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National Company began in 1914
as a manufacturer of mechanical parts,
including toys. In 1924 they entered radio manufacturing by
producing the Browning-Drake broadcast receiver kit
and various radio components,
including variable capacitors and their soon to be classic "velvet
vernier" dials.
James
Millen joined the company as Chief Engineer and General Manager
in 1928 and guided National to the cutting edge of shortwave receiver
design, where they remained until he left in 1939. During this
time, he was responsible for the "Thrill Box" series of regenerative
shortwave receivers, including the legendary SW-3 and SW-5, which
remain sought after classics to this day.
In
July,
1932, National introduced the most advanced communications receiver to
date, the Millen designed AGS. This unit was developed for the
Airways Division of the U.S. Department of Commerce for use as an
aircraft ground station receiver, and is significant not only for this,
but because it was also offered for sale to the general public.
While the sophisticated AGS was too expensive to be seriously
considered by Depression strapped amateurs, it became the National
flagship receiver of this era and the basis for the FB-7, a stripped
down version that established National as a leader in the amateur radio
industry. The AGS also provided the inspiration for the HRO, which
would become the most famous receiver in history and remain in
production for 30 years.
Among James Millen's eccentricities were his
dedication to
in-house production of all key components and a tuning system that
employed the use of cumbersome plug-in coils or the slightly less
cumbersome system of coil catacombs. National developed a following of
loyal devotees that appreciated the National system and the feeling
their receivers gave of hands on "real" radio operation. Any amateur
running a National rig had an experience akin to a professional
operator, and National built a significant niche market by catering to
amateurs that considered themselves a cut above the typical
"Ham."
Though Millen left the company when National
went public
in 1939, few design changes were made to their receivers until
their post war line was introduced in 1947. Because National ceased to
be a leading innovator in the commercial communications receiver
industry, many purists mark the post Millen years as an era of decline.
Closer to the truth, this time represents a notable change in
philosophy and direction in which National turned its attention towards
a more diversified line: a line aimed successfully at the mainstream of
the burgeoning amateur market. While the
HRO continued to be a fine, high-end receiver, and the image of
National
quality, the company also introduced a new line of lower cost receivers
that would be marketed head-to-head with Hallicrafters. It is the
receivers from this era, beginning with the classic 1947 NC-57, that we
feature here.
Throughout the 1950's, both National and
Hallicrafters built what would turn out to be classic examples of the
best of the tube era communications receiver; units that today sell for
astronomical amounts. In the late 1950's and into the early 1960's,
both would fall victim to the trend for smaller and lighter receivers
as exemplified by the new "hybrid" (tube and semi-conductor) lines
introduced by Collins and Drake. National's last claim to fame was as a
pioneer in the development of the first completely solid-state
receiver, the HRO-500. Though critically acclaimed and widely admired,
the HRO-500 did not sell in sufficient quantities to save the company.
National struggled to survive the 1970's and filed for Chapter 11
protection in the early 1980's. In 1992 the struggle finally ended on
the auction block, when the IRS forced liquidation.
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