Zenith's demise.

Sony I believe was the first foreign maker to build sets in the US...originally in lovely downtown Compton CA (unsafe even at noon time). They then moved to the former VW assembly plant in Pennsy....not sure if they're still there, but last I heard they were building projection and large screen high end stuff there.

I don't recall specifically, but I think Philips, Panasonic maybe JVC build sets here (or perhaps did so until recently). Bonus points to the first person to correctly identify what JVC stands for and why (what the corporate connection is)

Anthony

[asynchronousman]

Not RCA Victor but Victor i.e. Victrola IIRC originally Victor Talking Machines but I don't know how the "-ola" part came about. Weren't there "Amberola" records?

[asynchronousman]

BTW I think the first Sony plant of real note was in San Diego (makes sense as there are docks there and Mexico is next door).

[asynchronousman]

Originally Posted by stereofisher

Sorry for the vent. Its too bad our companies have given up I miss Zenith, RCA, Motorola, etc. Both radio and TV.

Eric

I do too, but I rejoice that Micron kicks butt and takes names here in the Treasure Valley.

They're not dead though--I'm keeping them in jars on shelves in my living room Perhaps someday somebody will find speakers marked "Asynchronous" in their attic...

[sydsfloyd67]

Originally Posted by heathkit tv

I don't recall specifically, but I think Philips, Panasonic maybe JVC build sets here (or perhaps did so until recently). Bonus points to the first person to correctly identify what JVC stands for and why (what the corporate connection is) Anthony

A.,
Thanks. Almost missed the answer amid the static. NAP in Knoxville then? JVC, Japanese Video Corporation (Not Nippon Electronics Coproration) is building TVs in the US? 'American' company building TVs in the US was what i thought i recalled regarding Zenith and Thompson being the last (in Bloomington IN around '93).

-sf

[maxm]

Zenith had another plant in Missouri in the 80s, it seems like they made mostly little 13" color sets there, I have one of them.

[asynchronousman]

I don't know where that version of the acronym JVC comes in, but they still built "Victor" components at the last I checked for domestic and maybe Eurasian sale. YMMV

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by sydsfloyd67

I recall 'Zenith Radio Coporation" in Chicago. Correct? Chicago was a good place to grow up in in terms of radio through the 60-70-80s. WXRT may still even exist today.

-sf

Yes, WXRT is still around in Chicago, as "93XRT" FM. I live in Ohio, but I know some things about WXRT as I frequent 100000watts.com and have been interested in radio as long as I can remember (I am also an amateur radio operator, having held a ham license since 1972). Chicago also had a station known as WMAQ-FM, which became, in order, WNIS-FM (the Chicago affiliate of NBC's short-lived National News and Information Service news network, which was active briefly in the '70s) and then, IIRC, WKQX-FM101.1, the calls it now holds. (WMAQ-AM670 was an all-news station briefly in the late '90s, before going all-sports as WSCR-670 "The Score".) WMAQ-FM became WKQX after NBC was sold to General Electric. WMAQ-AM-FM (and all other NBC-operated radio stations) were sold to Emmis Communications after the original NBC network was sold.

JVC is or was Japanese Victor Corp (company?) and was indeedy part of the Victor company---which itself was an offshoot of RCA (if memory serves).

Anthony

[asynchronousman]

Originally Posted by heathkit tv

JVC is or was Japanese Victor Corp (company?) and was indeedy part of the Victor company---which itself was an offshoot of RCA (if memory serves).

Anthony

Actually, Victor goes back to maybe 1901 and the Radio Corporation was formed during WWI as a patent pool safeguard measure to protect them from the enemy. Westinghouse, General Electric and AT&T IIRC were the founders and it was later spun off the satisfy trade laws. AT&T was out BEFORE selling the network that became NBC in 1926.

The net had a gorgeous studio complex right there in San Fransisco for several years, and SF was the hub there for recreating the shows for the western audiences.

[sydsfloyd67]

I hear of WXRT Chicago periodically still, even though I've been just out of range for quite some time now. They were doing an amazing mixture of music when what is now called "classic rock" was maintstream pop through the 70s. (Connection for me to the thread is Zenith->Chicago->Radio, although as asynchro has pointed out, that seems to have been a paper tiger in the name "Zenith Radio Corporation" that one finds on the paper labels on the bottom of so many of those outstanding little plastic boxes.)

