# Marconi Atalanta Receiver.



## c.m.Duncan (Mar 24, 2007)

If anyone is interested, there is currently a Marconi Atalanta receiver on the ebay auction site for the next few days.
C.


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## GBXZ (Nov 4, 2008)

Had a look, is that the original speaker ?


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

(Flowers)


GBXZ said:


> Had a look, is that the original speaker ?


No (the speaker was external) and it had nothing to do with Eddystone either, but you have to be as smart as we R/Os are to know that!


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## djmorton (Apr 10, 2006)

Ron Stringer said:


> (Flowers)
> 
> No (the speaker was external) and it had nothing to do with Eddystone either, but you have to be as smart as we R/Os are to know that!


Yes Ron,
The usual external speaker used was a grey painted wooden framed
box c/w volume control.


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## Coastie (Aug 24, 2005)

Says she requires 110v AC, is that usual? I thought that power aboard ship was 240v?


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## holland25 (Nov 21, 2007)

Coastie said:


> Says she requires 110v AC, is that usual? I thought that power aboard ship was 240v?



Used to be 110 in the olden days.


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## Hugh Wilson (Aug 18, 2005)

Depends where the ship is built and what was specified by the Owner. Most ships have a lighting and small power voltage of 220v 60hz with 3-phase 440v 60hz for the auxiliary machinery etc. However, there are many with 110v systems and quite a large number of vessels (mainly Japanese built) with 100v 60hz as the domestic services voltage.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

holland25 said:


> Used to be 110 in the olden days.


Yes but that was DC not AC! (Jester)


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

R651400 said:


> Or a smarter radio company like IMR who chose to buy premier league Eddystone rather than make in-house.


Matter of opinion - remember Eddystone was a subsidiary of Marconi, so IMR are to be congratulated for their decision to purchase a Marconi group product to cover their inability to design and produce an acceptable receiver of their own. Smart of them, as you say. 

On a more technical level, the Atalanta was type approved to meet the demanding technical and climatic performance requirements of the GPO specification for main receivers to be used on British merchant ships. That was some years before Eddystone managed to modify one of their commercial receiver designs to obtain approval. Marconi had to develop their own receiver or be left without one to sell (or stick with the Mercury/Electra!). Selling radio equipment to ships was MIMCo's core business but could only ever be a fringe activity for Eddystone.


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## Coastie (Aug 24, 2005)

Oh, here we go, Fight, Fight!!(LOL)(LOL)


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

This maybe the Atalanta that was mentioned in post 25 of the link below. Mike Osborne was looking to dispose of one he had fixed. 

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=47275

Hawkey01


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

R651400 said:


> Bit of a time warp here?
> Marconi was Eddystone's biggest customer until their founder died in 1964 and they were then absorbed by Marconi.


Your time warp did not warp far back enough. Marconi had been Eddystone's majority shareholder from before WW2 but Eddystone were allowed to operate their business with only financial supervision. 

Things changed in the 1960s. English Electric had taken Marconi into their empire in 1946 but failed in a bid to take over Arnold Weinstock's GEC in 1960. Thereafter the EE directors were very alert to the progress of GEC and, in the 'tidying-up' process of their investments (in expectation of a reverse bid), decided it would be politic to purchase the remaining Eddystone shares and own the company outright. EE's directors were aware that Weinstock did not believe in retaining shareholdings in his suppliers. His view was that if they had importance for the business, you should own them outright and make them profitable to secure their future, whilst protecting your interests. If they were not important i.e. just one of several capable of providing that product, you should not hold shares but should drive their prices down as low as possible! At that time Eddystone was producing FM transmitters for Marconi's contracts to equip the BBC's expansion of the VHF/FM radio broadcast service. Accordingly Marconi were directed to purchase Eddystone outright in 1964 and thereafter Eddystone reported to the Marconi MD, rather than to the EE Board.

Didn't affect the progress of Weinstock and AEI was taken over by GEC in 1967, followed by the EE group (including Marconi) in 1968.


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