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STODDARTANDTHERADIORESEARCHRECEIVER
byHaroldA.Layer,KK6HY

updateofarticlepublishedin:"OTB,"journaloftheAntiqueWirelessAssociation,Vol.34,No.2,May1993

NM40AReceiver 533R3Receiver
Clickonimageforlargerview. Clickonimageforlargerview.

NM40Atop NM40Abottom 533R3top 533R3bottom

Clickonimagefor Clickonimagefor Clickonimagefor Clickonimagefor
largerview. largerview. largerview. largerview.

Radiohistorianshavedividedthedevelopmentofradioreceiversintoseveralpopular
categories.Consoles,Deco,Wireless,Classics,Transistors,andCommunicationsareexamplesof

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categoriesbasedonsize,style,historicalera,historicalsignificance,circuit,orfunction,
respectively.

Iwouldliketoproposeanother"function"categorythathasbeenneglected,yetvitaltothe
historyofradiocommunications:Research.Thiscategorywouldincludethosestateoftheart,
laboratoryradioreceiversdesignedforscientistsandengineersinscientificstudiesofman
made,narrowbandRFsignalsnaturallyoccurring,broadbandRFenergycommunications
surveillanceandspectrumsignatureplottingEMFfieldintensityandradiointeferenceand
antennapropagationsurveysandmeasurements.

NocompanybetterrepresentsthiscategorythantheStoddartAircraftRadioCompanyof
Hollywood,California.Itwasfoundedbypioneerradioengineer,RichardR.Stoddart(born:
12/1/1900died:9/26/1972).Accordingtohisofficialobituaryhebeganhiselectronics
careeratage15byworkingfortheTelefunkenWirelessCompanyinNewYork,althoughanother
reportindicatesthathehadaradiocontractfromLeedeForestatage14!Afterworkingasa
radiooperatoronmerchantships,healsopursuedanotherinterestasapilot,andbarnstormed
aroundthePoughkeepsieAirportduringthe1920s.Inthe1930shewasafieldengineerforNBC.
In1938,StoddartandCharlesD.Perrine(W6CUH)designedtheelaborateradiosystemforthe
historicHowardHughes1938roundtheworldflight.Astheflight'sradioofficer,hewasoneof
itsfivemancrewaboardtheLockheedtwoengineplaneandcoordinatedthecomplex
communicationslinksfromcountrytocountryastheplaneflewaroundtheworldinarecord
breaking91hours,8minutesatanaveragespeedof218milesperhour.Themainradioroomfor
thisendeavorwasondisplayattheNewYorkWorld'sFair.In1958,hewasmadeaFellowofthe
IEEE.TheEMCSocietynowoffersanannual"StoddartAward"fortechnicalexcellenceintheEMC
field.

Hughes1938article,coverpage Hughes1938article,page2 Hughes1938article,page3

Clickonimageforlargerview. Clickonimageforlargerview. Clickonimageforlargerview.

In1939StoddartworkedforLearJet,butaboutayearlaterin1940,hefoundedtheStoddart
AircraftRadioCompany.Inthebeginning,itdesignedandmanufacturedVHFcommunication
receiversandtransmittersforairborneuse,andthesewereimportantfortheAmericansupport
ofEnglandduringWorldWarII.Also,duringthewar,Stoddartproduceditsfirstresearch
receiver,aVHFunitthatfeaturedbothanaveragedetectorandaquasipeakdetectorto
measurenarrowbandandbroadbandradiation.In1945,thecompanyaddedtheslidebackpeak
detectorandprecisionsignalcalibrationwithadirectdisplayof"microvoltspermeterper
kilocycle".Basedonthevalueofthisremarkablereceivertomeetthegrowingsophistication
ofmilitarycommunicationsresearch,theNavycontractedwithStoddartoverthenextdecadeto
designandmanufactureagroupofreceiverscoveringtheentireRFspectrumfromELFtoSHF
(almost"DCtoDaylight"asexpressedduringthoseyears).Fig.1includesallmodelsthatI
havebeenabletoidentifyanddate.

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NM40Adialcloseup

Beforetheadventofdigital
tuning,eitheralarge
analogdialoramultiple
bandselectorswitchwas
requiredforcarefultuning.

Asasolutiontoaccomodate
theverynarrowbandwidth
windowoftheNM40A,
Stoddartbuiltthisgear
connected,spiraldialthat
allowedanincredibletuning
widthof30linearinches
foritsfrequencyrangeof
20Hzto15.5kHz.

The1956NM40AisafascinatingcasestudyofaStoddartreceiverandsharesthefinedesign
andcraftsmanshipofallStoddartmodels.Itwasoneofthemostrevolutionaryreceiversofthe
productlineaswellasoneofthemostbizarreradioreceiversevermade.TheNM40Awasthe
first"audiospectrumonly"radioreceiver,ascientificinstrumentthatextendeddownwardthe
detectableandmeasurableRFspectrumto30Hertz!Theonlyotheraudiospectrumonlyradio
receiverlocatedbytheauthoristheEmpireNM315,a1963transistormodelthattunedfrom20
Hzto15kHz.

