Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

TEST ENGINEERING UNIT

Date Range From

1985

Date Range To

1988

Materials

METAL

No. Pieces

1

Height

7.2

Length

32.3

Width

22.7

Description

BLACK DECONSTRUCTED 5300-TRANSCEIVER TEST ENGINEERING UNIT. BLACK METAL HANDLE AND BLACK CORD ON FRONT OF DEVICE. TWO WHITE STICKERS ON FRONT OF DEVICE: “PA5310727” AND “REV 1.” WHITE STICKER ON TOP OF DEVICE: “NOVA TEL TEST ENG. TE1001111.” FIRST BLACK STICKER ON TOP OF DEVICE: “NOVATEL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED CALGARY, CANADA MADE IN CANADA…RADIO TELEPHONE TYPE 5300.” SECOND BLACK STICKER: “SER. NO 05400001313 [IN RED PEN]… MADE IN CANADA.” EDGES OF CASE ARE WORN DOWN TO SILVER METAL. OVERALL EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

TELECOMMUNICATION T&E

Historical Association

BUSINESS

INDUSTRY

History

ON DECEMBER 10, 2020, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN SPOKE WITH BRIAN CHRISTENSEN ABOUT HIS DONATION OF VARIOUS NOVATEL AND JAPAN RADIO COMPANY ELECTRONICS (JRC). BRIAN CHRISTENSEN STARTED WORKING AT NOVATEL IN 1985 AS A TEST ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIST BEFORE TAKING A PROCESS MANAGEMENT JOB AT THE NOVATEL PERIPHERAL PLANT MID-1988, CHRISTENSEN LEFT HIS POSITION AT NOVATEL/JRC BY JANUARY 2000. THE INFORMATION BELOW IS DERIVED FROM THAT INTERVIEW AND A SERIES OF LETHBRIDGE HERALD NEWSPAPER ARTICLES. CHRISTENSEN EXPLAINED THE PRODUCTION OF THE TRANSCEIVER: “…THE 5300 TRANSCEIVER CAME; IT’S A FIFTEEN-WATT TRANSCEIVER. IT CAME AND THEY WERE PUSHING IT IN ASIA, SOME IN SOUTH KOREA. SOME SUCCESS. I DON’T THINK [THE TRANSCEIVERS WERE] A REALLY HUGE SUCCESS. IT WAS MORE EXPENSIVE TO GET IT OVER THERE, TEST IT, AND GET IT WORKING THERE THAN IT WAS PROBABLY WORTH… EVEN IN THIS 5300, YOU CAN’T SEE IT, BUT THERE’S MOTOROLA CHIPS INSIDE HERE. THERE’S MOTOROLA CHIPS INSIDE A LOT OF THIS PRODUCT AND EVERY TIME WE GOT TOO BIG FOR OUR BRITCHES WE’D GET BACKORDERED ON MOTOROLA PRODUCT…” CHRISTENSEN CLARIFIED: “…BECAUSE [THE 5300 IS] NO GOOD TO ANYBODY IN THE WORLD IN NORTH AMERICA, RIGHT? IT’S A TEST ENGINEERING UNIT WHICH MEANS IT COULD HAVE – IT COULD BE ANY VERSION OF WHATEVER [DEVICE], SETTING ON A SHELF BECAUSE WE BUILT THESE THINGS, WE TESTED THESE THINGS, THERE’S DIFFERENT FIRMWARE…WE [WOULD] USE SOFTWARE TO TEST THESE RADIOS, AND THEN THESE RADIOS WOULD GET TESTED ON THESE [TEST ENGINEERING UNITS] AND THEN SHIPPED OFF TO KOREA OR WHATEVER… WE BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF [THE TEST ENGINEERING UNITS].” CHRISTENSEN RECALLED: “…WE HAD AN ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE LAB ONSITE WHERE WE HAD GUNS THAT WOULD GENERATE AN ELECTRONIC CHARGE, AND WE WOULD TAKE AND SHOOT THIS GUN AT ANYTHING WE COULD, ON OUR HANDSETS, ON OUR RADIOS, AND ALL THIS STUFF, TRYING TO MAKE THEM FAIL…” CHRISTENSEN ELABORATED ON WHY HE KEPT THE DEVICE: “I KIND OF LIKE THE TRANSCEIVER BECAUSE IT’S GOT THE SIDES OFF OF IT AND IT SHOWS YOU WHAT WENT INTO MAKING THESE IN THE EARLY DAYS, YOU KNOW? THERE’S THE GUTS OF A, NOT CELLULAR