TW
Electronics 1958 - 2000
Introduction
The
first transmitter that I ever owned (when I was first
licensed as G8CME in early 1969) was bought from N.W. Electrics, the emporium of Fred G3MAX in Great Ancoats Street, Manchester. That
transmitter was a secondhand TW2, a crystal controlled valve AM
transmitter made by a company which, at the time that it was built, was
called T.Withers (Electronics) and which was located in Enfield ,
Middlesex. I also bought with it a brand new matching TW mains power supply
that
supplied the HT (around 250v DC) and the valve heaters.
In those days,
nearly all the equipment used on the two metre band was AM, with some
SSB (via transverters) and next to no FM. The Heathkit HW17, a
two metre transceiver, was just starting to make an appearance on
the scene. Transmitters like the TW2 were used mainly in conjunction
with a separate receiver and VHF converter, in my case an Eddystone
EB36 with a homebrew converter using an IF of 4-6MHz (I got every 2m
signal twice, the real one plus its image).
The photos below were taken
between 1970 and early 1972. I had stripped out the 'cardboard style'
parcel shelf from under the steering column of my Morris 1000 van and
replaced it with some 'conti' board with a dexion support on which I
could put the radio equipment. (thinking back, a lethal modification
which could have 'chopped me off by the stocking tops' in the event of
a major collision). The 20ft telescopic pole (ex WD copper plated steel
with locking rings) supported the beam, there was a 2m halo on the roof
and a top band whip on the off side front wing. The
TW2 was used at my (then) home location in Nelson, the photo on the right was taken at my
(then) /A location in Skelmersdale where I had an Eddystone EB35
receiver, 2m converter (on top of the RX), a Pye F27AM transmitter, an
R220 receiver for 4m and the obligatory class D wavemeter. The 2m beam
was fastened to a short pole (attached to the bed out of sight to the
left). The telephones were merely 'decorative'. Unfortunately, up to
now I have been unable to find any photographs of my TW2 set up at my
(then) home location.
The TW2 transmitter served
me well, even with it's Belling Lee aerial conectors as used on TV
sets. I had five or six different
crystals to plug into the crystal socket on the front, the appropriate
one of which could be readily selected so that I would be the
first signal the other station would find when tuning 'high to low' or
' low to high' (or in a contest where the other station had two
receivers 'both ends to the middle'). I honestly do
not remember exactly when I parted with the TW2 and PSU, but at some
stage it was traded in for something else, I think it was for either
the Sommerkamp FR100B amateur bands only receiver or the Liner 2 (2m
SSB transceiver). Certainly the only things that I kept, and still
have, were the
crystals.
Anyway, forty
years on, and here we are with a bit of 'nostalgia' setting in (as it
does as you get older). I remember my days on two metre AM
with
fondness. It was a 'fun' time, I learned a lot and I made a lot of
friends via two metres. For whatever reason, I started to think back to
those times and some of the TW equipment that, when I was younger, I
aspired to own, in particular the TW Communicator. So I tried the
'modern' approach of searching on the Internet for any details etc of
TW gear, and what did I find.........zilch, absolutely nothing.
Now I know
that by modern standards, TW gear is probably deaf, wide open etc etc,
but in its time it was the 'bee's knees' and to me, it seems
that it would be remiss if any trace of its history was allowed to
disappear. So I decided I would try to find what I could in the way of
equipment, photographs, articles, circuits, instruction sheets, company
history etc, and it is to that end I have created this simple
web-site. I am not a 'web page designer' hence
the simplicity of these pages.
There are many
people who have helped (and are still helping) with material and you
will find a list of them in the 'Credits' page, but one of the
main sources of information has been Tom Withers himself and I thank
him most profusely. I hope
that those of you who
remember TW equipment will find at least some of the
information
interesting.
Mike G4BLH
