PYE Museum Homepage The Story of Pye
1896 to
The history of the Pye Group of Companies in scientific & analytical instruments, radio & line communications, broadcasting, domestic radio & TV and industrial electronics from 1896 to the present day
The virtual museum of the Pye History Trust - Celebrating Britain’s Scientific & Industrial Heritage
 
Vehicle Mounted Mobiles
 
Introduction

Note 1. The chronological order is approximate, due to the time overlaps of various design programs

Note 2. This list summarises the standard product ranges, and does not include (the many) customer specific variations

Please note: The chronological order is approximate


PTC102/103 Mobile (1946)
PTC102  
PTC102 complete system
 
 

Although this equipment was not the absolute first Pye Telecom product, it was the Company’s first generation of commercial business two-way radio transmitter & receivers. The family of Amplitude Modulated (AM) equipment was designed between 1944 - 1946 and first publicised in November 1946. The British Home Office was the first user of the PTC102/103 equipments for Police patrol cars in 1946. A matching base station was designed at the same time (PTC104-105-106) and also a series of point-to-point VHF link equipment.

The mobile equipment was remote mounted and consisted of four main units on a shock absorbing cradle. These were receiver, transmitter, modulator/public address amplifier and power supply unit. The first three units were mounted on top of the power supply. The individual units used the type number series PTC500 & 600 etc. A choice of operator remote control units were available, a large one with an internal loudspeaker for use with a hand microphone and a smaller one for use with a telephone handset. The mechanical construction of the radio units used silver plated brass chassis, the equipment exterior was finished in black wrinkle paint finish, and utilised a microphone similar to that of the war-time Wireless Sets No. 18 (also designed by Pye). See the large loudspeaker control box at right.

The product was replaced by the PTC114/115.
PTC102 Large control unit  
PTC102 large control box

 

  • Production life:1946 - 1950
  • Standard frequency range:77 - 83 MHz and 94 - 100 MHz, (27 - 125 MHz by special order)
  • Transmitter RF output:12 Watts AM
  • Primary model variants:PTC102 simplex operation, PTC103 duplex operation, 6 Volt and 12 Volt
     versions, range of control units
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:Available as pdf

 


PTC107 (1946)
PTC107  
PTC107 complete system
 

The PTC107 was a first generation VHF Marine Mobile based on the same modules also used in the PTC102/3, and was the first licensed business two-way radio system in the United Kingdom. The PTC107 equipments were installed in a fleet of tugs on the river Tyne before the first land mobile radio system was licensed using the PTC102 for Camtax Taxis in Cambridge.

The marine equipment was constructed in a flat, shock protected bulkhead mounting case, and used a waterproof remote control unit type PTC534 with separate loudspeaker and telephone handset.

The equipment was also suitable for mounting in locomotives and was installed in British Rail shunting engines using a custom die-cast protective outer casing.

The product was replaced by the PTC114/115 and later by the Marine Ranger series.

 

  • Production life:1946 - 1950
  • Standard frequency range:77 - 83 MHz and 94 - 100 MHz, (27 - 125 MHz by special order)
  • Transmitter RF output:12 Watts AM simplex only
  • Primary model variants:6 Volt and 12 Volt versions
  • Product sales leaflet:
  • Technical manual extract:Available, to follow

 


PTC108 (1948)
PTC108 (1948)  
PTC108 unit & handset
 

The PTC108 was Pye Telecom’s first under-dash mounting mobile, and one of the very first under-dash mounted equipments in the world. It used the same first generation technology as the PTC102/3/4.

Discussions in October 2002 with the original designer reveals that the first prototype radio was unofficially created in 1948 during an unplanned lull in work on the Pye Instrument Landing System (ILS), by taking the receiver unit from the PTC102, building a low powered transmitter on a small chassis beside it, and adding a psu using a small rotary transformer. When the commercial potential was realised a simple front panel and a sheet steel wrapper were drawn up, some simple controls added and the first Pye Telecom VHF PMR mobile to be finished in Dimenso Blue paint was born.

See internal top side and underside views. Unlike the PTC102, this was a simplex-only equipment, operating on a press-to-talk basis and using a telephone handset instead of a hand microphone. The example equipment pictured above has components dated June 1950.

The product was replaced by the PTC116 Reporter Series.

 

  • Production life:1948 - 1952
  • Standard frequency range:27 - 132 MHz
  • Transmitter RF output:3 - 5 Watts AM
  • Primary model variants:Transportable version, extended control version, mains powered version, 6 Volt and 12 Volt DC versions
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:Available as pdf

 


PTC114 & PTC115 (1949)
PTC114  
PTC114 units in cradle
 

The Pye PTC114 & 115 series was a product replacement for the PTC102, providing remote mount operation and fairly high RF power output of 15 Watt. It was designed before the lower powered PTC112 shown below and intended to meet the new British Home Office specifications for Police mobiles. This was the second generation mobile radio technology.

The PTC102/3 first generation mobile equipment was of expensive silver-plated construction and also used war surplus components, which ultimately began to reduce in availability. Also, the future requirement for a reduction in channel spacing from 100 KHz to 50 KHz required higher selectivity and greater component stability. As a result, this second generation two-way radio technology platform was designed between 1947 and 1950.

The PTC114/115 equipment consists of two separate transmitter and receiver units, both mounted as plug-in modules on to a pre-wired cradle assembly. Each separate transmitter and receiver unit has a rotary transformer for HT generation as shown in this interior top view.

In 1953, a PTC115 high-band equipment was fitted into the Ford Zephyr car of HRH Prince Philip and later into the De Havilland Heron aircraft of the Queen's Flight. In 1954 the equipment was re-fitted into HRH’s Aston Martin Lagonda.

The product was replaced by the PTC2201/2 Ranger Fifteen Series 15 Watt remote mounts.

 

  • Production life:1949 - 1956
  • Standard frequency range:PTC114, 60 - 100 MHz, PTC115, 100 - 185 MHz
  • Transmitter RF output:10 -15 Watts AM
  • Primary model variants:6, 12 or 24 Volt DC operation, 1 or 2 channel operation, PTC114Z-115Z later version using QQV03/20A PA valve.
  • Product sales leaflet:Extract available as pdf
  • Technical manual extract:

 


PTC112-113 (1950)
PTC112  
PTC112 with control box
 

The PTC112/113 was a second generation, low powered, 1 Watt AM, single unit remote mount equipment. It was supplied with a simple control box/loudspeaker and telephone handset similar to the PTC114 above but not fitted with an on/off switch for the loud-hailer function provided by the modulator section of the PTC114.

