RE: Some early digital proportional history
Very interesting thread, great to see so much of the history. Still so many questions about that era go unanswered, and the those with first hand knowledge are thinning.
Did the company CG later become F&M? Was Frank Hoover the owner/designer of both?
How did Ted White and the Quasar fit into the picture? (That's one you missed Russ.)
The Digicon was developed and sold by Mathis and Spreng as I understand it. The remaining sets were sold by C&S before the Digicon II was introduced. C&S later evolved into Cannon Systems around 1968 or so. I still have one of his 3 channel systems with KPS-9 servos on 27 MHz. (Hey Russ, another company)
Besides the '67 Kraft (yes, on 72), I've got a F&M Digital 5 with Bonner Sticks and KPS-7 servo mechanics from around '65 or '66. It's in good shape except for the painted on marking that were "cleaned" by someone before I got it. Anybody know how the artwork was painted on these old sets? I've got the transmitter artwork done, but need the technique (silkscreen???)
Another radio aquired recently is a PCS (50 MHz) with the Bonner sticks and KPS-7 servos. Same metal transmitter case as the '67 Kraft, but receiver electronics are different.
A EK Logitrol II seven channel with the Orbit PS-2 servos rounds out the early digital systems. I had it working about 35 years ago. Since then, I found a large quanty of spare servos and another 5 channel receiver. Wish I'd just sent it in for service way back when, but it was just so much bigger than my 70 Kraft single stick (also still in the box with KPS-12 servos). The EK servo responce was pretty slow with a lot of overshoot and bounce at the end of the travel.
The progress from 1964 to 1970 was stunning in terms of size and performance. It did seem like Kraft put together the "A" team of engineers and designers. He was also king of marketing with the Kraft, PCS, and Heathkit lines. Each were priced in $100 increments with less features and/or older designs. Eliminating the "Fail-Safe" from digital radios made a lot of sense, which Kraft did. It cut the component count in the receiver by about half.