Telefunken

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Telefunken
Gordon Brothers
Websitetelefunken.com

Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to World War I the company set up the first world wide network of communications

cathode ray tubes, in Germany in 1934.[2][3]

The brand had several incarnations:

The company also had several subsidiaries and spin-offs of its own:

The company Telefunken USA was incorporated in early 2001 to provide restoration services and build reproductions of vintage Telefunken microphones.[4]

In 2023, Telefunken brand was acquired by the advisory and investment firm Gordon Brothers.[5]

History

Telefunken REN 904. A vacuum tube from 1930, used in early German radios.
Telefunken alarm clock from c. 1995, designed by Philippe Starck
A Telefunken RC 881 cassette, CD player, and radio
Telefunken electric kettle from 2011

Around the start of the 20th century, two groups of German researchers worked on the development of techniques for wireless communication. The one group at AEG, led by

Kaiserliche Marine; the other one, under Karl Ferdinand Braun, at Siemens, for the German Army. Their main competitor was the British Marconi Company
.

When a dispute concerning

Kaiser Wilhelm II urged both parties to join efforts, creating Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie System Telefunken ("The Company for Wireless Telegraphy Ltd.") joint venture on 27 May 1903, with the disputed patents and techniques invested in it. On 17 April 1923, it was renamed Telefunken, The Company for Wireless Telegraphy. Telefunken was the company's telegraphic address. The first technical director of Telefunken was Count Georg von Arco
.

Telefunken rapidly became a major player in the radio and electronics fields, both civilian and military. Prior to World War I the company set up the first world wide network of communications[1] and during the war they supplied radio sets and telegraphy equipment for the military, as well as building one of the first radio navigation systems for the Zeppelin force. The Telefunken Kompass Sender operated from 1908 to 1918, allowing the Zeppelins to navigate throughout the North Sea area in any weather.

in 1911 Telefunken built a wireless station in

West Sayville just north of the Long Island Rail Road tracks. A 500 foot tower that could be raised and lowered rose from a ball and socket joint atop a concrete foundation. It was completed in 1912 and wireless messages could then be transmitted to a similar tower in Nauen 3,500 miles away. From August 1, 1914, until April 6, 1917, the United States monitored messages sent over the Telefunken wireless and United States Marine Corps guarded the station. After the U.S. declared war the station was sealed off, the wire fence surrounding it was charged with electricity, and floodlights were placed throughout. After World War I it was taken over by Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company and later the Federal Aviation Administration. Presently it is not in use by anyone and it was demolished in 1938.[6]

Starting in 1923, Telefunken built broadcast transmitters and radio sets. In 1928, Telefunken made history by designing the V-41 amplifier for the German Radio Network. This was the very first two-stage, "

Hi-Fi" amplifier. Over time, Telefunken perfected their designs and in 1950 the V-72 amplifier was developed. The TAB (a manufacturing subcontractor to Telefunken) V-72 soon became popular with other radio stations and recording facilities. The V-72S was the only type of amplifier found in the REDD.37 console used by the Beatles at Abbey Road Studios
on many of their early recordings. In 1932, record players were added to the product line.

In 1941, Siemens transferred its Telefunken shares to AEG as part of the agreements known as the "Telefunken settlement", and AEG thus became the sole owner and continued to lead Telefunken as a subsidiary (starting in 1955 as "Telefunken GmbH" and from 1963 as "Telefunken AG").

During the Second World War, Telefunken was a supplier of vacuum tubes, transmitters and radio relay systems, and developed Funkmess facilities (later referred to as radar devices by the US Navy) and directional finders, as part of the German air defence against aerial bombing. During the war, manufacturing plants were shifted to and developed in west of Germany or relocated. Thus, Telefunken, under AEG, turned into the smaller subsidiary, with the three divisions realigning and data processing technology, elements as well as broadcast, television and phono. Telefunken was also the originator of the FM radio broadcast system. Telefunken, through the subsidiary company Teldec (a joint venture with Decca Records), was for many decades one of the largest German record companies, until Teldec was sold to WEA in 1988.