PTC112 prototype  
PTC112 prototype unit

The PTC112 was developed by Martyn O’Dwyer in 1949 and the product started production in early 1950. Effectively, the PTC112/113 is the PTC114 receiver unit designed by George Smith, with a low power transmitter mounted on the same chassis. Early internal photographs of prototypes show the hand-made modifications to a PTC114 chassis. See photograph of prototype to the right.

It was intended as a lower cost equipment than its contemporary, the higher power PTC114/115, and directed at commercial users rather than Government Agencies and Police, who were the target audience for the PTC114/115. The PTC112/113 remote mount mobile was fitted to the car used by Donald Campbell to set the land speed record.

The PTC112 equipment pictured above left has components dated October 1951 and is shown with the control box from a PTC114. See internal top side and underside views.

The product was replaced by the PTC2201/2 Ranger Series 5 Watt remote mounts.

 

  • Production life:1950 - 1956
  • Standard frequency range:PTC112, 27 - 132 MHz, PTC113, 156 - 184 MHz
  • Transmitter RF output:PTC112, 4 -5 Watts AM, PTC113, 3 -5 Watts AM
  • Primary model variants:Wide and narrow IF bandwidth versions, 6 Volt and 12 Volt DC versions
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:Extract available as pdf

 


PTC116-117 Reporter Series (1951)
PTC116 Reporter  
PTC116 Reporter
 

A long running series of low power, front mounted AM mobiles first promoted in July 1951. The Pye Reporter was introduced to provide a low cost, front mounted radiotelephone using the second generation technology platform, and sold for the price of £80 throughout its life.

As with the PTC112, the chassis layout bore a strong similarity to the PTC114 receiver unit, but with the addition of a low power transmitter. See top side and underside views. Unlike the PTC112 and PTC114, the Reporter did not use a rotary transformer to generate the valve HT voltages, but used a vibrator PSU to convert the 12 Volt DC supply to AC.

A great many variants of the Reporter were created over its long production life time. The core product was a single channel front mount. However, 1, 3 and 6 channel variants were also produced by the Pye Finglas Dublin factory, together with the AM5D; a later version with a transistorised power supply. The equipment also had a long production life at Pye Australia throughout the 1950s.

A specially adapted Pye Reporter was fitted to Donald Campbell’s boat ‘Bluebird’ in September 1956 when he set the world water-speed record of 225.63 MPH. Transportable Reporters were used on the various boats monitoring the speed run and also on the shore.

The sample equipment shown above has components dated 1953.

The product was replaced by the AM5D Transistor Reporter. See comparison photo.

 

  • Production life:1951 - 1965
  • Standard frequency range:32.5 - 184 MHz in 13 different frequency bands
  • Transmitter RF output:1 - 2.5 Watts
  • Primary model variants:PTC6/116/117 - 6 channel
     PTC118/119 - mains/DC powered
     PTC126/127 - transportable
     PTC128/129 - ??
     PTC136/137 - motorcycle
     PTC718/719 - ??
     PTC116/7029 - Pye Partridge rack mounting 60 - 100 MHz 24 Volt DC aircraft version
     PTC170 - PTC116/7 with transistorised PSU
     Reporter versions with suffix X in type number use a fist microphone instead of the original telephone handset.
  • Product sales leaflet:Extract available as pdf
  • Technical manual extract:Not currently available

 


PTC2000/8000 Ranger Series (1955)
PTC8000 Ranger front mount unit  
PTC8000 front mount
 

The Pye Ranger introduced the third generation of mobile and fixed station circuit design, and evolved into a very large product family which included AM, FM, front mount, short remote, long remote mounted versions, and marine equipment. This third generation design was suitable for all channel spacings between 20 KHz and 120 KHz, which enabled the Company to supply it to a wide range of international type approval specifications, including the difficult Canadian market. The front mount Ranger was initially designated as the PTC143, and the series type number designation later changed to PTC2000 series for AM and PTC8000 series for FM.

PTC2000 25W Remote  
PTC2000 25W remote unit

Each equipment was made up of 3 individual sub-chassis (receiver, transmitter & PSU) which allowed great flexibility and enabled a matching fixed station equipment to be developed from the common chassis assemblies. This construction can be more easily seen in the large 25 Watt boot mount version, shown right and with the cover removed. See also 25 Watt remote with control unit. It is interesting to note that as late as 1962 the Ranger and F27AM fixed stations were still being fitted with the old wartime ‘Pye coaxial connectors’.

The smaller 5 Watt remote mount version is also shown below right. Also see internal top side and underside views.

PTC2000 5W Remote  
PTC2000 5W remote unit

The 5 Watt remote and front versions were replaced by the Cambridge series and the 25 Watt remote and front versions by the Vanguard series and the Continental.

 

  • Production life:1955 - 1963
  • Standard frequency range:25 - 174 MHz in 9 bands
  • Transmitter RF output:5 Watts AM, 15 Watts AM, 25 Watts AM, 10 Watts FM, 25 Watts FM
  • Primary model variants:PTC2001/2, PTC2107, PTC2201/2, PTC2207,
     PTC8001/2, PTC8101/2,
     PTC2022, PTC2012,
     PTC143/PTC2002YN,
     PTC8001/2, PTC8007, PTC8207, PTC8302, PTC8306,
     RNN ZOK 01/00 (Netherlands Navy)
  • Product sales leaflet:Model PTC2001/2: Extract available as pdf
  • Technical manual extract:Not yet available

 


AM25/FM25 Vanguard Series (1962)
AM25B Vanguard  
AM25B Vanguard
 

The Pye Vanguard was a family of high power remote mount mobiles and was the first of the fourth generation of mobiles which included the Cambridge series. The design used a sealed block LC filter for receiver IF selectivity, as opposed to using distributed interstage band pass filtering by transformers. See internal top side and underside views of an AM25B valve receiver version.

The Vanguard was originally designed to meet a requirement specification issued by the UK Home Office. Pye won the contract with the PT B10AM design which started production in 1962, and following the success of the product, a range of standard commercial versions were created. See the pictorial ‘Story of the Vanguard’ in the Photo Gallery section.

