05-07-2011, 06:22 PM
(05-07-2011, 05:08 PM)murphyv310 Wrote: I fully agree with Yorkie's post, it is perfectly true.
There is only one thing I would have an issue with is that we actually did produce some nice radio's after the war. Dynatron was one manufacturer that did, OK the average family could not afford one and many would have to buy even a DAC90 on tick!
It's interesting to get to the bottom of who ran which company - by the mid 1950s the industry was in decline, and to try to get economies of scale, there were many mergers and takeovers. A bit like the car industry of that era - Austin, Morris, MG etc.
Dynatron was started in 1927 by two teenage brothers who's name was later to become famous - 'Hacker'. Like all makers, during the war their production was to support the war effort, and as with makers of any domestic goods, they were handicapped after the war by shortages of raw materials.
In 1954 Dynatron was taken over by Ekco, though the Hacker brothers stayed on as joint M.Ds. In 1959 the brothers left Ekco and set up Hacker Radio, and as with Dynatron, aimed at the top end of the market, gaining a high reputation, which lives on to this day. However, Hacker only survived for 18 years -an increasingly competitive market and cheaper imports Hacker put them into the hands of the receiver in May 1977.
Soon after the Hacker brothers left Dynatron in 1959, Ekco merged with Pye (Dec 1960), then in 1967 Pye was absorbed by Philips, and in 1981 Philips sold Dynatron to Roberts Radio.
So, when is a Dynatron not a Dynatron?
Arguably, anything post-1954!
There's an interesting 'virtual museum' dedicated to Dynatron on the web. Well worth a squint:
http://www.dynatronmuseum.org.uk/History.htm
David
