…an excerpt from Rockwell News, September 1993
"Each of the employees honored at the Open House contributed an item representing their time at Collins to be encased in a time capsule, which was dedicated at the event.
The capsule will include items from each department within CCA and CACD and be buried on Sept. 22 - 60 years from the founding date of Collins Radio Company - in the grove of trees near the duck pond.
It will be opened in the year 2033 on the company's 100th anniversary."
Read more on the contents of the capsule on Page 4 of the October 1993 issue of Rockwell News.
Archives:
Friends of the Museum:
Collins Aerospace
Timeline:
Early History:
by: Arlo Goodyear
–The Collins Story
–The Collins Story
by: Ben Stearns
–Echo Hill Story
–Echo Hill Story
by: Nancy Zook
–The Iowan Magazine
–The Iowan Magazine
by: Ed Marriner
–CQ Magazine
–CQ Magazine
Our Founder:
| Museum Open Today |
| Wednesdays 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Building 120. Interested in a tour? click here |
| Today's Historian – Alan E. |
| This Month in History - July |
| July 2nd, 2001 –24 years ago. After announcing "The Spin" in December 2000, at the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange, Rockwell Collins, Inc. (COL) was born. |
| July 11th, 1939 –86 years ago. A.A. Collins was granted patent No. 2,165,226 for the Autotune® mechanism. |
| The Collins Story YouTube Channel | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: March 25, 2024 |
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Five AACLA documentaries are now available for watching on our YouTube Channel: "The Collins Story".
Enjoy … and give us a "LIKE"! • "WW II Production, Defending Liberty", a story about Collins' manufacturing contribution during the war and our coveted five-star Army-Navy E-Award Flag. —13:34 min • "A Culture of Innovation" chronicling Arthur Collins' boyhood mastery of amateur radio and the founding of his multinational corporation. —23:38 min • Our Award Winning Videos: - "Steps To The Moon" —1:12:23 min - "Moon Talk" —35:27 min - "Live From The Moon" —54:41 min |
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| click to see the channel... | |
| Public Inquiry | |
| by: Rod | posted: January 28, 2019 |
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The Collins Aerospace Museum is always looking for interesting artifacts to add to its collection. Is your basement presently harboring a mysterious piece of electronics, perhaps an engineering model of an early product? Did a family member ask you to store a black box saying, "Keep this - someday it may be of interest to a Museum?" If so, contact our Interim Museum Curator, Rod Blocksome with a description of your treasure. Send an email here. |
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| History behind our Museum’s 30W | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: December 4, 2016 |
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In 1965, CQ Magazine published an article, set in Summer 1932, about a ham radio operator visiting Arthur Collins’ Radio Factory to, potentially, purchase a new 30W transmitter.
You probably guessed, the story is describing the provenance of our Museum’s oldest artifact - possibly one of Arthur’s first 30W sales. read the article. |
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| Collecting Stories | |
| Behind the Scene at Rockwell Collins | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: July 5, 2012 |
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We have begun an effort to capture all of those interesting company-related stories that you’ve been telling each other - but haven’t written down yet.
Terry Lamb has stepped up and entered the first one. Thanks Terry! Click the link at the bottom of this story to find the stories page. If you wish, you can get started on your story by selecting "0n-line" or "Down-load a Form". If you choose on-line, you will be able to review and re-edit your input. Remember, your story will be reviewed by our editor before it will appear in the collection. Read Stories |
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| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: July 14, 2025 |
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The COLLINS AEROSPACE MUSEUM will be represented at the 2025 Community STEM Day Event this Thursday, July 17, 2025.
The event hosts some 75 exhibitors serving hundreds of families with STEM-related events - including Workshops and Tours of the Collins Aerospace laboratories. Activities are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. - the outdoor events are staged in a tented area East of the Recreation Center's Tennis Courts. |
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| MacMillan’s Artic Expidition - 100th Anniversary | |
| by: Rod Blocksome | posted: May 22, 2025 |
 Sneak Preview at the Collins Aerospace Museum. The replica is a collaborative effort between the AACLA, Cedar Rapids Metro High School STEM Students and the Marion Heritage Association.  As it was back in the Summer of 1925, when young Arthur ‘worked’ MacMillan’s Arctic Expedition from his attic ham shack at 514 Fairview Drive. The Navy was having trouble communicating using 'LONG wave' frequencies - Arthur and John Reinhartz, the ship-board radio operator, used 'SHORT wave' frequencies, and had outstanding results… |
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| by: Larry T | posted: December 4, 2024 |
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These Annual Reports contain a wealth of historic information about our company - perfect for fellow historians to pursue...