In 1959, Telefunken established a modern semiconductor works in Heilbronn, where in April 1960 production began. The works was expanded several times, and in 1970 a new 6-storey building was built at the northern edge of the area. At the beginning of the 1970s it housed approximately 2,500 employees.

In 1967, Telefunken was merged with AEG, which was then renamed to AEG-Telefunken. In the beginning of the 1960s,

United Kingdom
(PAL-I) and, except France, many other European countries -–also in Brazil (PAL-M), Argentina (PAL-N), South Africa, India and Australia.

The

Daimler
in 1985, "Telefunken" was dropped from the company name.

In 1995, Telefunken was sold to Tech Sym Corporation (owners of Continental Electronics Corporation of Dallas) for $9 million. However, Telefunken remained a German company.[9]

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Telefunken was also instrumental in the development of high quality audio noise reduction systems, including

CX
(1982).

In 2005, Telefunken Sender Systeme Berlin changed its name to Transradio SenderSysteme Berlin AG. The name "Transradio" dates back to 1918, when Transradio was founded as a subsidiary of Telefunken. A year later, in 1919, Transradio made history by introducing duplex transmission. Transradio has specialized in research, development and design of modern AM, VHF/FM and DRM broadcasting systems.

In August 2006, it was acquired by the Turkish company Profilo Telra, one of the largest European manufacturers of TV-devices, with brand-owner Telefunken Licenses GmbH granting a license for the Telefunken trademark rights and producing televisions under that name.

In 2000, Toni Roger Fishman acquired the diamond-shaped logo and the Telefunken brand name from Telefunken Licenses for use in North America. The company "Telefunken USA" [1] was incorporated in early 2001 to provide restoration services and build exact reproductions of vintage Telefunken microphones. In 2003, Telefunken USA won a TEC Award for Studio Microphone Technology for their exact reproduction of the original Ela M 250 / 251 Microphone system. Telefunken USA has since received several TEC Awards nominations for the following microphone systems: the Telefunken USA M12 or C12 (originally developed by AKG), the R-F-T M16 MkII, and the AK47. The Historic Telefunken Ela M251 microphone system entered the MIX foundation's Hall of fame in 2006. In 2008, Telefunken USA won a second TEC Award for its new Ela M 260 microphone.

As a result of a conference held in Frankfurt in May 2009, Telefunken USA has been renamed Telefunken Elektroakustik ("Electrical Acoustics") Division of Telefunken and awarded the exclusive rights to manufacture a wide variety of professional audio products and vacuum tubes bearing the Telefunken trademark in over 27 countries. Telefunken Elektroakustik now uses the Telefunken trademark for professional audio equipment and component-based electronics, such as capacitors, transformers, vacuum tubes in Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America.

Business fields

The old Telefunken company had produced an extensive product spectrum of devices and systems from 1903 to 1996. Common characteristics are the authority for high frequency and communications technology and the construction unit and infrastructure technology necessary for it. Among other things:

  • Energy-saving lighting technology
  • Analogue computers
  • Voucher recognition, pattern recognition and letter sorting
  • Data communications networks
  • Digital computer for exchange technique, air traffic control, scientific, military applications
  • Electrical elements
  • Electro-acoustic plants and studio equipment
  • Flight guidance systems
  • Guidance and weapon deployment systems
  • Radio and data communication for applications of military
  • Radios for authority and operating radio
  • Semiconductors, circuits, solar cells, infrared modules
  • Mobile radio engineering
  • Direction finder and detection
  • Phono and tape decks, videodisc
  • Power tools
  • Radar facilities for soil, flight and ship monitoring
  • Radio and TV home receivers
  • Vacuum tubes
  • Radio relay link and satellite technology
  • Records
  • Sending and receipt tubes, travelling field tubes, color image tubes
  • Transmitters for broadcast and television, DAB transmitters
  • Speech recognition
  • Telephone, long-distance traffic, cable technology.