The initial PT B10AM and AM25B models were valve designs with transistors used in the audio and power supply circuits. The later AM25T and FM25T versions used the same fully transistorised receivers as the Cambridge AM10/FM10 series. Transmit powers of 20 Watts AM and 60 or 100 Watts FM were available. A 30 Watt UHF FM version, the U30FM, was also produced.

The product family was first introduced as the PT B10AM, PT B25AM, PT B25FM and PT B100FM, but was later renamed Vanguard AM25B, AM25T and FM25B. The designation B100FM remained for the 100 Watt version. Various marine variants were introduced, as was a fixed station version in a distinctive green cabinet.

The Vanguard product was partly replaced by the Westminster W25FM and W30AM series remote mounts, but the Company did not produce high power RF output mobiles again until the 100 Watt PMR2 model of the early 1970s, and the 50 Watt M206 of the late 1970s.

 

  • Production life:1962 - 1970
  • Standard frequency range:VHF 25 - 174 MHz, UHF 450 - 470 MHz
  • Transmitter RF output:AM25T 20 Watts, FM25B 60 Watts, B100FM 100 Watts
  • Primary model variants:B10AM, AM25B, AM25T, FM25B, B100FM, U30FM, VM, etc.
  • Product sales leaflet:Extract available as pdf
  • Technical manual extract:Not yet available

 


AM5D Transistor Reporter (1963)
AM5D Transistor Reporter  
AM5D Transistor Reporter
 

The AM5D Transistor Reporter was a small front mount mobile, and in technology terms was a cross between the PTC116 Reporter, the PTC2001 Ranger and the AM10D Cambridge and was mainly sold in the Republic of Eire. It was initially given the type number P.T. D-15 which was then changed to AM5D.

The product was designed and manufactured by the Pye subsidiary Telecommunications, Finglas, Dublin, who produced a wide range of Pye Telecom equipments from antennas to test equipment to high power transmitters, etc.

The product used valve technology for the receiver and transmitter, and had a transistorised power supply. The receiver circuits would appear to have been taken from the Ranger PTC2001, the transmitter from the PTC116 Reporter and the DC-DC inverter power supply from the Cambridge. The product pictured here has the serial number 000022.

See comparison photo with the Cambridge front mount.

 

  • Production life:Withdrawn from the Pye Telecom UK sales catalogue in 1965
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:Not yet available

 


AM10/FM10 Cambridge Series (1963)
Cambridge  
AM10D front mount
 

The Pye Cambridge series of front mount and boot mounted equipments was a very successful family of fourth generation mixed technology equipment design, with all solid state receivers and valve transmitters giving RF power outputs of 5, 15, and 25 Watts. See internal top side and underside views. Initially designated the PT. D10 AM, the type number was changed to AM10D etc. in 1963. The higher power "Pye Continental" FM models BC25 and DC25 were originally given the designation B20FM and D20FM. A UHF remote mount was also created, based on the low-band version but equipped with an extra receive down-converter with made the receiver a triple superhet.

Cambridge  
FM10D remote mount

The transistorised receiver designed for the Cambridge series was widely used in both the higher powered Vanguard family, and also in the matching fixed station receivers of the time.

The product was replaced by the Westminster series of AM and FM front and remote mounts.

 

  • Production life:1961 - 1970
  • Standard frequency range:25 - 174 MHz in 10 frequency bands
  • Transmitter RF output:Cambridge, 5-7 Watts AM, 15 Watts FM,
     Continental, 25 Watts FM
  • Primary model variants:AM10B, AM10D, AM10P, AM10MC, FM10B, FM10D, FM10P, FM10MC, U10B, BC25, DC25, etc.
  • Product sales leaflet:model AM10D: Extract available as pdf
  • Technical manual extract:Not yet available

 


W15/W20/W25/W30 Westminster Series (1967)
W15 Westminster  
Westminster front mount
 

The Westminster was the the fifth generation mobile technology platform since 1947 and a major family of all-transistor PMR mobiles (except the PA valve of the W30). First introduced in 1967, the Westminster was claimed to be the worlds first all-semiconductor PMR mobile, and more than 120,000 were produced.

The standard range covered AM and FM VHF models in front mount, remote mount, transportable, marine, motorcycle and universal mounting versions, plus various ancillaries such as battery chargers, power supplies, carrying cases etc.

The equipment construction although hard-wired, was essentially modular, using small PCBs for each of the main circuit functions mounted on a double sided aluminium platform chassis. Many common PCB and circuits were shared with the fixed stations of the time. See internal top side and underside views of an AM Westminster short remote mount. The product also marked the change in product colour scheme from Dimenso blue hammer finish paint to a blue/grey textured acrylic.

In addition to the range of standard VHF 6-15 Watt front and remote mounting equipments shown above, other higher power or specialist versions also evolved, including the W25FM, W30AM, LW15FM radiophone, W15U and W20U UHF. These models all utilised a longer chassis and mounting cradle than the standard short VHF models.

The product was replaced by the M200 Olympic series of AM and FM front and remote mounts, which overlapped in production dates.

 

  • Production life:1967 - 1978
  • Standard frequency range:25 - 174 MHz, (Pye A, B, C, P, E, G, H bands),
     402 - 435 MHz (T3),
     450 - 470 MHz (U) A, B,
  • Transmitter RF output:W15FM - 15 Watts
  • Primary model variants:W15AM & W15FM VHF, W15U & W20U UHF, W25FM, W30AM, LW15FM etc
  • Product sales leaflet:model W15FM DS: Extract available as pdf
  • Technical manual extract:Not yet available

 


W20AM/FM Whitehall
W20AM/FM Whitehall  
W20AM/FM Whitehall remote mount
 

The W20AM/FM Whitehall was an AM/FM remote mount mobile initially created for the British Home Office at a time when some British County Police Forces used AM transmission and others used FM transmission. The Whitehall allowed UK police vehicles to communicate with the local network infrastructure in any county when operating away from their home area. The W20 equipment was subsequently purchased by the Ministry of Defence for use by the RAF and for various other projects such as nuclear weapons convoys etc.

The equipment was based on the Westminster design printed circuit boards but used a different and larger chassis, lids and mounting cradle and generated slightly higher transmit power. The control box was also a dedicated design.

