Hammarlund Mfg.Co.

The Hammarlund Manufacturing Company

 

Oscar Hammarlund started the Hammarlund Manufacturing Company in 1910. In the 1920´s the Company, through an affiliate, Hammarlund-Roberts, Inc., manufactured broadcast receivers, and  Hammarlund Mfg. Co. marketed components such as variable capacitors, coils and dials. The Hammarlund-Roberts name disappeared about 1932. The two Companies used the same address on West 33 ^rd Street in New York City .

Late in 1931 Hammarlund introduced the "Comet" receiver, perhaps the first superheterodyne communications receiver. They followed in the spring of 1932 with the improved "Comet Pro" model which continued in production, with variations, until 1935.

Design of the best known and long lived receiver in the Hammarlund line began in 1933. This was to be the ultimate Receiver and was originally called the "Comet Super Pro" but it eventually became simply the "Super Pro". Like National, Hammarlund took an uncompromising approach to receiver design. They used special custom built components. They designed a unique bandswitching system, special IF transformers, and a twelve gang tuning capacitor. Originally scheduled for release in early 1935, the receiver was not ready for delivery until mid-1936.

Hammarlund continuously updated the "Super Pro" and its descendents were in production until 1937. The original 1936 model was designated the SP-10 series. The SP-100 appeared in 1937, SP-200 in 1939, the SP-400 in 1946 and the SP600 in 1950.

Beginning in 1955 Hammarlund manufactured a full line of receivers, most of them bearing the HQ prefix. Only the above models are descendents of the HQ-120.

The only other notable Receiver in the Hammarlund line was the "Pro-310" which appeared briefly from 1955-57. It was a top-of-the-line receiver with a unique two dial tuning system. For unknown reasons its life was very short.

Time started running out for Hammarlund, as it did for the other communication receiver manufacturers, in the 1950´s and 1960´s. The Company introduced a solid-state ham receiver, the "HQ-215", in 1967 but it was not successful and they dropped out of the ham market after that althought continuing to sell the "HQ-180" and the "SP-600 until about 1973. The Hammarlund Name then disappeared from the scene after more than 60 years.

Hammarlund had begun transferring its manufacturing operations from New York City to Mars Hill , NC , in 1951 and completed the move in 1959. By 1965 all the management functions had also moved to Mars Hill. During its final two decades Hammarlund was sold a number of times. Telechrome purchased them in the late 1950´s and then sold to Giannini Scientific in 1962 and who in turn sold to Electronic Assistance Corporation in the late 1960´s.

Founder Oscar Hammarlund died in 1945. His son, Lloyd A Hammarlund, who had been actively managing the company since the early 1930´s, continued the family´s involvement. Stuart Meyer, W2GHK, a mobile two-way radio expert, guidet the company from 1960 to 1966.                                                                  

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