Arthur's "Report to Shareholders" provides the reader with accomplishments from each preceding year that, sometimes, we didn't have previous knowledge of. Take a look HERE. |
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| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: November 29, 2023 |
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I just uploaded seventeen issues of the publication, Rockwell International CONTACT.
Take a look HERE. If you happen to have an issue not included here - drop me a line. Note: we have not indexed this publication yet... |
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| Interested in Helping? | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: November 4, 2022 |
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Here are lists of missing issues for:
Collins Column - We have every issue published. Collins Signal - We got 'em all. Collins Pulse Rockwell Pride - There must be a bunch missing... Rockwell News Rockwell Vision - We think we have all five. Collins Personnel Services - We have all but October 1976. Rockwell Collins Millennium - We have the complete set. Rockwell Collins Horizons - We got 'em all. |
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| Search All Magazines... | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: June 28, 2022 |
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We have added a tool for searching our Magazine collection.
Now you can search ALL issues, of MOST* magazines, from one page! Go there and give it a try. Included are: Eight publications, consisting of 476 Issues, containing around 7,025 pages. There are over 77,841 Indexing Entries to search from. * The Rockwell News is paginated differently than the others … sorry 'bout that. |
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| Back in the Museum | |
| by: Larry | posted: April 10, 2019 |
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Retiree and Friend of the Museum, Larry Pinkston, has completed a special project to restore a Collins 150B Transmitter.
We have reason to believe that this unit was Arthur Collins’ prototype for the 150A/B product line. We have created a BLOG-like page to follow his progress. Take a look HERE. |
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| History of the Dallas Division | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: March 5, 2016 |
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Compiled by retiree, John Estill, this document presents a brief history of our Dallas Division’s beginning in 1951 - under the Collins Radio Co. and continuing to today’s operations as Collins Aerospace.
It is a large file so give it a moment to load… click to read |
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| Bond Traveled in Style | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: May 13, 2015 |
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This image submitted by retiree, Gene Dooley - a frame captured from the United Artists’ movie Goldfinger.
we're thinking the VHF Comm antenna is a 37R-2. The aircraft is a Lockheed JetStar L-329. In the Fall 1959 issue of Collins Signal a $1 million contract was noted with Lockheed to outfit their new JetStar - the "first business jet aircraft". More 'product cameos' at the TheCollinsStory.Org site. |
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| Collins History | |
| 1971 Film, Narrated by Rod Sterling | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: April 7, 2015 |
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Recently posted by the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI), this 20-minute film contributed by Don Stokes, is an interesting reminder of the breadth of diversification the Collins Radio Co. and Collins under Rockwell International had achieved by 1971.
Rockwell Collins employees of today will be interested in the number of products our fore-bearers built this company upon.  Don Stokes is a Dallas area film producer and member of the Dallas Film Society. |
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| Watch the film... | |
| The First Ten Years | |
| A YouTube Video by: Gary Halverson | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: July 10, 2012 |
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A 22-minute overview of the first ten years of Collins Radio. Introduces Art Collins, the radio landscape of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, then reviews five pre-war Collins transmitters.
Produced by WA9MZU (now K6GLH) in 1998 for the Collins Collectors Association Convention in Dallas as part of J.B. Jenkins’, W5EU, presentation on the early history of Collins Radio. |
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| watch the video... | |
| by: Larry T | posted: June 29, 2025 |
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We have a NEW WEB SITE to feature the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association's activities.
John Allen, and his FUEL team, have contributed their expertise to create a more up-to-date web experience for our readers… |
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| by: Rod Blocksome | posted: December 24, 2024 |
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I found this Card promoting Collins SSB from "perhaps after 1959".