See internal top side and underside views.

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


VHF-UHF Repeater
VHF-UHF Repeater  
VHF-UHF Repeater
 

A Westminster series configuration of two remote mount mobiles, one simplex VHF and one duplex UHF, to provide a flexible cross-band mobile repeater station. Four separate operating modes were available: -

1. Automatic 2-way talk-through between VHF and UHF systems
2. Manually controlled UHF duplex base station using just the UHF set
3. Normal simplex VHF operation
4. UHF on-site automatic talk-through using just the duplex UHF set.

Originally designed to a UK Home Office specification for Police communications, the system combined the features of the VHF and UHF equipments into one installation using a common control unit and telephone handset. This system was first configured using the W20AM/FM Whitehall mobile as the VHF equipment and a duplex W15U as the UHF equipment. Later, the system was also available using the W25FM as the VHF equipment.

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:UHF 5 Watts, VHF 20 Watts AM/FM using Whitehall equipment or
     30 Watts FM using W25FM equipment
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:
  • Technical manual extract:

 


MF5AM Motafone (1972)
MF5AM Motafone  
MF5AM Motafone
 

The MF5AM Motafone was a single product, lightweight, low cost, all-transistor AM mobile, designed primarily for the UK market, and was the forerunner to the FM Europa series. This sixth generation technology mobile product introduced the use of integrated circuits and reduced the component count compared to the Westminster. It was designed to be a limited feature front mount only product, positioned below the AM Westminster, at a time when cheaper competing products were taking market share from Pye Telecom.

The construction used an aluminium chassis with a separate vinyl-clad sleeve wrapper and front panel. An internal loudspeaker was fitted and the audio output power was limited. See internal top side and underside views.

The product was replaced by the MF6AM Reporter AM front mount. Comparison image to follow.

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:68 - 88 MHz (E band), 118 - 136 MHz (C band), 138 - 141/105 - 108 MHz (Mid band, 148 - 174 MHz (A band)
  • Transmitter RF output:2.5 Watts
  • Primary model variants:Pye Pilot, aircraft band version for gliders etc.
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


MF5FM/MF25FM/MF5U Europa Series (1971)
MF5FM Europa  
MF5FM Europa
 

A medium scope family of low cost, all-transistor FM mobiles, positioned in the market below the FM Westminster. It was a front-mount only product - although transportable and desk-top PSU mounted versions were also produced.Europa publicity photograph 1972

Porsche mounted  
Europa mounted in 1967 Porsche 911S

The Europa family was part of a drive to lower the costs of Pye Telecom equipment by reducing the number of printed circuit boards and also the amount of interconnect wiring between them. Along with the MF5AM, this sixth generation technology series increased the packing density of components compared to the Westminster, and introduced the use of integrated circuits into Pye Telecom mobiles.

The construction used three aluminium die-cast pieces to form the two sides and rear panel of the case, with sheet steel top and bottom covers plus a sheet steel front panel coated with thick vinyl-clad padding as a safety feature. See internal view showing the receiver PCB and the transmitter PCB.

These FM products were initially called "Motafone" along with the UK MF5AM product, but the MF5FM, MF25FM and MF5U were quickly renamed Europa to signify their wider international market suitability and targeting.

A wall mounted fixed station was later derived from the series, and the original MK1 version of the first UK Amateur VHF repeater GB3PI was based on two MF25FM circuit boards.

The product was replaced by the M290 series of AM and FM front mounts.

 

  • Production life:1971 - ?
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:
  • Technical manual extract:Available, to follow

 


PMR2FM (1971)
PMR2FM  
PMR2FM with later control box and speaker
 

The PMR2FM was a single product high power (100 Watts) remote mount FM transceiver, manufactured in a limited range of frequency bands. It was designed expressly for the non-European export market, to compete against equipments such as the Motorola Micor. The Micor featured very high transmit power transmitter, and also had a receiver with very high intermodulation protection and adjacent channel selectivity.

The PMR2FM equipment used a hybrid main mother board with some plug-in daughter boards. The electronics were all mounted between two die cast aluminium covers, the lower of which also acted as the transmitter heat sink. Many of the circuits and constructional techniques were the forerunners of the FM Olympic series. See internal top view.

During the early 1970s, when the Pye Ditton Works Newmarket Road site was full to bursting point, various sections from the development laboratories were spun off to external locations. The PMR2FM equipment was designed by the newly created FM Mobile Lab, one of these ‘Boutique’ Labs first established at the old Ekco Southend factory and led by Hugh Hamilton (of AM10 Cambridge and W15 Westminster fame). Later, this group moved to Gloucester Street, Cambridge and became Mobile Lab 4, where it designed the M202 and M212 FM Olympics, the M252 Pegasus, the M206 remote mount, and later at St. Andrews Road the first of the MX290 series mobiles, the MX294.

The PMR2 product was partially replaced by the 40-50 Watt M206 remote mount simplex version.

NOTE: Due to human error, the equipment above was photographed with the wrong loudspeaker unit (a later M206 10 Watt speaker which used the same moulding tool but a different colour and a different LS drive unit). The PMR2 loudspeaker units were moulded in blue and not black. The control box shown is also a later prototype used for Lab testing of the M206A.

 

  • Production life:1971 - 1978
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:100 Watts
  • Primary model variants:Remote mount only
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


M200 Olympic/Beaver Series (1973)
M202 Olympic FM  
M202FM front mount
 

A major family of crystal controlled seventh generation mobiles, which used mother/daughter board construction with plug-in circuit boards and extensive use of thick-film hybrids, integrated circuits and TX RF power modules. The series was intended to replace the Westminster family and to include both front mount and remote mount products in VHF, UHF, FM and AM. However not all parts of the Olympic series were ever implemented and overall it had a more complicated history than many of the mobile product families.

The Olympic front mount mechanical construction used an aluminium die cast frame with integral heat sink and die cast lids. See internal top side view of single channel M202 FM front mount. A common frame was used for the M202 and M212 FM models and a different frame for the M201 AM model.

For remote mount Olympics, an entirely different construction was planned but only the M203 from the original remote mount series was ever implemented. The M203 AM remote mount mobile used a pressed steel chassis frame, heat sink and lids based on the design of the original M204/M206/M214/M216 equipments (which never went into production). See internal top side view of M203 AM remote mount. Note that in common with the original planned FM remote mount Olympics the M203 allowed for a twin head receiver option. The front mount Olympic products were all similar in size and aspect ratio to the Europa FM mobile and could accept the same front-panel plug-in tone signaling modules. The original remote mounts were intended to use an internally mounted signaling module from the P5000 portable range.

