The history of
Motorola started in Chicago, Illinois as Galvin Manufacturing Corporation (at 847 West Harrison Street) in 1928, with its first product being a battery eliminator. In 1930 Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduced the Motorola radio, one of the first commercially successful car radios. Company founder Paul V. Galvin created the brand name Motorola for the car radio—linking "motor" (for motorcar) with "ola" (which implied sound). Thus the Motorola brand meant sound in motion. The name Motorola was adopted in 1930, and the word has been used as a trademark since the 1930s.
Many of Motorola's products have been radio-related, starting with a battery eliminator for radios, through the first walkie-talkie in the world in 1940, defense electronics, cellular infrastructure equipment, and mobile phone manufacturing. In the same year, the company built its research and development program with Dan Noble, a pioneer in FM radio and semiconductor technologies joined the company as director of research.
In 1943, Motorola went public and in 1947, the name changed to its present name. At this time, Motorola's main business was producing and selling televisions and radios. Motorola produced the hand-held AM SCR-536 radio during World War II which was vital to allied communication.
The Timeline History of Motorola
1920
In 1928 Paul V. and Joseph E. Galvin purchased the bankrupt Stewart Battery Company's battery eliminator plans and manufacturing equipment at auction for $750. Galvin Manufacturing Corporation set up shop in a small section of a rented building at 847 West Harrison Street in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
The company had $565 in working capital and five employees.
The first week's payroll was $63.
The company's first product was the "B" battery eliminator - a device that enabled battery-powered radios to be powered by household electricity.
1930
When the Great Depression hit in 1929, the entire country was affected. Galvin Manufacturing was not excluded.
After a year in the battery eliminator and radio business, Galvin Manufacturing Corporation expected to keep growing. But after the October 1929 stock market crash in the United States radio sales plummeted. The young company was close to failing.
Company founder Paul V. Galvin learned that some radio shops were installing sets in cars. Inspired, he challenged his employees to design an inexpensive car radio that could be installed in most vehicles. With the hard work of an enthusiastic team, Galvin was able to demonstrate a working model of the radio at the June 1930 Radio Manufacturers Association convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Afterward he was able to bring home enough orders to keep the company afloat.
1940
Television was introduced to Americans at the 1939 New York World's Fair, but the new medium did not become available to the public until after World War II. Motorola, one of several pioneering television manufacturers, began its own television research and development in the spring of 1939, stopped in 1941 to focus on war-related projects, and resumed work in the spring of 1945.
One of the war-related products Galvin manufacturing Corporation was working on was a battlefield radio.
Prior to the United States entering World War II, Galvin Manufacturing Corporation engineer Donald Mitchell developed a prototype of a handheld portable two-way radio that would "follow man in combat."
The U.S. Army Signal Corps was not interested and considered it a stopgap radio because of its short range of about one mile (1.6 km). But Mitchell continued to improve the design. He and his team developed a two-way AM radio that a single person could carry and operate with one hand. Tuned using sets of crystals for transmitting and receiving; it was battery-powered and weighed just 5 pounds (2.2 kg).
In 1940 Galvin Manufacturing Corporation engineers developed the Handie-Talkie SCR536 portable two-way radio. This handheld radio became a World War II icon.
War products were not the only focus for Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. In fact, Motorola entered the new field of television with the Golden View TV, model VT71, in 1947. Within a year the company had manufactured more than 100,000 sets and had joined the leading group of television manufacturers.
1930 - 1939: Motorola's Early Police Radios
Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduced its Motorola brand car radio, one of the first commercially successful car radios, in June 1930. The radio was intended for the general public, but soon police departments and city governments across the Chicago area and United States ordered radios for public safety use. This was the beginning of Motorola's expertise in mobile communications and long customer relationships.
Mobile entertainment
When commercial radio broadcasting began in the early 20th century, music and entertainment delighted growing numbers of people. In the 1920s, hobbyists experimented with adapting home radio sets to cars. Taking a risk on a new technology, Galvin Manufacturing developed the Motorola car radio for the commercial market.
A few police departments began to install mobile radio receivers tuned to higher frequencies than the commercial broadcast band. This special use of the airwaves allowed communications that the general public could not hear. Although police departments needed their own transmitters to broadcast, the U.S. Federal Radio Commission considered this radio use experimental and issued licenses conditionally.
Motorola car radio for police
In 1930, shortly after Galvin Manufacturing introduced the Motorola car radio for consumer use, the company began receiving orders from police departments. Company founder Paul V. Galvin, envisioning the potential for this new market, remarked, "There was a need, and I could see it was a market that nobody owned."
Galvin Manufacturing built its first mobile police radio receivers by adapting its Motorola consumer car radios. A police department specified what frequency its radios should receive. Galvin Manufacturing's line workers then modified tuning coils and locked condensers by hand. They put police radio chassis into the same housing as consumer Motorola car radios.
