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The company
was founded in 1931, from the remains of the “Amplion”
company, makers of some very beautiful horn
loudspeakers. The premises of the company were initially
located in Woodger Road, Shepherd's Bush, London, the
location giving rise to the company's name.
In 1937/1937 they moved to Chestwick.
Bush Radio
started trading in 1932 as a subsidiary to the Gaumont British
Picture Corporation, which believed the Cinema industry
was going to be associated with Television in a big way
and that the best way into TV was through Radio. In 1945 Bush passed into
the hands of the Rank Organisation and became one of the major
British radio manufacturers, producing a wide range of sets. In
1962 Bush merged with the ailing
Murphy Radio following a successful takeover bid by
Rank: this eventually forming Rank Bush Murphy, or RBM
for short. The Bush brand almost completely disappeared
during the eighties. Retail organisation Argos bought
and still uses the brand name Bush. |
| Bush
introduced the idea of series-heater valves in a chassis
that could readily be adapted for either AC or
AC/DC operation in the late '30s and early '40s but the
idea got really into its stride just after the war. The
great advantage from the manufacturing point of view was
that all that had to be done to make an |
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AC/DC set into a nominally AC-only set was the
substitution of a small auto-transformer for the
dropper and a small alteration to the dial lamp
wiring. The auto-transformer was no bigger than
a standard output transformer and obviously much
cheaper to make than a standard mains
transformer. |
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With
the advent of portable transistor receivers, Bush were
under serious competitive pressure to develop a
successful range themselves, which they achieved in 1959
with launch of the TR82 series of transistor radios.
Once more, Bush received critical acclaim from the radio
buying public, and especially from teenagers who were
now proving to be a serious force in the portable
transistor market. Launched in 1966, the next design
classic created by Bush was the TR130 Radio. The
TR82 and the TR130 both mark a definitive period in
British radio history. |
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