Servicing for all models was achieved by module replacement, and a range of extender cards used to allow in-situ fault-finding of the vertically mounted circuit boards.

The Olympic series was intended to be the replacement for the Westminster series (which had gradually become expensive to manufacture due to the multi-PCB construction and cable form interconnect wiring). The intention was that the use of the motherboard/daughter board concept to eliminate assembly wiring, plus thick-film hybrids and integrated circuits to provide a lower component count with higher packing density, would give economies of size and scale when the production rates rose to the level of the Westminster. Unfortunately this state was never achieved and the costs of the thick-film hybrid circuits increased rather than decreased, which limited the commercial life of the Olympic products (and subsequently led to the development of the lower cost discrete component M294 mobile).

The Olympic product range was intended to include both front mount and remote mount equipments in VHF & UHF bands, with both AM and FM versions as appropriate. However, due to the high product costs the full range of planned variants was never completed and development of the original remote mounts cancelled. See the diagram of the M200 range as originally planned but NOT fully implemented.

A major product variant derived from the Olympic series electronics was the M252 Pegasus rugged mobile, designed to meet a British Army Royal Signals specification for non-combat VHF FM radio communications equipment. The Pegasus product also did not attain its planned production volumes and the special waterproof castings were later used to create rugged variants such as the M258 commercial remote mount and the various models of the waterproof M254/256 Beaver. These equipments partly compensated for the lack of the originally planned remote mount FM Olympic products. See the Pegasus below.

 

  • Production life:1973 - 1983
  • Standard frequency range:68 - 88 MHz (E band), 118 - 136 MHz (C band), 138 - 141/105 - 108 MHz (Mid band),
     148 - 174 MHz (A band) , T & U band
  • Transmitter RF output:FM VHF 15 Watts, FM UHF 10 Watts, VHF AM 6 - 8 Watts, (50 Watts VHF AM or FM with A200 amplifier)
  • Primary model variants:produced: M201, M202, M203, M212, M252, M254, M256 (and M256AA, AB, AC, AD), M258
  • Primary model variants:developed but NOT produced: M204, M206 MKI (original version), M208, M214, M216
  • Supporting products:A200 RF amplifier, VR200 voltage regulator, MDU1000 data unit,
     AC200PU desk top fixed station, P200PU transportable, etc
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


M252 Pegasus (1976)
M252 Pegasus  
M252 transportable
 

The M252 Pegasus was a simplex or duplex, VHF mobile or transportable radiotelephone designed by Mobile Lab4 in the early 1970s, and based on the M202 FM Olympic electronics modules. It was designed to meet a specification from the British Army Royal Signals for a ruggedised VHF mobile primarily intended for non-combat applications such as military policing, home defence, etc. operating in the VHF low band frequencies (66 - 88 MHz - Pye ‘E’ band). It was later (in 1981) developed to operate in the 148-174 MHz and 132-156 MHz PMR radiotelephone bands. It is pictured here mounted in the man-portable battery powered kit.

Where the standard M201/M202/M212 Olympic used a die-cast aluminium frame to house a single motherboard and multiple plug-in daughter boards, the M252 used a cast aluminium platform chassis which allowed for double sided construction and two mother boards. This gave space inside the set for up to 18 channels of TX and RX crystal oscillators, a twin-head receiver option and various selective calling options. See internal view of the main radio section fitted with twin head receiver modules and also a view of the other side of the chassis where the 18 channel oscillator PCBs are located, along with sockets for internal selective calling units etc.

The M252 was designed to be water resistant to ‘Driving Rain’ standard similar to the later IEC/IP54 specification, and rugged enough for use in a wide range of military vehicles, motorcycles and helicopters. The original design was extensively tested on the MOD Blandford ranges strapped underneath a Chieftain tank, but is not believed to have ever been used in that particular configuration in anger! The unit was also successfully EMP tested.

The M252 Pegasus was a member of a large family of mobiles, base stations and accessories designed for use by the military, and the mobile unit could be configured in many different ways to suit the individual contract. See the Pegasus system product leaflet.

The mobile was a 12 Volt DC powered equipment, and for use in 24 Volt vehicles the M200 Olympic VR200 voltage dropping unit was available. The Pegasus mobile unit could be vehicle mounted, or slotted into a battery powered transportable fitted with a nickel-cadmium battery pack. (This model was later replaced by the FM914PM version of the FM900 mobile). The chassis casting had provision for two antenna sockets and a version of the set was capable of duplex operation, including talk-through.

After a very long testing period, the British Army and RAF did use the M252, however the Ministry of Defence (MOD) never bought huge quantities of the M252 for the original application, but did buy them later for the nationwide UK Home Defence radio network called "Mould" operated by the Army. It is not thought that any of the dedicated Pegasus F252 fixed stations were ever purchased and there is no record of final documentation being produced by the Company.

When the MOD failed to purchase the expected large quantities of the M252, the extensive development work on the design (which included water proof castings, interconnect cables and control heads) was used to create various commercial versions of the equipment. The commercial waterproof version was called the Beaver (M254 local control version, M256 remote control version), and was finished in a yellow/black colour, similar to that used for heavy earth-moving plant and construction site equipment. The non-waterproof commercial version was called the M258 FM Olympic and was finished in a blue/black color scheme.

A wide range of industry standard selective calling facilities were available for mounting internally in the radio unit, including: 5 tone sequential (in-band audio tones, referred to as 5-tone), continuous tone coded squelch system (sub audio band tones, referred to as CTCSS). External FFSK selective calling encoder/decoder units for the Mould system could also be connected via the external facility socket. External 16 bit digital encryption units working to the full Racal/Nato standard were also used for some applications.