Motorola's first police radio customers
According to Galvin Manufacturing records, sales of Motorola police radios began in November 1930. Among the first customers (all in the U.S. state of Illinois) were the Village of River Forest; Village of Bellwood Police Department; City of Evanston Police; Illinois State Highway Police; and Cook County Police in the Chicago area.
As more police departments used radios, challenges emerged. Rough roads, engine noises, interference, high power consumption, and frequency instability led Paul Galvin to recognize that police departments needed a radio specifically engineered for patrol cars.
Motorola Police Cruiser radio
Galvin engineers designed a new mobile radio in the frequency band of 1550-2800 KHz called the Motorola Police Cruiser radio. Introduced in 1936, this AM radio receiver featured a heavy-duty metal case for protection against rough roads and difficult conditions, an improved speaker and circuitry, a stabilized crystal control (instead of coils) for better tuning, and lower power consumption from the engine. Galvin Manufacturing's small specialty police radio department built the radios on weekends in order to not interrupt the busy commercial car radio production lines.
Broadcasting from a police station to a car was the first step in mobile communications for police departments. But how would dispatchers know if officers received their broadcasts or needed assistance? Police departments and radio manufacturers began building mobile transmitters so officers in patrol cars could communicate with headquarters.
This complete Motorola two-way radio system was priced about one-fourth as much as the competition's, and the transmitters could be installed in cars that already had receivers in the same frequency band. In 1940 the Police Department in Bowling Green, Kentucky, became the first customer for a complete Motorola AM two-way radio system. The radios were so well-designed that Galvin Manufacturing produced the same models for several years, until FM technology replaced them in the 1940s.
1940: Creating the Handie-Talkie Radio
Motorola traces its origins of portable two-way radio technology to the World War II Handie-Talkie military radio. Prior to the U.S. entering the war, Galvin Manufacturing Corporation anticipated the need for a handheld portable two-way radio that would “follow man in combat.”
Anticipating the need
The most famous radio of the World War II era, the Handie-Talkie SCR536 handheld two-way radio, almost never came to be. Former Motorola President Elmer H. Wavering recalled that engineer Donald Mitchell recognized the strategic value of portable communications after he observed a National Guard training exercise and saw how radios installed in vehicles were abandoned in the mud and confusion of battle. He returned to the company convinced that military communications had to follow man to the greatest degree possible and immediately began to engineer a radio that could be carried in the hand.
Designing a portable radio
The U.S. Army Signal Corps was not interested and considered it a stopgap radio because of its short range of about one mile (1.6 km). But Mitchell continued to improve the design. He and his team developed a two-way AM radio that a single person could carry and operate with one hand. Tuned using sets of crystals for transmitting and receiving, it was battery-powered and weighed just 5 pounds (2.2 kg). The Signal Corps soon realized that the light weight was ideal for a new type of soldier--the paratrooper--and by early 1941 awarded Galvin Manufacturing Corporation a contract for an experimental quantity.
In the soldier's hands
When the United States entered the war in December 1941, the company stepped up production to ship thousands of radio units to the front lines. Handie-Talkie radiotelephones became standard equipment for infantrymen as well as for paratroopers. By the time World War II ended, Motorola's handheld SCR536 Handie-Talkie two-way radio was an icon.
1950
The U.S. economy recovered quickly after World War II. Because of wartime production restrictions, Americans were eager to buy many products, including home entertainment equipment and the new craze, television sets. The number of television stations in the United States grew rapidly, rising from 51 in 1949 to more than 400 by 1955. The national networks and independent stations increased the number of hours of broadcasting and introduced greater variety in programming.
U.S. consumers began to consider purchasing television sets for home entertainment, and the company, now named Motorola, designed a set to sell for less than $200. Sales took off and Motorola soon became one of the top television manufacturers in the United States.
In mid-1958, the company introduced its first stereo phonographs. By year-end, sales of stereo products surpassed the prior year's sales of all phonographs and hi-fi equipment. The company then combined stereos, radios and television sets in single units, creating early versions of modern 'home entertainment' centers. By adapting to changing tastes and demands, Motorola's sales grew exponentially and the brand name 'Motorola' became synonymous with 'entertainment in the air.'
After World War II, the U.S. automobile market also grew rapidly. Motorola founder Paul V. Galvin sought to extend the company's automotive business by adding a car heater to the product line. A Motorola gasoline-powered heater developed for the U.S. Army during the war was re-designed for civilian vehicles. It provided heat quickly and maintained a steady temperature inside the car. But the engineers couldn't solve some of the technical difficulties, including how to properly exhaust the gasoline fumes. In 1948 the project was abandoned, with the company absorbing a sizable loss.
Paul Galvin knew fostering a climate of innovation would lead to some failures. He considered it important to apply the lessons learned to help other ventures succeed. Galvin often was quoted as saying, "Do not fear mistakes ... wisdom is often born of such mistakes."
