[RTTY] End of an era

[Bill Turner]

From the ARRL Letter:

==> ROCKWELL COLLINS TO END MECHANICAL FILTER PRODUCTION

As more and more communications equipment designs have adopted digital
signal processing techniques, Rockwell Collins
<https://www.rockwellcollins.com/> has announced that it will stop
manufacturing its renowned mechanical filters. It did not provide a
specific date.

"Over the past several years, we have seen a dramatic reduction in
demand for narrowband analog filters," the company said
<https://www.rockwellcollins.com/Capabilities_and_Markets/More/Rockwell_Collins_Filters.aspx>
on its website. "Due to this and other economic reasons, [Rockwell
Collins] Filter Products will be discontinuing its mechanical filter
products in the near future."

Rockwell Collins makes two different types of mechanical filters, many
of which have found their way into Amateur Radio products and
applications. In a mechanical filter, input and output transducers
convert the electrical signal to and from resonant mechanical
vibrations, respectively.

Collins has made mechanical filters for more than 6 decades, and their
initial application was in telephone circuits. The filters gained
favor
for Amateur Radio use because of their excellent selectivity,
especially in IF applications. It is said to take about 12 weeks to
manufacture a single unit. Read more
<http://www.arrl.org/news/rockwell-collins-to-end-mechanical-filter-production>.
-- Thanks to Mike Morris, WA6ILQ; Rockwell Collins

73, Bill W6WRT