 

  • Production life:1976 - 1986
  • Standard frequency range:68 - 88 MHz, 148-174 MHz, 132-156 MHz
  • Transmitter RF output:5 - 15 Watts FM adjustable
  • Primary model variants:simplex, duplex, twin head, extended control/second operator control,
     transportable version, motorcycle version, fixed mobile version
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


MF6AM Reporter (1976)
MF6AM Reporter  
MF6AM Reporter
 

A single product, low cost VHF AM replacement for MF5AM mobile. The MF6AM was designed by the Mobile Lab 3 (the AM mobile Lab), another of the small ‘Boutique’ development labs which was re-located from Newmarket Road to Banhams Marina, Cambridge and led by Keith Fisher. It was primarily intended for the UK market, at a time when the Pye Telecom products were coming under price pressure from competitors, both from smaller UK companies and from Far-East imports. Although low powered with few options, the product was very successful in the UK AM home market, and achieved all its business objectives.

The design approach adopted was to eliminate as many interconnect costs as was practicable and to minimise the mechanical costs and complexity where possible compared to the Olympic series and Europa series. The product used an extruded aluminium sleeve to provide a simple, low-cost, but robust outer wrapper and an combined aluminium rear panel and heat sink. Internally three printed circuit boards were mounted in a simple steel chassis frame with the top PCB hinged via a flexible wire strip. See internal top view with the upper PCB hinged open. In its most simple form the equipment could be supplied with a combined microphone/loudspeaker unit.

This was the first of the eighth generation mobile products, and the success of the product led to the design project to create the M290 crystal controlled series which is discussed below.

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


Hermes Series HMS (1977)
Hermes Series HMS  
Hermes mobile
 

A family of low-power FM mobiles based on a common TX/RX unit, intended for sale in West Germany and those European countries which had maximum TX power limits of 6 - 15 Watts. The equipment was available for use as a mobile or as a base station. The mobile version used either a control head or a combined microphone/hand controller, and the base station version mounted the controls and keypad on the unit case top cover. The core transceiver was a 6 channel crystal controlled unit. See view of mobile unit with top cover removed and also view of PCB inside chassis.

In terms of technology platforms, this could be considered to be eighth generation, and similar technically to the Cambridge designed M294/M296 series. Hermes was designed by the Philips mobile radio design lab at Hilversum, The Netherlands (who had previously designed the Philips LTS Lotus mobile and SXA/SNA Sexta portables etc.) and was the last PMR product designed by that group.

Individual prototype Hermes units from the Netherlands were tested in the UK by Mobile Lab4, and passed for pre-production. However evaluation of units from the pre-production run subsequently carried out at the Cambridge Works factory indicated that the equipment did not reliably meet its design specifications and would have difficulty in passing the tough German Type Approval regulations. The project was cancelled and the pre-production units scrapped. The launch customer was intended to be the Royal Navy for use on board ships. Several of the pre-production units leaked out of the Company and are now in the hands of private collectors. The microphone/hand controller was later used as an engineers handset on the F490 series base stations.

 

  • Production life:Project cancelled after pilot production run in Cambridge at the Cambridge Works factory.
  • Standard frequency range:148 - 174 and 450 - 470 MHz
  • Transmitter RF output:6 Watts
  • Primary model variants:HMS06 VHF, HMS16 UHF, mobile or fixed station, local control, remote control and
     extended control over a 100 metre multi-core cable.
  • Product sales leaflet:No record of a product leaflet being produced
  • Technical manual extract:No record of a manual being produced

 


M206 Series (1978)
M206 Series  
M206 system
 

The M206 remote mount mobile is often assumed to be just another member of the M200 Olympic family due to the use of a similar case construction by the M203 AM Olympic.

However the M206 was a specific development by Mobile Lab 4 (the FM mobile Lab) for export to markets of USA influence such as Canada, Middle East and the Far East, and most of the circuit design was new work. The M206 can be considered a successor to the PMR2FM.

In order to compete with Motorola products such as the Micor and Mitrek, the M206 had the highest performance receiver ever produced by Pye Telecom, giving 100dB adjacent channel selectivity and 80dB intermodulation protection with good production margins. The options available were simplex or duplex operation, 4 or 16 channels, 10 Watt receiver audio, twin head receiver, and an IF noise blanker. So that both simplex and duplex operation could be achieved, the receiver and transmitter circuits were arranged on opposite sides of the steel platform chassis. See internal top side view (transmitter section) and underside view (receiver section).

The product was initially designated the M206A, after the original FM Olympic-based M204, M206, M214, M216 design project was cancelled at the final model stage, and priority switched away from Olympic remote mount equipment and the European CEPT duplex radiophone market to the international high power export market. The new M206 product design utilised the mechanics and heat sink designed for the original duplex M204 and M214 equipments, and subsequently used by the M203. (See the original UHF M214 CEPT duplex twin-head design, module side view and underside view). As the large heat sink and case from the original M206 had been dimensioned for a 25 Watt continuous duplex radiophone, it was therefore very suitable for PMR applications at a 25 Watt duplex and 50 Watt simplex 1:4 duty cycle.

M206 Cairo Police Prototype  
M206 Cairo Police Prototype

The small plastic remote control head designed for the M203 was intended to be used with the M206. However the Cairo Police, who were the launch customer for the new M206A, required a more rugged unit, and so a new control box was created from the front panel assembly of the M252 Pegasus, fitted with a new rear casting. This later also became the control unit for the remote mount FM Olympic and Beaver range etc. See photo of the Cairo Police duplex prototype at right.

Despite the high performance and innovative circuit design, the crystal controlled M206 would only be considered as part of eighth generation technology. However the M206X synthesised version introduced the ninth generation mobile synthesiser technology into the M206 range.

The writer took over as Engineering Product Development Manager (Design Team Leader) for the M206 project, and can state the above information with complete authority.

 

  • Production life:1978 - 1982
  • Standard frequency range:A, B, E, G, H bands, single RF head or twin RF head receiver
  • Transmitter RF output:up to 50 Watts adjustable Simplex, 25 Watts adjustable Duplex
  • Primary model variants:M206AA duplex, M206X synthesised
     The M206X was also used as the basis for experimental 5KHz SSB mobiles for a UK Home Office Project.
     A double-decker M208 version with a 120 Watt power amplifier was planned but never produced.
  • Supporting Products:Ruggedised control unit, first used by Cairo Police, later used on the Beaver,
     10 Watt loudspeaker unit with heat sink voice coil,
     IF noise blanker (later used on some base station products).
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


M290 Series (1979)
M290 Series  
M290 Series
 

An eighth generation technology platform of single PCB construction, DIN sized, crystal controlled AM and FM front mounts, intended as lower cost equipment than the Olympic M200 and Europa front mount series. Designed by the AM Mobile Lab at Banhams Marina, Cambridge after the success of the MF6AM.