1960
When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958, Motorola become one of its first providers of space communications. Among the early contributions were transponders on board Mariner II, launched in 1962 to explore the planet Venus.
In 1968, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began manned Apollo flights that led to the first lunar landing in July 1969. Apollo 11 was particularly significant for hundreds of Motorolans involved in designing, testing and producing its sophisticated electronics.
1970
By the late 1960s, consumer demand for mobile phones exceeded capacity. Challenged by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to find a solution, Motorola, AT&T and others began developing systems based on small adjacent radio coverage areas called "cells."
In 1973, Motorola demonstrated a prototype of the world's first portable cellular telephone, using the DynaTAC (Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage) system.
The invention of the microprocessor in 1971 set off a race to develop this new kind of integrated circuit for computers and other machines. Motorola joined the race in 1974 by introducing the MC6800 microprocessor, its first.
Meanwhile, other historic currents in the mid-1970s influenced Motorola's course. As oil shortages and environmental concerns prompted government regulations on automotive emissions, the MC6800 microprocessor showed promise in powering automotive engine controls to regulate gas mileage and emissions. Engineers refined its design to power such a system for General Motors cars. The redesigned MC6800 microprocessor now had a high-volume application and Motorola had an industry-leading partner.
1980
The 80s were a time of beginnings and endings for Motorola.
The world's first commercial handheld cellular phone, the Motorola DynaTAC phone, received approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on September 21, 1983.
The 28-ounce (794-gram) phone became available to consumers in 1984.
After more than 50 years making car radios, Motorola produced its last car radio in Stotfold, United Kingdom, in 1987.
1990
In 1990 a Motorola business -- then known as General Instrument Corporation -- proposed the world's first all-digital HDTV (high-definition television) technical standard. Motorola acquired General Instrument in 2000. Unlike its competitors, GI presented to the Federal Communication Commission an all-digital system, a concept that was thought to be technologically unachievable.
During the 90s the Internet was gaining popularity. Motorola announced its first cable modem, the CyberSURFR model, on April 19, 1995. Later in the decade, Motorola completed a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) cellular phone call using the GSM cellular standard. The call originated in London, England.
2000
During the first decade of the 21st century cell phone popularity raged.
In 2001 Motorola introduced a metal portable cellular phone, the V60 model, with Internet access, text messaging and voice-activated dialing. A year later, the V60 phone became available in all three cellular technologies--GSM, TDMA and CDMA--and quickly became a worldwide best seller.
In 2004 Motorola commemorated the 30 millionth cellular phone manufactured at its Jaguariuna Industrial and Technological Campus in São Paulo, Brazil.
In 2004 Motorola introduced the RAZR V3 cellular phone, an ultraslim, metal-clad, quad-band flip phone. The 13.9mm thin phone used aircraft-grade aluminum to achieve several design and engineering innovations, including a nickel-plated keypad.
2010
Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (Motorola Mobility) on January 4, 2011 announced that it has completed its previously announced spin-off from Motorola, Inc. and its shares will begin trading this morning on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "MMI."
Motorola Mobility is composed of two industry-leading global technology businesses. The Mobile Devices business is an innovative provider of smartphone devices designed to fit every lifestyle. In 2010, the Mobile Devices business launched 23 smartphones globally, including the highly successful family of DROID™ by Motorola devices as well as BRAVO™, DEF™, FLIPSIDE™, MILESTONE™ and others. The Home business is one of the largest providers of digital set-top boxes and end-to-end video solutions. Motorola Mobility will leverage the capabilities of both the Mobile Devices and Home businesses to deliver innovative smartphones, tablets, set-tops and other converged devices – as well as content delivery and management, and interactive cloud-based services to consumers in the home and on the go.
"Tanapa", You have seen that word on
Motorola GM300's, Maxtrac's, Maratrac RF board, Audio Boards, Kits .....
This is the deal...
Tanapa is a Japanese term But a Motorola adopted the word from the Japanese manufacturing industry meaning " Kit " or " Partial Assembly "
What happens during the manufacturing process, the " Tanapa " is assigned to items like a
" Frame " or " Partial " item number. As it goes through the " Build " process, it will finally
become a Radio, ( or completed accessory ) and thus a
Model / Serial Number ( or Part Number ) will be assigned
when completed.
Hence, one will see Tanapa on all kinds of
Motorola items Boards , Completed Radios, Frames,
Kits, Labels, etc.
For Example : HLB3050A is Tanapa for a pa board
for a lo band Maxtrac 42-50 mhz. Schematic in the manual and actual board number is HLB4107A. The difference is that the Tanapa number includes hardware kit. (special mounting screws, washers, maybe capsule of heat grease, clips, Etc. How exactly it fits a complete radio I am not exactly sure except to assume a radio that ships complete with
antenna and battery, and accessories has a Tanapa number and
a chassis only would not.
Probably a Motorola Engineer came up with the
idea without being aware, if you have a completed radio or part with Tanapa on it, perhaps it
could be viewed as incomplete.
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