Marconi Instruments Limited (MI) was a British company, one of the Marconi group of companies, formerly part of GEC. Originally formed in 1936, there was a buyout of Marconi-

Ekco EKCO (from Eric Kirkham Cole Limited) was a British electronics company producing radio and television sets from 1924 until 1960. Expanding into plastic production for its own use, Ekco Plastics produced both radio cases and later domestic plasti ...

Instruments to form the company Marconi Instruments in 1941. The company was based in St Albans,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

and Stevenage (where it eventually consolidated), all in southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Prior to the consolidation in Stevenage, its main site was at Longacres on the eastern outskirts of St Albans, where it was the largest employer. There were four other sites, one at Hedley Road, one on Hatfield Road, St Albans ( Fleetville Works), one on the Donibristle Industrial Estate in Fife,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and one at Luton Airport,

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

. The company produced electronic test and measurement equipment and systems, including automatic test equipment. It was known for its extensive range of

signal generator A signal generator is one of a class of electronic devices that generates electrical signals with set properties of amplitude, frequency, and wave shape. These generated signals are used as a stimulus for electronic measurements, typically used i ...

s, from

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

up to

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...

frequencies. It also made oscilloscopes,

voltmeter A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electric potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. It is connected in parallel. It usually has a high resistance so that it takes negligible current from the circuit. A ...

s, spectrum analysers,

frequency counter A frequency counter is an electronic instrument, or component of one, that is used for measuring frequency. Frequency counters usually measure the number of cycles of oscillation, or pulses per second in a periodic electronic signal. Such an instr ...

function generator In electrical engineering, a function generator is usually a piece of electronic test equipment or software used to generate different types of electrical waveforms over a wide range of frequencies. Some of the most common waveforms produced ...

s, component ( LCR) bridges, impedance analysers,

power supplies A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As a res ...

distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signa ...

analysers,

moisture meter Moisture meters are used to measure the percentage of water in a given substance. This information can be used to determine if the material is ready for use, unexpectedly wet or dry, or otherwise in need of further inspection. Wood and paper prod ...

s and logic analysers. The company operated an approved

calibration In measurement technology and metrology, calibration is the comparison of measurement values delivered by a device under test with those of a calibration standard of known accuracy. Such a standard could be another measurement device of kno ...

and metrology laboratory for the electronics industry. Marconi Instruments was sold to IFR Systems Inc. in 1998, itself acquired by

Aeroflex Aeroflex Inc. was an American company which produced test equipment, RF and microwave integrated circuits, components and systems used for wireless communications. Its headquarters were located in Plainview, New York. In May 2014, Aeroflex wa ...

in 2002.GEC Sells Marconi Instruments

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, 1998. The name is no longer used. Companies with "Marconi" in their name can trace their ultimate origins, through mergers and takeovers, to The Marconi Company Ltd., founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as ''The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company''.

References

{{General Electric Company plc 1936 establishments in England 1998 disestablishments in England British companies established in 1936 Electronics companies established in 1941 Technology companies established in 1941 Technology companies disestablished in 1998 Electronics companies of the United Kingdom Defunct technology companies of the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in St Albans General Electric Company History of St Albans History of Colchester Companies based in Stevenage