Re: Question About Amplifier Tubes
Funk Werks Koepenick (Funk means radio or radio works located at Koepenick in Berlin) was formely GEMA, the company that invented radar during the mid 1930s (forget the Mazda cars ad). They did work for the German navy. The founder of GEMA was an electronics inventer named Hans Freiherr von Willisen. He and his bussiness partner Paul Erbsloeh invented the electronic phonograph needle and several recording and sound reproduction equipment. They owned the recording company Tonographie. Before Tonographie records were all noisey and scratchy, after Tonographie HI Fi recorded sound existed. They recorded classical music, but their inventions revolutionized recorded music during the big band era.
They started doing work for the German Navy helping them develop advanced sonar. The work became so involved by 1933 that they founded GEMA to research and develop sonar and radar technologies. At first they used vacuum tubes purchased from Philips in Holland (which was associated with Mullard in England) but they began to design and manafacture their own at the Berlin facility. During WWII GEMA became closely associated with Siemens because Siemens was a major sub-contractor of GEMA of radar equipment. After the war GEMA's assets were taken over by the communist gov in the east, but Siemens absorbed GEMA's assets in the west.
von Willisen started a company after the war that built some of the first guitar amplifiers but this company failed. He then reformed Tonographie which specialized in special equipment for radio and TV and recording studios. von Willisen died in 1966.
On edit: Hans von Willisen was close friends to George Nueman the owner of Nuemam microphones and they used Nueman mics in their recording studios.