The lead product in the family was the M294 VHF FM model which was followed by the M296 UHF FM equipment and the M293 VHF AM version. In terms of volume sales this product family was very successful and is believed to have been the highest selling product ever produced by Pye Telecom.

See internal top side view of PCB.

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:to follow
  • Transmitter RF output:10 - 25 Watts according to model and power setting
  • Primary model variants:M294E (A band only), created as a test bed for surface mount component assembly
     and then marketed as a lower cost variant of the M294.
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


CM42/CM87/NCM Project (1980)
CM42  
CM42 front mount
 

This group of concept studies and advanced development programs are listed because of their significance to subsequent products such as the FM1000 series.

In the early 1980s the Philips Mobile Radio Management Group (MRMG) initiated a series of market and product concept studies which were intended to lead to the design of the architecture and component parts for a universal, world-wide, Philips "Concern Mobile" and other products. The programs were also intended to eliminate rival and duplicate development projects from the various Pye & Philips design teams around the world, following the internal political and economic competition which took place within the organisation during the late 1970s.


CM42/CM87

The Concern Mobile 42 and Concern Mobile 87 projects were joint marketing and engineering concept studies begun in 1980 to identify the mobile radio requirements of the main Philips National Sales Organizations (NSO) around the world, and to create a universal product concept which would successfully meet those market requirements. The market requirements and broad band circuit design technology of CM42/87 were later used in the FM1000 mobile when it became clear that the NCM semiconductor technology would not be available until the end of the decade.

NCM

The New Concern Mobile Project (NCM) was an advanced development program intended to create a family of custom silicon integrated circuits from which mobiles, portables, fixed stations and radio pagers could be constructed. The resulting semiconductor design technology was never actually used in PMR mobiles and portables, and the PMR work was canceled at the advanced development stage following the first wafer diffusion. However some semiconductor technology work continued and the result was used in the PG32 POCSAG pager family and later series of Philips pagers.

 

  • Production life:Design study only
  • Standard frequency range:VHF, UHF
  • Transmitter RF output:30W
  • Primary model variants:Front mount and remote mount
  • Product sales leaflet:None produced
  • Technical manual extract:None produced, technical reports and models only

 


MX290 Series (1982-1989)
MX294 with Philips branding  
MX294 (Philips branding)
 

The MX290 series was Pye Telecoms first volume production synthesised mobile, and included AM, FM, VHF and UHF equipment in front mount format only. It was often confused with the M290 crystal controlled series (designed by Mobile Lab 3), due to the use of the same front panel plastic mouldings on the basic 16 channel MX290 version and the same internal signaling modules.

However the lead product, the MX294, was a separate development by a separate team (Mobile Lab 4). Mechanically it used a new die cast frame, rear heat sink, lids and PCB, and electrically was derived partly from the M206 mobile, partly from the M206X Advanced Development Project (which evaluated the Mullard LOCMOS synthesiser integrated circuits), and partly new circuit design. A limited function remote mount version was planned but not implemented.

The writer was the Engineering Product Development Manager (Design Team Leader) for the MX294 lead product in the MX290 series, and can state the above with complete authority. The MX290 would be considered as ninth generation technology along with the M206X.

This product was in volume production when the change over from the Pye Telecom brand name to the Philips name occurred and equipment examples can be found with either the Pye or Philips brand label. The product was replaced by the FM1000 Series.

 

  • Production life:1982 - 1989
  • Standard frequency range:A, AW, B, E, T, U, K bands
  • Transmitter RF output:5 - 25 Watts adjustable, Simplex
  • Primary model variants:Cassette mounting tray,
     40/ 80 channel versions
     keypad versions using the systems front panel assembly.
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


M300 Project (1983)
 

An AM/FM synthesised remote mount mobile, submitted as a contender for a large UK Home Office Police contract, but which lost to the Marconi RC690 equipment.

In technology terms, the M300 spanned the seventh, eighth and ninth generation, using as it did, circuit elements from the M200, the M290, and the MX290 series.

To be continued

 

  • Production life:cancelled after pre production
  • Standard frequency range:A band and B band
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:remote mount only
  • Product sales leaflet:no record of sales leaflet being produced
  • Technical manual extract:

 


UK "Jerk & Run" Mobile Project (1983)
JerkandRun  
UK "Jerk & Run" moble
 

In technology terms, this development from the same team as the M203 and the M300, also spanned the seventh, eighth and ninth generations, using circuit elements from the M200, the M290, and the MX290 series. See internal top side and underside views.

The project was cancelled and the pre-production units scrapped. The launch customer was intended to be the UK Home Office. Several of the pre-production equipments units (which for convenience had used the front panels parts and logo strips from the MX290 series) leaked out of the Company and are now in the hands of private collectors. This gave rise to the erroneous belief that there were remote mount MX290 equipments produced.

More to follow

 

  • Production life:cancelled after pre-production
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:remote mount only
  • Product sales leaflet:no record of sales leaflet being produced
  • Technical manual extract:no record of manual being produced

 


FM900 Series (1983)
FM900 Series  
FM91 remote mount
 

An advanced family of microprocessor controlled, remote control and local control mobiles. This was conceived and developed by the design team at Philips Communications, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, and was possibly the worlds first fully microprocessor controlled PMR mobile. It was certainly the worlds most advanced PMR mobile radio at the time.

The family initially consisted of the FM91 remote mount, which could be simplex or continuous duplex, and the FM92 local controlled version. This was later followed by the FM93, a lower cost and re-styled version of the FM92.

Other specialist versions included a public correspondence radiophone version sold as the BT Sapphire, and the FM914PM military equipment to replace the M252 Pegasus used by the British Army, shown below right. The FM914PM used external selective calling encoder/decoder units for the Mould system connected via an external facility socket. External 16 bit digital encryption units working to the full GCHQ/Racal standard were also used for some applications.

FM92  
FM92 front mount

The FM900 mobile was first produced in Australia, later in the UK and Spain, with application specific design derivatives produced in France by TRT for use on the Ramage Police network.