-sf

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

Yes, WXRT is still around in Chicago, as "93XRT" FM. I live in Ohio, but I know some things about WXRT as I frequent 100000watts.com and have been interested in radio as long as I can remember (I am also an amateur radio operator, having held a ham license since 1972). Chicago also had a station known as WMAQ-FM, which became, in order, WNIS-FM (the Chicago affiliate of NBC's short-lived National News and Information Service news network, which was active briefly in the '70s) and then, IIRC, WKQX-FM101.1, the calls it now holds. (WMAQ-AM670 was an all-news station briefly in the late '90s, before going all-sports as WSCR-670 "The Score".) WMAQ-FM became WKQX after NBC was sold to General Electric. WMAQ-AM-FM (and all other NBC-operated radio stations) were sold to Emmis Communications after the original NBC network was sold.

[Chad Hauris]

The Victor Talking Machine company was acquired by RCA in the late 1920's or possibly early 30's, thereafter the RCA-Victor trademark began to be used.

The Nipper trademark and the phrase "His Master's Voice" is licensed to different companies in different countries...if you look at EMI records from England, they use (or used, at least) Nipper and His Master's voice: likewise in Japan I believe JVC (Japanese Victor Corp) still uses the Nipper trademark...however any of these companies is forbidden from using the Nipper trademark on any items imported to U.S.A., likewise Thomson, G.E. or BMG, or the former RCA corp. (licensees of Nipper for USA) cannot use the Nipper trademark on exports. You will sometimes see Nipper on the back of modern RCA TV sets to help keep the trademark rights alive, even when Nipper is not used on the front panel logo.

[Jeffhs]

RCA was still using the Nipper logo on the front panels of its televisions of late-'70s-'80s vintage, but had dropped the original logo by the '90s. RCA (Thomson) still uses Nipper today as a standalone logo, with the addition of a smaller dog, Chipper, next to him. (This logo may be found on Thomson's web site, www.rca.com, as well as on instruction manuals for Thomson-built RCA TVs and A/V gear.) Nice touch, and an excellent way to bring an already well-known trademark into the 21st century. GE did the same thing when it decided to retain the NBC peacock after it bought out RCA in the mid-'80s. The new peacock was and is much smaller than the original logo (and there is no announcement--"The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC"--preceding the newer symbol as there was with the original, but then again there is no need for an announcement these days, as NBC's programming is 100 percent color now). And how about the mess NBC found itself in (at least at first) when it brought out its "N" logo? Turns out this logo was the property of the Nebraska educational television network. NBC was able to make a deal with the Nebraska network, however, which allowed NBC to retain the "N" symbol. The deal included NBC's selling the Nebraska network some $100-thousand-plus worth of equipment.

NBC still uses the old "G-E-C" chimes, although today they are probably computer-generated. As with RCA's modern Nipper/Chipper logo, the computer-generated NBC chimes, used with the modern, smaller peacock, add a nice touch, retaining a sound which had been familiar to NBC radio listeners for generations (until the original NBC radio network was disbanded and sold in the mid-'80s) and which accompanied the NBC "snake" logo in the '60s and '70s, as well as being heard between programs in the network's early TV days, not to mention retaining the peacock, which is still as much a part of NBC today as it was in 1956, three years after the network began telecasting in color.

NBC may be broadcasting (satellite up- and downlinking might be more appropriate terms these days, as all TV networks now use satellites, rather than telephone lines and miles of coaxial cables as in earlier times, to transmit their programs to their affiliates) in stereo, high-definition, etc. these days to keep up with the times, but the decision by GE to retain the peacock and those nice G-E-C chimes (which stood for "General Electric Company" as well as the musical scale notes G, E and C) shows that the network is still very proud of its heritage (its roots, so to speak).

I was not aware that the HMV (His Master's Voice)/Nipper logo was still being used in Japan (by JVC) and even in England. The copyright laws must be very strict as far as the use of that logo is concerned, if it cannot be used on products made by Thomson, et al. which are exported to Japan and other countries and vice-versa. I guess they are every bit as concerned with intellectual property rights there as our manufacturers are here in the United States (what few of them are left).

[Chad Hauris]

There was a short window of time where Nipper was used on the front panel of RCA equipment in conjunction with the RCA block letter logo...seems like just from 79 or 80 till 83 or so...Nipper was removed due to some copyright dispute due to the complicated copyright issues surrounding this trademark.

There was also similar copyright issues surrounding the trademark "Columbia" records...when Columbia records were exported, they had to be called "CBS" records as there are different owners of the "Columbia" trademark in different countries...I believe Denon is the Japanese Columbia licensee.

[peverett]

Motorola is still around making cellphones, police radios, and automtive controls systems in the US.

Several chip manufacturers, Freescale (spun off from Motorola), TI, Intel, and IBM all have manufacturing plants in the US. Some of the parts from these plants go into items such as TVs, stereos, and even cars that are produced in Asia.

Samsung and TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation) also have chip manufacturing plants in the US.

Electronics manufacturing is definitely limping in the US, but not quite dead.