Belling and Lee
of Queensway Works, Ponders End, Middlesex. Telephone: Enfield 0498. Cables: "Belling and Lee, Ponders End". (1929)
of Cambridge Arterial Road, Enfield, Middlesex. Telephone: Enfield 3322. Telegraphic Address. "'Phone Enfield, 3322" (1937)
The Belling-Lee connector or IEC 169-2 connector, more often simply known as TV aerial plug or PAL connector, is the traditional European antenna connector for TV sets and FM-radio receivers. It is the oldest coaxial RF connector still commonly used today. It connects a receiver to a terrestrial VHF/UHF roof antenna, antenna amplifier, or CATV network, via a coaxial cable. It was invented at 'Belling and Lee Ltd in Enfield, around 1922, at the time of the first BBC broadcasts. It was originally only intended for medium frequency broadcasts, where accurate impedance matching of an antenna connector is not a concern.
1922 Company formed by C. Belling (presumably Charles Reginald Belling) and Edgar Morton Lee in Enfield. Became private company.
1929 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Manufacturers of Wireless Components. Speciality: Insulated Terminals and Indicating Terminals for Radio and Electrical Instruments. (Stand No. MM.36) [1]
1937 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Mains Interference Suppressors. H. F. Filters, Double Choke and Condenser Units, 3.300 amps. Lift Suppressors, Fuses and Fuseholders. Electrical Connections. (Stand No. Cb.724) [2]
1947 British Industries Fair Advert for Radio and Electronic Components and Accessories. Manufacturers of Interference Aerials for Radio and Television. Fuses and Fuseholders, Valveholders, Terminals, Coaxial, Normal and Multi-pin Plugs and Sockets. Thermal Delay Switches. Interference Suppression Devices. (Olympia, Ground Floor, Stand No. C.1540) [3]
1959 Employed IBM to speed up data processing[4]
1961 1,200 employees. [5]
1966 Ada (Halifax) acquired a controlling interest[6]
1970 Was the electrical and electronic components subsidiary of Ada (Halifax)[7]
1974 Moved to CEI Group by Philips
1980 Philips put together its peripheral high technology businesses into a separate company, Cambridge Electronic Industries[8]
1981 The company had 3 divisions:
- Electronic Components
- Radio frequency interference suppression
- Prestincert, making self-piercing inserts for component mounting.
1981 Cambridge Electronic Industries was listed as a public company
1982 Belling and Lee Ltd became Belling Lee Ltd
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 1929 British Industries Fair p18
- ↑ 1937 British Industries Fair p333
- ↑ 1947 British Industries Fair Advert 378; p27
- ↑ The Times, May 12, 1959
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- ↑ The Times, Apr 07, 1966
- ↑ The Times, Sep 22, 1970
- ↑ The Times May 28, 1981
- [1] Wikipedia