Bits of WJ Gaithersburg History

This page and the linked pages are slowly being rewritten.
Check back periodically for corrections and expansions.

back to home page

Communication Electronics, Inc (CEI)

Where the surveillance receiver division of Watkins-Johnson started.

Nems-Clarke has a long history in radio going back to at least 1909. Most of their product line was telemetry receivers for early satellite and missile reception.

Regco - started by a former CEI employee, Ralph Grimm. Very scarce equipment probably produced in small numbers.

Ling Temco Voight (LTV) made airplanes and purchased custom CEI, WJ Nems-Clarke and Collins radio for airborne surveillance use. They became E-Systems and continued to use WJ radios under the new name.

RS-111 front

The RS-111 receiver - Probably the most famous surveillance radio ever made because its role in the Watergate wiretapping.