Locations and manufacturing plants

FE I – Telefunken's first Television set using CRT (c. 1932)[2]

Into the 1930s years, production was made after a distributor in the workshops of the two parent companies. The company headquarters was located in Berlin Kreuzberg, Hallesches Ufer 30 (1918–1937).

The first commercially made electronic

cathode ray tubes were manufactured by Telefunken in Berlin in 1932.[2]

Starting from 1938, manufacturing and developing plants were concentrated at the new headquarters (until 1945) in Berlin Zehlendorf, Goerzallee.

During the Second World War, there were further manufacturing plants in the Berlin area, in Thuringia, Saxonia, Moravia, Silesia, on Rügen. In addition, in Baltic countries at Tallinn and Riga, and in occupied areas of Poland at Kraków and Łódź, floats and works were established. The vacuum tube factory Łódź was shifted with the staff in August 1944 to Ulm (Fortress Wilhelmsburg).

After the Second World War, new firm locations for development and production were established. The company headquarters was located first in

Berlin Charlottenburg
(1960–1967).

Production plants were located in:

Hanover, Göttinger Chaussee 76: Administration building (1959/1960) of the former Telefunken Fernseh und Rundfunk GmbH (under Cultural heritage management), right next former Huth Apparatefabrik (1940/1941)
  • Backnang: Long-distance communications and cable technology (now Tesat-Spacecom)
  • Berlin-Moabit, Sickingenstr. 20–26: Broadcast and television transmitters, mobile communications (since 2005 Transradio SenderSysteme Berlin AG, later simply known as Transradio)
  • Berlin-Moabit, Sickingenstr. 71: Tubes (since 2005: JobCenter Berlin Mitte, employment agency)
  • Berlin-Wedding (current: Gesundbrunnen), Schwedenstr.: Broadcast sets, phono and tape decks, videocassette recorders, Videodisc players
  • Celle: Color television sets (1966–1997), buildings completely demolished 2001/2002
  • Eiweiler: High-frequency engineering
  • Hanover, Göttinger Chaussee 76: Broadcast and television sets, acoustic engineering (until 1973)
  • Telefunken Semiconductors GmbH & Co. KG [de
    ] (subsidiary of Tejas Silicon Holdings, UK; Insolvency of Telefunken Semiconductors in April 2013)
  • Konstanz: Computer technology, letter sorting systems, character recognition technology, air traffic control systems, studio tape decks, cash dispensing machines
  • Offenburg: Long-distance communications technologies
  • Osterode am Harz (former Kuba-Imperial plant): Videocassette recorder
  • Ulm, Danube valley: Television picture tubes
  • Ulm, Elisabethenstrasse: Radar, radiolocation, detection equipment, speech and radio data transmission systems, Research Centre (2000: EADS Racoms – Radio Communication Systems; then Cassidian, part of EADS Defence & Security, today Airbus Defence and Space, today Elbit Systems)
  • Ulm, Söflinger Strasse: Tubes
  • Wolfenbüttel: Electroacoustics (from 1973 on)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "The Scientist who World War I wrote out of history". History is Now Magazine, Podcasts, Blog and Books | Modern International and American history. 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  2. ^ a b c Telefunken, Early Electronic TV Gallery, Early Television Foundation.
  3. ^ 1934–35 Telefunken, Television History: The First 75 Years.
  4. ^ "TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik ™ - Services". 2010-11-29. Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  5. ^ "Gordon Brothers Acquires Telefunken". ABFJournal. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  6. ^ "The Telefunken Radio Station at Sayville, Long Island". aes-media l. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  7. ^ "A SURVEY OF NEW WEST-EUROPEAN DIGITAL COMPUTERS (Part 1): GERMANY" (PDF). Computers and Automation. XII (9): 24. Sep 1963.
  8. ^ "The first rolling-ball mouse · e-basteln". www.e-basteln.de.
  9. ISBN 9780852969205
    .

References

External links

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