Telefunken is a German radio and television company, founded in 1903, in Berlin, as a joint venture of two large companies, Siemens & Halske (S & H) and the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (General Electricity Company). The name "Telefunken" appears in:
- the product brand name "Telefunken";
- AEG subsidiary as Telefunken GmbH in 1955;
- AEG subsidiary as Telefunken AG in 1963;
- company merged as AEG-Telefunken (1967–1985);
- the company "Telefunken USA" (2001). Now Telefunken Elektroakustik (2009)
- the company "Telefunken semiconductor GmbH & Co KG" Heilbronn Germany (2009).
The company "Telefunken USA" (www.telefunkenusa.com) was incorporated in early 2001 to provide restoration services and build reproductions of vintage Telefunken microphones.
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Description
On the initiative of Kaiser Wilhelm II, in 1903 the Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) and Siemens & Halske AG jointly founded the Gesellschaft für drahtlose Telegraphie System Telefunken - better known as Telefunken. This was a political reaction to the developments in radio technology that were in progress in Great Britain.
In 1911, Kaiser Wilhelm II sent Telefunken engineers to West Sayville, New York to erect three 600-foot (180-m) radio towers there. Nikola Tesla assisted in the construction. A similar station was erected in Nauen, creating the only wireless communication between North America and Europe.
After World War I, Telefunken engineers laid the foundation for the introduction of radio in Germany (1923). In the 1930s, Telefunken was substantially involved in the development of electronic television.
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").
In 1967, Telefunken was merged with AEG, which was then renamed to AEG-Telefunken. During this era, Walter Bruch developed the PAL color television for the company, in use by most countries outside the Americas today.
When AEG was bought by Daimler in 1985, "Telefunken" was dropped from the company name. The brand name "Telefunken" is still marketed by Daimler in Europe.
By founding the firm, S&H and AEG combined their knowledge and activities in civilian navigation to develop military and intercontinental transmission of news radio, which marked the beginning of the age of radio and communications technology. Starting in 1923, Telefunken built broadcast transmitters and radio sets. In 1932, record players were added to the product line. During the Second World War Telefunken was a supplier of vacuum tubes, transmitters and radio relay systems, and developed radar facilities and directional finders, aiding the war efforts of the Third Reich. During the war, manufacturing plants were shifted to and developed in West 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 had substantial successes in these markets during the time of self-sufficiency and also later in the AEG company.
The economic difficulties of AEG forced a separation of business units, the participation third in divisions and/or the later sales starting from approximately 1970. Particularly due to AEG's settlement proceedings (August 1982 to October 1984), substantial core spheres of activity were delivered. Some spheres of activity of Telefunken have resumed successfully in follow-up enterprises, others have been readjusted completely.
In 2000, Toni Roger Fishman acquired The Diamond Shaped Logo & The Telefunken Brand Name for use in North America. The company "Telefunken USA" [1] was incorporated in early 2001 to provide restoration services and build 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, the and 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.
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.
May, 2009 — Telefunken USA recently returned from Frankfurt, Germany, where they attended a meeting of the Telefunken worldwide Partner Alliance. Telefunken Holding AG, the umbrella company that controls the worldwide rights to the Telefunken trademark outside of the United States. Participants in the conference included Telefunken licensees from Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, various East European countries, Russia, Israel, Middle and Far East. Telefunken Holding AG CEO Hemjö Klein, former board member of Lufthansa Airlines, hosted the meeting.
As a result of this conference, Telefunken USA has been Re Named Telefunken Elektroakustik (translation: 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 Trade Mark, in over 27 countries worldwide. Telefunken Elektroakustik now uses the Telefunken trademark for Professional Audio Equipment & Component Based Electronics, such as Capacitors, Transformers, Vacuum Tubes in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Telefunken Elektroakustik has been an integral part of the revitalization of the distinguished legacy of the Telefunken organization. The company has played an instrumental role in revitalizing the Telefunken brand as a worldwide icon of innovation, encompassing an over 105-year history of quality design and marketing of Vacuum Tubes, Professional Audio and Musical Instrument products http://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/
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Business fields
In the works of Telefunken and in the departments changed over to AEG-Telefunken, an extensive product spectrum of devices and systems was developed and produced 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:
- Analogue computer
- 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
- Semiconductor, 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 receiver
- Vacuum Tubes
- Radio relay link and satellite technology
- Records
- Sending and receipt tubes, travelling field tubes, color image tubes
- Transmitter for broadcast and television, DAB transmitter
- Speech recognition
- Telephone, long-distance traffic, cable technology
Locations and manufacturing plants
Into the 1930s years, production was made after a distributor in the workshops of the two parent companies. The company headquarters was in Berlin Kreuzberg, Hallesches Ufer 30 (1918-37).
Starting from 1938, manufacturing and developing plants were concentrated at the new headquarter (until 1945) in Berlin Zehlendorf, Goerzallee.
