedar Rapids public schools, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1927, Coe College in Cedar Rapids for special courses, and the University of Iowa for advanced studies in physics.
received an honorary doctor of science degree from Coe College in 1954, an honorary doctorate from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1968, an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Southern Methodist University in 1970, and an honorary doctor of science degree from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids in 1974.
From 1945 through 1951, Mr. Collins served as a director of Coe College. He was a director of the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, Dallas, from 1962 to 1969, and served on the board of directors of the Herbert Hoover Foundation.
Mr. Collins belongs to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Navy League of the United States, the American Ordnance Association, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, and was a member of the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club.
received the Secretary of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award Citation in 1962, the Iowa Broadcasters Association Distinguished Service Award in 1966, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1968, received the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's David Sarnoff Award in 1979, and the Electronics Industries Association's Medal of Honor in 1980.
After leaving Collins Radio in 1972, he formed a new firm, Arthur A. Collins, Inc., based in Dallas, to carry out systems engineering studies in the communications and computer fields.
At about the age of nine, Arthur Collins became deeply interested in radio, Arthur and, Merrill Lund, made their first crystal receivers in Cedar Rapids.
The Federal Radio Commission, the predecessor to the Federal Communications Commission, passed a radio act whereby amateurs could get licenses. Arthur took the test and got his license in 1923 at the age of 14.
as a teenager, Arthur had constructed an amateur radio station using purchased components, make-shift materials and his own ingenuity.
During the winter of 1924-25, Collins had become familiar with John Reinartz, a 31-year-old German immigrant who was prominent in radio circles because he developed a "tuner" or receiver capable of predictable selectivity and reception. Reinartz and Collins carried on experiments, particularly in the use of short wavelengths.
The navy’s MacMillan expedition in Greenland was to make daily radio reports to the U.S. Naval radio station, but because of atmospheric problems, the land station in Washington, D.C., was unable to consistently receive Reinartz's messages. Throughout the summer of 1925, Arthur Collins accomplished a task that even the U.S. Navy found difficult. Using a ham radio that he himself had built, he talked by code with Reinartz in Greenland night after night. His signals reached the expedition more clearly than any other. After each broadcast, young Collins took the messages from the expedition down to the Cedar Rapids telegraph office and relayed to Washington.
At the age of 16, Collins was asked to write a technical article for Radio Age which was published in the May, 1925 issue. One statement in that article foreshadowed the motivational force which was to lead him to "great radio ambitions.
By the end of 1931 he had set up a shop in the basement of their home and began to produce transmitters to order. When the depression hit with full force in 1931, 23-year-old Collins turned his hobby into a vocation.
This was the first time radio transmitting apparatus, of any power output, was available for purchase as an assembled and working unit. Collins' ham gear was designed to eliminate the clutter by packaging the equipment in neat units. Because the gear was precisely engineered and well-built with the best parts available, it gave years of trouble-free service.
Arthur originally started his company as sole owner with only one employee. But as his business grew, he added personnel, Business in general in 1933 was not good, to put it mildly, but radio had come of age, and Collins recognized the need for advancement in the radio communications field.
info from "The First 50 Years … A History of Collins Radio Company" by Ken C. Braband.
and the Rockwell collins "history of" site.
Born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, on Sept. 9, 1909, Collins moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at an early age when his father, Merle established The Collins Farms Company there. Married in 1930 Margaret Van Dyke, who died in 1955.
Married second to Mary Margaret Meis. He is survived by four children.
Collins attended Cedar Rapids public schools, Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1927, Coe College in Cedar Rapids for special courses, and the University of Iowa for advanced studies in physics.
received an honorary doctor of science degree from Coe College in 1954, an honorary doctorate from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1968, an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Southern Methodist University in 1970, and an honorary doctor of science degree from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids in 1974.
From 1945 through 1951, Mr. Collins served as a director of Coe College. He was a director of the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, Dallas, from 1962 to 1969, and served on the board of directors of the Herbert Hoover Foundation.
Mr. Collins belongs to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Navy League of the United States, the American Ordnance Association, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, and was a member of the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club.
received the Secretary of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Award Citation in 1962, the Iowa Broadcasters Association Distinguished Service Award in 1966, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1968, received the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's David Sarnoff Award in 1979, and the Electronics Industries Association's Medal of Honor in 1980.
After leaving Collins Radio in 1972, he formed a new firm, Arthur A. Collins, Inc., based in Dallas, to carry out systems engineering studies in the communications and computer fields.
At about the age of nine, Arthur Collins became deeply interested in radio, Arthur and, Merrill Lund, made their first crystal receivers in Cedar Rapids.
The Federal Radio Commission, the predecessor to the Federal Communications Commission, passed a radio act whereby amateurs could get licenses. Arthur took the test and got his license in 1923 at the age of 14.
as a teenager, Arthur had constructed an amateur radio station using purchased components, make-shift materials and his own ingenuity.
During the winter of 1924-25, Collins had become familiar with John Reinartz, a 31-year-old German immigrant who was prominent in radio circles because he developed a "tuner" or receiver capable of predictable selectivity and reception. Reinartz and Collins carried on experiments, particularly in the use of short wavelengths.
The navy’s MacMillan expedition in Greenland was to make daily radio reports to the U.S. Naval radio station, but because of atmospheric problems, the land station in Washington, D.C., was unable to consistently receive Reinartz's messages. Throughout the summer of 1925, Arthur Collins accomplished a task that even the U.S. Navy found difficult. Using a ham radio that he himself had built, he talked by code with Reinartz in Greenland night after night. His signals reached the expedition more clearly than any other. After each broadcast, young Collins took the messages from the expedition down to the Cedar Rapids telegraph office and relayed to Washington.
At the age of 16, Collins was asked to write a technical article for Radio Age which was published in the May, 1925 issue. One statement in that article foreshadowed the motivational force which was to lead him to "great radio ambitions.
By the end of 1931 he had set up a shop in the basement of their home and began to produce transmitters to order. When the depression hit with full force in 1931, 23-year-old Collins turned his hobby into a vocation.
This was the first time radio transmitting apparatus, of any power output, was available for purchase as an assembled and working unit. Collins' ham gear was designed to eliminate the clutter by packaging the equipment in neat units. Because the gear was precisely engineered and well-built with the best parts available, it gave years of trouble-free service.
Arthur originally started his company as sole owner with only one employee. But as his business grew, he added personnel, Business in general in 1933 was not good, to put it mildly, but radio had come of age, and Collins recognized the need for advancement in the radio communications field.
info from "The First 50 Years … A History of Collins Radio Company" by Ken C. Braband.
and the Rockwell collins "history of" site.
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