Inadditiontobeinganarrowband,tunablesuperheterodyne(.1vsensitivity@100,000ohms),
theNM40Aalsocouldbeoperatedasabroadbandreceiver(10vsensitivity)forsuchsignals
asmanmadeRFI,naturalELForVLFwhistlersandatmospherics.TheNM40Awasequippedto
receiveseparatelytheelectricalandmagneticcomponentsofaradiowave,anditincludedthe
precisiondetectorandmeteringsystemthatarebasicfeaturesofaresearchreceiver.

TheNM40Aisasingleconversionsuperheterodynewithmanynovelfeatures.Itmayhavebeen
thefirstradioreceiverwithadoublebalancedcrystalquadmixer.Itssensitive,untunedRF
amplifierishousedinarubbersuspended,MumetalshieldedcompartmentwithadditionalMumetal
shieldssurroundingeachofitsthreetubes.Thereceiver'slocaloscillatorisaWeinbridge
typeand,also,ishousedinaseparateMumetalshieldedcompartment.The25kHzIFsection
containsfourstages,eachofwhichisatwotubeamplifier.Twoelaboraterackandpinion
assembliesconnectsevenindividualbandwidthandequalizationpotentiometerstocoaxialpanel
controls.ThisallowstheextremelynarrowIFbandwidthwindowof8Hzto60Hztobe
continuouslyadjustableperhapsanotherengineeringfirstforStoddart.

ManyoftheNM40A'scomponentsaremountedonalargeprintedcircuitboard.Abuiltin400Hz
tuningforkoscillator(accuratetowithin+/0.2Hz)isusedtoprovideareferencesignal,
calibratethefrequencydial,andtheoutputlevelmeter.Thismeteriscalibratedindecibels
andmicrovoltswithafullrangeof140db(.1vto1v).Otherfeaturesincludeheadphone,
oscilloscope,remoteoutputmeter,andchartrecorderoutputsaneonlampoverloadindicator
inputimpedancesfrom50ohmsto1000megohms(withseparateinputsforthemagneticand
electricalcomponentsofanRFsignal)anddetectorfunctionsof:average,peak,quasipeak,
andrms.Theseparatepowersupplyregulatestheplatevoltageandincludesatimedelayrelay
tolengthenthelifeofthereceiver's34tubes.Anextensivearrayofaccessorieswere
availablefortheNM40A,someofwhichareshownbelow.

ThelittleknownStoddart533Rsareasetofthreesolidstatereceiversofexquisite
workmanship.The533R3,forexample,featuresanalogtuning:100MHzto1Ghz,calibrated
attenuationthatisachievedwithaprecisionStoddartattenuator(forwhichthecompanyis
famous)andvariablebandwidthsof2,6,15,and30MHz,andtriple(detector?)outputs
providing"AMLOG,""AMLIN,"and"FM,"aswellasspecialXaxisandIFoutputs.Theportrayed

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receiverhasaserialnumberof"3"andappearstobeeitheralimitedproductionunit.Ihave
noschematicorotherinformationaboutthesereceiversandwouldwelcomeanyhelp.

In1953RichardStoddartwasanAmericandelegatetotheInternationalConferenceonEMIheld
inLondon.In1958hewasmadeanIEEEFellow.In1962heretiredandsoldhiscompanytoTamar
Electronics.Bytheearly1970sitbecamepartofSingerInstrumentationandinthelate1970s
mergedwithAiltech,adivisionofCutlerHammer.In1978CutlerHammarwasacquiredbyEaton
Corporation,andin1991CarnelLabsaquiredEaton'sEMI/RFIlineofproducts.Inspiteofthe
mergers,therespectedname,Stoddart,continuedtoappearonnewreceivermodelswellintothe
1980s.

Stoddartdidnothavethefieldofresearchreceiversentirelytoitself.AfterWorldWarII,
othercompanies,suchasEmpireDevices,FairchildElectroMetrics,Ferris,HewettPackard,
Polarad,Singer,andWatkinsJohnsonenteredthemarket,butStoddartwillberememberedasthe
pioneercompanythatledthewayintheevolutionofradioresearchreceiversofoutstanding
specificationsandworkmanship.Itsinfluenceinthedevelopmentofradiocommunicationsneeds
furtherstudy.

c.1968RFIlab c.1959RFIlab
c.1955
StoddartElectroSystems NationalScientificLaboratories,Inc.
Stoddartdemonstrationvan
Gardena,California Washington,DC

STODDARTRADIOGENEALOGY(inprogress)

YearsSold ModelNo. MilitaryEquiv. Freq.Range Price*

1944 NM3&3A OCV 100MHz400MHz .

19471954 NM5&5A TS587/U 15MHz400MHz .

19491962+ NM10&10A AN/URM6 14kHz250kHz .