During the Second World War, there were further manufacturing plants in the Berlin area, in Thuringia, Saxonia, Mähren, Schlesien, on Rügen. In addition, in occupied areas of the Baltic and in Poland at Tallinn, Riga, Krakau, floats and Łódź works were established also with forced laborers. The tube mill Łódź was shifted in 1944 with the staff from Ulm.
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After the Second World War, new firm locations for development and production were established. First the company headquarters was Berlin-Schöneberg, Maxstr. 8 (1945-48), then Berlin-Kreuzberg, Mehringdamm 32-34 (1948-52); Berlin-Moabit, Sickingenstr. 71 (1952-60), Berlin Charlottenburg, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 7 (1960-67).
Production in:
- Backnang: Long-distance communications and cable technology
- Berlin-Moabit, Sickingenstr. 20-26: Broadcast and television transmitters, mobile communications
- Berlin-Moabit, Sickingenstr. 71: Tubes
- Berlin-Reinickendorf, Schwedenstr.: Phono and tape decks
- Eiweiler: High-frequency engineering
- Hanover, Göttinger Chaussee 76: Broadcast and television sets
- Heilbronn: Semiconductor, circuits, solar cells, infrared modules
- Konstanz: Computer technology, letter sorting systems, character recognition technology, air traffic control systems, Studio tape decks, cash dispensing machines
- Offenburg: Long-distance communications technology
- Ulm, Danube valley: Television picture tubes
- Ulm, Elisabethenstrasse: Radar, Radiolocation, detection equipment, speech and radio data transmission systems, Research Centre
- Ulm, Söflinger Strasse: Tubes
- Wolfenbüttel: Electroacoustics
Company history
Around the turn of the 19th century, two groups of German researchers worked on the development of techniques for wireless communication. The one group at AEG, led by Adolf Slaby and George Graf von Arco, developed systems for the German navy; the other one, under Karl Ferdinand Braun, at Siemens, for the German army.
When a dispute concerning patents arose between the two companies, Kaiser Wilhelm II merged the companies. On his command, both companies created, on 27 May 1903, the company The Company for Wireless Telegraphy Ltd., and the disputed patents and techniques were invested in it. This was then renamed on 17 April 1923 as Telefunken, The Company for Wireless Telegraphy. Telefunken was the company's telegraph address. The first technical director of Telefunken was George Graf von Arco.
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 which began a chapter in recording history. Over time, Telefunken perfected their designs and in 1950 the V-72 amplifier was born. The TAB (a manufacturing subcontractor to Telefunken) V-72 soon became popular with other radio stations and recording facilities and would eventually come to help define the sound of most European recordings. The V-72S was the only type of amplifier found in the legendary REDD-37 console used by the Beatles at Abbey Road Recording Studios on every recording prior to Rubber Soul. Today the V-72 is still the most sought after example of Telefunken's design and over 50 years later continues to be the benchmark by which all other tube based microphone preamplifiers are measured.
In the Second World War, Telefunken was a prominent supplier of radar devices. Telefunken was for many decades, through the subsidiary company Teldec (a joint venture with Decca Records 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 approximately 2500 people worked here .
The models TR 4 and TR 440 computers were developed at Telefunken, in Konstanz , and were in use at many German university computing centres in the years 1970 to nearly 1985. The development and manufacture of large computers was separated in 1974 to the Konstanz Computer Company (CGK). The production of mini- and process computers was integrated into the automatic control engineering division of AEG.
In the year 2005, Telefunken SenderSysteme Berlin AG changed its name to Transradio of SenderSysteme Berlin AG. The history of the name "Transradio" can be traced back to 1918. The Transradio company had obtained world-wide recognition in 1919 by introducting duplex radio communications. Transradio has specialized in research, development and construction of TO, VHF/CFM and DRM transmitters.
In August 2006, it acquired the Turkish company Profilo Telra, one of the largest European manufacturers of TV-devices, with Telefunken GmbH granting a license for the Telefunken trademark rights and producing televisions under that name.
Notes
References
- M. Friedewald: Telefunken and the German ship radio 1903–1914. In: Magazine for enterprise history 46. No. 1, 2001, P. 27-57.
- M. Fox: George von Arco (1869–1940) - engineer, Pazifist, technical director von Telefunken. A Erfinderbiographie. Publishing house for history of the natural sciences and the technology, Berlin and Munich Diepholz, 2003.
- L. And Scholl: Marconi versus Telefunken: Drathlose telegraphy and their meaning for shipping. In: G. Bayerl, W. weber (Hrsg.): Social history of the technology. Ulrich Troitz to 60. Birthday. Waxmann, Münster 1997 (Cottbuser studies to the history of technology, work and environment, 7).
- Telefunken transmitter technology GmbH: 90 years Telefunken. Berlin, 1993.
- E. Thiele (Hrsg.): Telefunken after 100 years: The inheritance of a German world brand. Nicolai, Berlin, 2003.
- Pure hard small Arendt: The radio station Nauen with Berlin. In: Ulrich van the Heyden, Joachim Zeller (Hg.) „… Power and portion of the world domination. “Berlin and the German colonialism. Unrast publishing house. Münster 2005, ISBN 3-89771-024-2.
External links
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