by Yasmin | Sep 6, 2012 | 1980s, Electrical, Music
Yamaha was established in 1887 as a piano and reed organ manufacturer by Torakusu Yamaha as Nippon Gakki Company, Limited Nippon Gakki Seizō Kabushiki Gaisha?)(literally Japan Musical Instrument Manufacturing Corporation) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture and was incorporated on October 12, 1897. The company’s origins as a musical instrument manufacturer is still reflected today in the group’s logo—a trio of interlocking tuning forks.
After World War II, company president Tomiko Genichi Kawakami repurposed the remains of the company’s war-time production machinery and the company’s expertise in metallurgical technologies to the manufacture of motorcycles. The YA-1 (AKA Akatombo, the “Red Dragonfly”), of which 125 were built in the first year of production (1958), was named in honor of the founder. It was a 125cc, single cylinder, two-stroke, street bike patterned after the German DKW RT125 (which the British munitions firm, BSA, had also copied in the post-war era and manufactured as the Bantam and Harley-Davidson as the Hummer. In 1959, the success of the YA-1 resulted in the founding of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | Jul 30, 2012 | 1980s, Electrical
The Land Camera 1000 is a foreign-markets version of the original Onestep model, meaning it has a fixed focus plastic lens. The model 1000 or original OneStep models are distinguished among the range in that they were made available with 2 different coloured shutter buttons – either green or red; there is some debate among collectors as to which was more common. A matching electronic flash was also released for the Onestep/1000 model, known as the Q-Light. It fits onto any SX-70 non-folding camera model, but was cosmetically matched to the original models.
Info gleaned from camerapedia.wikia.com
by Yasmin | Jul 11, 2012 | 1980s, Christmas, Electrical, Toys
The Speak & Spell line is a series of electronic handheld educational toys created by Texas Instruments that consist of a speech synthesizer, a keyboard, and a receptor slot to receive one of a collection of ROM game library modules (collectively covered under patent US 3934233). The first Speak & Spell was introduced at the summer Consumer Electronics Show in June 1978, making it one of the earliest handheld electronic devices with a visual display to use interchangeable game cartridges.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | Jul 3, 2012 | 1970s, Electrical, Television
W.G. Pye & Co. Ltd. was founded in 1896 in Cambridge by William George Pye, an employee of the Cavendish Laboratory, as a part time business making scientific instruments. By the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the company employed 40 people manufacturing instruments that were used for teaching and research. The war increased demand for such instruments and the War Office needed experimental thermionic valves. The manufacture of these components afforded the company the technical knowledge that it needed to develop the first wireless receiver when the first UK broadcasts were made by the BBC in 1922. Instruments continued to be designed and manufactured under W G Pye Ltd, later situated in York Street Cambridge, while a separate company was started to build wireless components in a factory at Church Path, Chesterton.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | Jun 29, 2012 | 1970s, Electrical, Household
Hitachi, Ltd. is a Japanesemultinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of theHitachi Group (Hitachi Gurūpu) as part of the larger DKB Group companies. Hitachi has been a diversified company that has 11 business segments: Information and Telecommunication Systems, Electrical Systems, Social and Industrial Systems, Automotive Systems, Electronic Component Devices, Construction, and Financial services.
On the 2011 Forbes Global 2000 list, Hitachi was ranked number 473.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | Jun 20, 2012 | 1980s, Electrical, Toys
Hornby Railways is a brand of model railway originating in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train. In 1964, Hornby and Meccano were bought by their competitor Tri-Ang, and sold on when Tri-ang went into receivership. In the 1980s Hornby Railways became independent.
(more…)
Yamaha was established in 1887 as a piano and reed organ manufacturer by Torakusu Yamaha as Nippon Gakki Company, Limited Nippon Gakki Seizō Kabushiki Gaisha?)(literally Japan Musical Instrument Manufacturing Corporation) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture and was incorporated on October 12, 1897. The company’s origins as a musical instrument manufacturer is still reflected today in the group’s logo—a trio of interlocking tuning forks.
Recent Comments