Tenth generation technology platform. To be continued

FM914PM  
Military FM914PM version

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:yes to follow for some versions
  • Technical manual extract:

 


284M/286M Series
286M  
286M front mount
 

This was a series of VHF and UHF front mount mobiles designed and manufactured by Marantz in Japan and sold by Philips companies to non-European non-CEPT specification markets around the world during the 1980s.

The initial equipment design was a 4 channel crystal controlled circuit, with a transmitter RF output of up to 40 Watts on VHF and 35 Watts on UHF. Later equipments used a frequency synthesiser with diode-matrix programming to set the TX and RX frequencies. See internal top side view of UHF model 286M.

NV Philips owned 49% of the Marantz shares, but the radio communications division of Marantz was fiercely independent, and normally marketed its products under the "Standard" brand name through its own agents and dealers. Marantz also worked in close association with Standard Radio of the USA, who funded some of the product designs. During the 1980s several serious attempts were made by Philips European PMR companies to engage in joint activities with Marantz, however little was achieved; the very top management of Marantz preferring the Company to remain independent. The writer spent some time in Japan as part of one of these joint projects. The 284M/286M product branded with the Philips name is one of the few results of these liaison attempts.

 

  • Production life:Mid-late 1980s
  • Standard frequency range:VHF 138 - 144, 144 - 150, 150 - 157, 156 - 163, 162 - 169, 168 - 174 MHz,
     UHF 406 - 420, 450 - 470, 470 - 490, 490 - 512 MHz
  • Transmitter RF output:VHF 10, 25, 40 Watt versions,
     UHF 10, 25, 35 Watt versions
  • Primary model variants:Front mount simplex only, CTCSS option
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


FM710 & FM715 Mobiles (1988)
 

A pair of VHF and UHF FM synthesised front mount mobiles designed and manufactured by EF Johnson of Minneapolis, USA and sold by Philips National Sales Organisations (NSO) to countries which based their type approval specifications for radio equipment on the USA EIA and MIL standards rather than the European CEPT specifications.

The FM710 was a UHF 30 Watt 99 channel mobile and the FM715was a VHF 40 Watt 99 channel mobile.

 

  • Production life:1988 -
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:UHF 30 Watt, VHF 40 Watt
  • Primary model variants:FM710 UHF front mount, FM715 VHF front mount
  • Product sales leaflet: Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


730MX (1986)
730MX  
730MX front mount
 

A synthesised front mount mobile designed by Philips in Wadeville, South Africa and based around the Mullard synthesiser integrated circuits.

Development of the 730MX was started by Gert Sijbesma in 1984, however during 1987, following the formation of the Philips RCS Business Unit, production of the 730MX ceased in favour of other mobile products to be supplied from the various International Product Supply Centres within PRCS. Production of the SXA, SNA and Eland continued in South Africa as did specialised integrated circuits for use in the SXA and SNA by India and Brazil.

 


FM1000 Series (1989 etc)
FM1000  
FM1000 with 3 displays
 

A major mid-market/upper-market FM mobile series developed out of the CM42/CM87/NCM marketing and engineering studies of the early 1980s. The series was based on a core transceiver unit which could be utilised as a local control or remote controlled station. Three different control consoles were available; the LCD keypad and display unit, the LCD numeric display unit, and the standard unit which used led indicators only.

The market requirements and broadband circuit design concepts of NCM and CM42/87 were used in the FM1000 mobile when it became clear that the NCM semiconductor technology would not be available until the end of the decade and that a discrete component based product family was required in the interim to replace the MX290 series and FM900 series.

The analogue signaling version was termed FM1100. The MPT1327/1343 trunking version was termed FM1200. The version for use with the Philips TN100 proprietary trunking system was the FM1300. A version was also configured for use with the Mobitex data system, this was termed FM1400. A small number of FM1100 were configured to work with the DCU900 data signalling control head, originally intended for the FM900.

Eleventh generation technology platform on the basis of the wide bandwidth RF design and extensive microprocessor control. FM1000 was the first all-processor controlled radio designed by the Cambridge International Product Supply Centre (IPSC).

 

  • Production life:1989 - 1998
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:1-30 Watts adjustable, according to frequency band
  • Primary model variants:FM1100, FM1200, FM1300, FM1400, plus supporting range of ancillaries
  • Product sales leaflet:Several versions of the brochure to follow, including the rejected first draft leaflet (all but 10 copies destroyed)
  • Technical manual extract:

 


PRM80 Series (1989 etc)
PRM80 Series  
PMR80 front mount
 

This product was specified by PRCS Corporate Headquarters in the UK as an international low-cost mobile project and was developed by the design team at Philips Communications, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, who had previously designed the FM900 series.

The PRM80 was originally conceived as small 25 Watt synthesised FM front mount mobile with two model versions; a 9 channel unit and a 40 channel unit. The design was subsequently expanded by the Australian design team to include a remote mount version and a keypad/alpha-numeric display version. Both analogue signaling and trunk signaling versions are still in service when this was written in 2007.

The PRM80 was initially called the FM420 project by the Australian design team and later given the type designation PRM80 in order to fit into the Philips corporate product numbering scheme. First produced in Australia in 1989, later in the UK and India.

It should be noted that following the retrenchment of NV Philips from many of the professional business sectors from 1990 onwards and the return of the Philips PMR companies to local control (as opposed to central control), some versions of the PMR80 family designed in the UK and Australia were given the same type numbers, despite having different hardware, firmware and software.

The PRM80 won design awards in Australia and The Netherlands.

Technology platform status twelfth generation

 

  • Production life:1989 - 1998
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


SRM82 (Raywood DSP Mobile) (1998)
 

The SRM82 was a dedicated data communications mobile designed by the Raywood company for use with taxi system data control units (prior to the purchase of the company by Simoco in 1996).

Technology platform status thirteenth generation

Photos to follow

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


SRM1000 Tetra mobile
 

First generation Tetra digital PMR mobile designed in Cambridge and first used on the UK commercial Dolphin network (now closed down).

Technology platform status fourteenth overall.

Photos to follow

 

  • Production life:
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:
  • Technical manual extract:

 


SRM9000 DSP mobile
 

A replacement for the PRM80 family developed from the Raywood DSP technology by the Australian design centre.

To be continued

 

  • Production life:Current production
  • Standard frequency range:
  • Transmitter RF output:
  • Primary model variants:
  • Product sales leaflet:Available, to follow
  • Technical manual extract:

 


 
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