Numerous members turned up for an informal chat. Tea and biscuits were served and the meeting continued till about 21:00.

The Dynatron brand was founded in 1929 by H. Hacker and Sons Ltd.  Operating from premises in Maidenhead they produced small quantities of radios and established a reputation for quality.

David continued by describing early models of radiogramophones and radio receivers. Through the years the company merged with others but were still known for their high quality units. Their cabinets were designed to match quality furniture; some even had drawer fronts to conceal the electronics. An example was the ‘Ether Empress’ cabinet.

Their first television models produced in 1939 were built in a cabinet which also housed a record player and radio, but it was not widely accepted by the public. Perhaps it was too large and expensive.

The company changed radically when in 1945 they started producing RADAR equipment for the ministry. They had no less then forty major contracts designing, developing and building training equipment for the RAF personnel and RADAR operators.

After the war, Dynatron resumed design and construction of high quality radiograms in furniture grade cabinets.  In 1957 the company merged with Ekco and moved to a new and bigger factory, still in Maidenhead.  After just five years in 1962 the company was absorbed into the Pye group, but the Dynatron name continued and they produced the ‘Magnificent Queen Anne’ Music Centre. David showed a photo of one still in use today!

The ‘Mazurka’record player was one of the most popular models from the Ekco era, and it continued in production for some years after the move to Pye ownership.  TV production in Lowestoft included new dual-standard models equipped for the new 625-line system, launched with BBC2.

The Model TV75 was one of the first, using a Pye chassis fitted in a Dynatron-designed period-style cabinet with a large loudspeaker producing superior sound quality.

Other TV models had contemporary cabinets in walnut and the fashionable teak veneers. New ‘Music Centres’ were developed at the King’s Lynn facility for Pye and Philips brands. They sold well.

In 1979 the recession was beginning to bite and sales of electrical good were in decline.  Philips reluctantly made the difficult decision to close the King’s Lynn factory, effectively sealing Dynatron’s fate. Production ceased in early 1980. However the Dynatron brand re-emerged under the name Roberts Radio and a range of music centres made by Loewe-Opta, a German Philips brand. They sold well and some are still for sale online today!

A Q&A session followed David’s presentation. There was considerable interest in some technical aspects and the products on show.

G0UPL, Hans Summer introduced the QCX CW transceiver kit story, design, development, and evolution in this forty-four minute video from the 2022 Convention.

Hans has a masterly grip on the technical side of design and development which led to this very successful product achieve sales of 18,472 units by October 2022, and still growing.  He said “the demand was beyond by wildest expectations”

The video is on YouTube, just search RSGB 2022 Convention, The QCX CW transceiver kit story