I've never seen one of these before. The pdf is a scan of both the front and back in one image. Interestingly, it was apparently distributed by a company called KEN-ELS located here in Cedar Rapids. I've never heard of it either so did a little research on the internet and found: In Oct. 16-17, 1954 the ARRL Midwest Division Convention was held in Des Moines at the Ft. Des Moines Hotel. In the program booklet was a bunch of ads - one that stated "Announcing the opening of a new amateur radio store, Ken-Els, 508 Central Ave., Ft. Dodge, Iowa. The Collins KWM-2 manual dated Dec. 1959 lists Ken-Els, 428 Central Ave., Ft. Dodge, Iowa as an Authorized Distributor and Service for Collins ham gear. The Collins representative is Ken Stinogel. I couldn't find any mention of who was the "Els" in the company. So there you have another bit of Collins History (for what it's worth) Merry Christmas, Rod click to read... |
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| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: May 24, 2024 |
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On special occasions, Taurange, New Zealand's ZL1XT "Village Radio" Station, puts its restored 1937 Collins 20C AM Transmitter back on the air.
…Our Museum owns the original BIRD EXPEDITION 20B - but these guys make their 20C earn its keep… |
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| click to read more | |
| by: Rod Blocksome | posted: December 9, 2023 |
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Lately, we have been providing a growing number of tours - especially for employee groups.
We thought it was time to publish a photo walk-through of the Museum's newest rooms. |
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| 60th Anniversary Time Capsule | |
| Ten Years Remaining... | |
| by: Larry - Alan - Rod | posted: July 20, 2023 |
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September 22 will mark 30 years since our last Anniversary celebration - and the dedication of the capsule located by the Duck Pond. |
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| by: Larry | posted: January 2, 2023 |
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We're thinking you might enjoy a short Trivia Quiz...
Our first one features our founder, Arthur Collins, with questions pertaining to his life before, and after founding, the Collins Radio Company. |
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| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: November 1, 2020 |
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It’s time to fire up the Way Back Machine and take another trip down memory lane… Back when the Inventory Disposal Store had cool stuff for sale.
How many store locations do you remember? |
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| Click Here to reminisce a little | |
| The Beechcraft StarShip | |
| by: Larry | posted: October 10, 2019 |
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Larry Pinkston, and myself, have begun the restoration of the Museum’s StarShip Avionics System.
We have gotten past the initial power application tests - with just enough smoke to remind passers-by that Engineers are at work. At this writing, about half of the instruments are working - but are only displaying static screens. In a few months we hope to have a new artifact to show during Museum tours - maybe like the photo above. |
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| Tail Fin Art | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: March 8, 2018 |
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The folks at Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA are using select dignitaries to decorate their fleet. This Boeing 787 DreamLiner notes our founder as an “American Radio Communications Pioneer”.
I placed a short article over at the The Collins Story site. |
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| New Artifact | |
| "Mint Condition" 30FX | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: January 25, 2018 |
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This 1934 30FX Transmitter was owned and operated by J.B. Jenkins (W5EU), retired Collins Radio Engineer from the Richardson, TX facility.
J.B. passed away on September 20, 2017 and specified that this part of his collection be gifted to the Collins Aerospace Museum by his son-in-law Mark Reel. Mike and Rod welcome the new Artifact. read more about the 30FX. |
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| 1936 Employee Roster | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: January 12, 2016 |
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Arthur’s company started pretty small. Is any of your loved-ones listed here?
view the list. |
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| Young Arthur’s Ham Shack | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: August 29, 2015 |
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Ever wonder who Arthur was QSOing with back in 1925 as a young amateur radio operator?
How about them QSLs on his ham shack wall? Take a look at this page where we make our best attempt to identify the owners of the Call Signs. |
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| Collins Farms Company Bulletin | |
| A Clue to Arthur’s Success | |
| by: Larry Tjaden | posted: June 11, 2015 |
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We have just uploaded a copy of the 1930 Collins Farms Company Bulletin. Excerpts from this document have appeared in Ben Stearns’ book: Arthur Collins Radio Wizard and in our anniversary publication: The First 50 Years.
Here is your chance to read the entire document. Merle Collins, and his farming company, were waaaay ahead of their time! |
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