19501951+ NM20A&20B AN/PRM1A 150kHz25MHz .

19541966+ NM30A AN/URM47 20MHz400MHz $3250(1966)

19501966+ NM50A&52A AN/URM17 375MHz1GHz $3250(1966)

19561966+ NM40A** AN/URM41 30Hz15kHz $3585(1961)

1960 2891*** . 14kHz150kHz .

1962 NM60A AN/URM42 1GHz10.7GHz .

19621966+ NM22A AN/URM131 150kHz32MHz $3250(1966)

c.19621966+ NM62A&62B AN/URM138 1GHz10GHz .

19661974+ NM12T . 10kHz168kHz $5670(1974)

1972 533R1 . 1MHz10MHz .

1972 533R2 . 10MHz100MHz .

1972 533R3 . 100MHz1GHz .

19661974+ NM25T . 150kHz32MHz $6490(1974)

19741979+ NM26T . 150kHz32MHz $10,450(1979)

c.19741979+ NM65T . 1GHz10GHz $18,450(1979)

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19731979+ NM17/27 . 10kHz32MHz $14,470(1979)

19731979+ NM37/57 . 30MHz1GHz $17,230(1979)

c.19761979+ NM7&7A . 20Hz50kHz $9560(1979)

19771980+ NM67 . 1GHz18GHz $44,000(1979)

2003+ NM67B . 1GHz18GHz .

2003+ NM7/60A . 20Hz3GHz $65,000(2003)

2006+ CER2018 . 20Hz18GHz .

*retailpriceofreceiversatindicateddateswithoutantennasorotheraccessories.

**Stoddart
NM40A,itsAC
powersupply,
and
accessories,
includinga30
inchloop
antenna,remote
meter,chart
recorder,
headphones,and
adipole
antennawith
itsown
external,two
tube,highZ
preamp.

***VLFspy
radio,
Model2891

Another
innovative
receiverby
Stoddartwith
thefollowing
features:
pocketsized(4
x31/4x1
inch),12
transistor,
superheterodyne
circuitwith2
RFand3IF
stages,BFO,
fivecrystal
tuned
frequencies
(14.8,16.0,
18.6,19.8,and
22.3kHz)a
Collins500Hz
mechanical
filter,a
miniature
ferriteloop
antennaandan
optionallong
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wireantenna
coupler.

loopantenna:
left
receiver:
center
antenna
coupler:right

REFERENCES
H.A.Favors,R.E.Bloom,&R.J.Fleischer,"Interferenceandthe
RFIMeter,"INSTRUMENTS&CONTROLSYSTEMS,August1961,pp.1443
1449.

B.G.,"AmateursAidHughesonWorldFlight,"QST,October1938,pp.
1920.

F.Haber&R.M.Showers,"InstrumentationforRadioInterference
Measurements,"ELECTRONICINDUSTRIES,March1961,pp.110116+.

DanHoolihan,"TheRichardR.StoddartAward:TheHistoryBehindthe
Award,"IEEEEMCSOCIETYNEWSLETTER,No.201,Spring2004,pp.3032.

"RichardR.StoddartDeceased,"IEEEELECTROMAGNETICCOMPATIBILITY
GROUPNEWSLETTER,No.76,January1973

StoddartAircraftRadioCompany,INSTRUCTIONBOOKFORNOISEANDFIELD
INTENSITYMETEREQUIPMENT,NAVYMODELOCV,NAVSHIPS900,203,USN:
BureauofShips,1946.

StoddartAircraftRadioCompany,INSTRUCTIONBOOKFORNOISEFIELD
INTENSITYMETERTS587/U&TS587A/U,NAVSHIPS900,990,USN:Bureau
ofShips,1947.

StoddartAircraftRadioCompany,TECHNICALMANUALFORRADIO
INTERFERENCEMEASURINGSETAN/URM41,NAVSHIPS92739,USN:Bureauof
Ships,1956.

StoddartElectroSystems,RADIOINTERFERENCEFIELDINTENSITY
INSTRUMENTATION[ACatalog],1961.

R.P.Turner,"AmateurRadioandtheHughesFlight,"RADIO,October
1938,pp.1013+.

NAMESANDADDRESSESOFSTODDARTANDSUCCEEDINGOWNERS
1941c.1960 c.1960c.1972 c.19721978 19781991 19912004

StoddartAircraft StoddartElectroSystems Singer Ailtech CarnelLabs

RadioCo. (Div.ofTamarElectronics Instrumentation (Div.ofCutler Corp.
6644SantaMonica Industries,Inc.) 5340AllaRoad Hammer/Eaton) Div.of
Blvd. 2045W.RosecransAve. LosAngeles,CA 5340AllaRoad ARnellab
Hollywood38, Gardena,CA90249 90066 LosAngeles,CA90066 21434Osborne
California Street
CanogaPark,CA
91304

Correctionsoradditionsarewelcome.

email

RevisedandupdatedJuly2006
Copyright1993,1997H.A.Layer,allrightsreserved

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