Climax Engineering Co.
182, Church Street, Kensington, London SE (1923)

Climax Patents, Ltd.
182, Church Street, Kensington, London SE (1923)

Climax Radio Electric Ltd.
Quill Works, Quill Lane, Putney, London SW15. (1925)
Haverstock Works, Parkhill Road, Hampstead, London NW3. (1930)

Climax Engineering Co., Climax Patents, Ltd., and Climax Radio Electric Ltd. were three separate companies, but they were closely connected.

Climax Engineering Co. was founded in 1920 and was located at 182, Church Street, Kensington, SE.

Climax Patents, Ltd. was founded in 1923 and was also located at 182, Church Street, Kensington, SE.

Climax Radio Electric Ltd. was founded in 1925 and was located at Quill Works, Quill Lane, Putney, SW15.

The directors of Climax Patents, Ltd. were also the directors of Climax Radio Electric Ltd. This suggests that Climax Patents, Ltd. was a holding company for Climax Radio Electric Ltd., or that the two companies were sister companies.

Climax Engineering Co. advertised electrical parts and radio components for sale from 1920 until 1923. [1]

Climax Patents, Ltd. was registered as a private company on September 25, 1923, with First Directors, C. N Stave, W.B. Medlam, B.Sc., A.M.I.E.E., & R. M. Ellis A.M.I.E.E. [2]

Examples of the Climax brand products were on display at the various radio exhibitions as below.

1923: At the All-British Wireless Exhibition November 8th -21st, the company presented.

Climax Patents, Ltd., 182, Church Street, Kensington, S.E.

Stand No. 25.

 As a receiver of unique and original design, the Climax Mono valve is arranged to be as portable as a gramophone, low in cost, and the manufacturers claim that all broadcasting stations can be received on a folding frame aerial. Probably its strongest point will be that it is intended for use without an outside aerial, which to many users of wireless apparatus is the real bugbear, and to many who live in flats is an insurmountable obstacle. The operation of the set is simple, and as it is already provided with a frame aerial it is quite simple to tabulate the various adjustments before despatch. At the same time, it is easily portable, and for those who wish to use a loudspeaker, provision is made for the addition of a stage of low-frequency amplification. [3]

1925: At the N.A.R.M.A.T. Wireless Exhibition at the Albert Hall in September.

Climax Patents, Ltd., 182, Church Street, Kensington, S.E.

Stand No. 35.

Climax Receiving Sets. All tuning coils are contained inside the cabinet., anti-phonic valve holders are fitted, and an attractive finish is obtained by good cabinet work and nickel-plated fittings. Tuning is effected by a single knob controlling a variometer and to which reaction can be applied by an independent adjustment. Each valve has a separate filament control, and the resistance is constructed to permit the use of either dull or bright emitter valves. The normal wavelength range is 300 to 500 metres, though the tuning and reaction coils, which are readily accessible through a door provided in the cabinet, can be removed as one unit and replaced in a few seconds by a tuner for reception on 1,600 metres and other wavelengths as required.
The entire range of Climax sets includes a crystal receiver, a single-valve portable, for which an amplifier unit is supplied, Climax popular two, three and four-valve sets, also two, three, and four-valve sets in De Luxe models, a superheterodyne receiver and a wave trap. [4]

Climax Radio Electric Ltd. was registered as a private company on July 4, 1925, with life Directors, P. W. Baker, C. N Stave, & R. M. Ellis A.M.I.E.E. [5]

1928: At the Olympia Radio Exhibition in August.

Climax Stand 80

 Most of the Climax components remain unaltered, but there are several additions including a special HF choke kit, a new LF transformer and output choke, and an addition to the range of Chello loudspeakers.

The HF choke kit is for use in the Mullard Master Five and comprises two distinct Climax chokes specially wound and packed in separate cartons.

The transformer (Type LFA) is recommended for use in Mullard Master III and is priced at 25s.

The Climax capital Choke is suitable for LF coupling or filter feed output circuits and has an impedance of 40 henries with a DC resistance of 500 Ω. The continuous current rating is 50 mA maximum and the price is 8s.

As the name implies the Bijon Chello is a smaller edition to the Cromwell and De Luxe models. Terminals are provided so that the windings may be connected either in series or parallel to match the impedance of the output circuit. The price is £2 8s in oak and £2 18s in Mahogany. [6]

Climax Radio Electric Ltd. moved to Haverstock Works, Parkhill Road, Hampstead, London NW3 in circa1929. [7]

1934: At the Olympia Radio Exhibition in August.

CLIMAX RADIO ELECTRIC, LTD.

 STAND No. 56

A complete range of receivers is shown by Messrs. Climax, and in both circuit design and cabinet work they are extremely up-to-date. The double tuning escutcheon on some of the models strikes a new note, and the 4-valve Class B receiver attracts the battery user and shows that the battery set can still be made a most useful proposition. [8]

Richard Milward Ellis, M.I.E.E., and Percy William Baker were the directors of Climax Radio Electric Ltd. in 1937.

Ellis was a well-known figure in the British radio industry. He was a co-founder of Pye Radio Ltd. in 1927 and served as the company's joint managing director until 1937. He was also a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (I.E.E.) and was awarded the M.I.E.E. (Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers) designation in 1933.

Baker was a less well-known figure, but he was also an experienced businessman. He was the founder and managing director of the Baker Electrical Company, which was a manufacturer of electrical components.

The fact that Ellis and Baker were the directors of Climax Radio Electric Ltd. suggests that the company was a serious player in the British radio industry. Ellis's experience at Pye Radio Ltd. would have been invaluable to Climax Radio Electric Ltd., and Baker's experience in the electrical components industry would have given the company a competitive advantage. [9]

In 1937, Climax Radio Electric Ltd. was placed in voluntary liquidation. This means that the company's directors decided to wind up the company and sell its assets. The company's assets were sold to Pye Radio Ltd., and Climax Radio Electric Ltd. ceased to exist.

[1] Wireless World Aug 19, 1922, Page xxiii.
[2] Electrical Review Oct 5, 1923, Page 508.
[3] Wireless World Nov 21, 1923, Page 264.
[4] Wireless World Sep 9, 1925, Page 324.
[5] Electrical Review Jul 17, 1925, page 107.
[6] Wireless World Sep 28, 1928, Page 410.
[7] Wireless World May 15, 1929, Page 512.
[8] Practical Wireless World Aug 25, 1934, Page 675.
[9] Broadcaster Trade Annual, 1937, Pages 24 & 28.