BUT BASICALLY THAT THEME OF RADIO, RIGHT? BECAUSE ALL THEY DID WAS MINIATURIZE THEM AND CHANGE THEM UP AND AWAY YOU WENT.” CHRISTENSEN EXPANDED UPON HOW HE CAME INTO POSSESSION OF THE VARIOUS ELECTRONICS: “…WHEN YOU’RE IN MANAGEMENT OR TEST ENGINEERING IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, YOU’RE TESTING YOUR PRODUCT. THIS IS YOURS; GO HOME; USE IT, RIGHT?... ALL OF THIS STUFF COST ME NOTHING. THIS IS NOT STUFF COMING OFF A SHELF, LIKE IT’S NOT OFF A PRODUCTION SHELF. THIS IS ENGINEERING TYPE STUFF…” CHRISTENSEN REFLECTED ON WHY HE KEPT THESE ELECTRONICS: “…I SHOULDN’T SAY KNOWING, BUT I ALWAYS THOUGHT THEY’D BE COLLECTIBLE OR SOMETHING… IT WAS A NEW INDUSTRY. LIKE THEY – THIS THING DIDN’T EXIST. MAYBE A PERSON SHOULD TRY TO CAPTURE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT…” CHRISTENSEN CLARIFIED, “…I PROBABLY TOOK THE 5300 TRANSCEIVER JUST BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT IT TO GET THROWN AWAY OR SOMETHING…” ACCORDING TO AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED OCTOBER 4, 1983, NOVATEL WAS A CALGARY-BASED COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY FORMED BETWEEN ‘NOVA.,’ AN ALBERTA ENERGY COPORATION, AND ‘ALBERTA GOVERNMENT TELEPHONES (AGT).’ IN A JANUARY 24, 1984, ARTICLE IT WAS REPORTED THAT AMONGST EMPLOYEE LAYOFFS, AEL MICROTEL SOLD THEIR BUILDING IN LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA TO NOVATEL. IT WAS ANNOUNCED IN A SEPTEMBER 11, 1985, ARTICLE THAT NOVATEL WILL OFFICIALLY OPEN THEIR MAIN MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN THE 450 31ST N BUILDING (PREVIOUSLY AEL MICROTEL). NOVATEL LATER EXPANDED TWICE ACCORDING TO JUNE 27, 1989, AND JULY 24, 1990, ARTICLES. AGT PRIVATIZED IN 1990 AND BECAME KNOWN AS THE ‘TELUS CORPORATION’ IN AN AUGUST 1, 1990, ANNOUNCEMENT; NOVATEL WAS THEN SOLD BY TELUS BACK TO THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT ACCORDING TO A JANUARY 3, 1991, ARTICLE. BY MARCH 19, 1991, IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE LETHBRIDGE NOVATEL MANUFACTURING PLANT LAID 222 OF ITS EMPLOYEES OFF. MAY 2, 1991, AND MAY 6, 1991, ARTICLES ANNOUNCED FURTHER LAYOFFS OF CLOSE TO 400 WORKERS AND SHUT DOWN THE CALGARY MANUFACTURING PLANT. ACCORDING TO MAY 15, 1992, MAY 22, 1992, AND MARCH 15, 1994, ARTICLES: NOVATEL WAS SOLD BY THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT TO A HONG KONG-BASED ENTREPRENEUR, HORST PUDWILL, AND NORTHERN TELECOM; PUDWILL BOUGHT THE CELLULAR HANDSET MANUFACTURING SIDE OF THE COMPANY AND NORTHERN TELECOM BOUGHT THE CELLULAR SYSTEM SIDE OF THE COMPANY. IT WAS ANNOUNCED IN AN APRIL 10, 1994, ARTICLE THAT JAPANESE RADIO COMPANY (JRC) OFFICIALLY BOUGHT NOVATEL AND MADE THE LETHBRIDGE MANUFACTURING PLANT THE CANADIAN HEADQUARTERS FOR JRC. ON NOVEMBER 16, 1999, AN ARTICLE ANNOUNCED THAT JRC WAS STILL LOOKING FOR A BUYER FOR THE LETHBRIDGE MANUFACTURING FACILITY. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION INCLUDING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200035006

Acquisition Date

2020-12

Collection

Museum

Less detail