Marconi Instruments Limited (MI) was a British company, one of the

Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This ...

group of companies, formerly part of GEC. Originally formed in 1936, there was a buyout of Marconi- Ekco Instruments to form the company Marconi Instruments in 1941. The company was based in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

and

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

(where it eventually consolidated), all in southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Prior to the consolidation in Stevenage, its main site was at

Longacres Longacres was a Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racetrack in Renton, Washington, Renton, Washington (U.S. state), Washington, United States. Owned by the Gottstein/Alhadeff family and operated by the Washington Jockey Club for the va ...

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 Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and one at

Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated east of the town centre, and is the fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a company wholly owned by ...

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

. The company produced electronic test and measurement equipment and systems, including

automatic test equipment Automatic test equipment or automated test equipment (ATE) is any apparatus that performs tests on a device, known as the device under test (DUT), equipment under test (EUT) or unit under test (UUT), using automation to quickly perform measure ...

. It was known for its extensive range of

signal generator A signal generator is one of a class of Electronics, 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, typ ...

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 sound ...

up to

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

frequencies. It also made

oscilloscope An oscilloscope (formerly known as an oscillograph, informally scope or O-scope) is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying voltages of one or more signals as a function of time. Their main purpose is capturing i ...

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 ...

spectrum analyser A spectrum analyzer measures the magnitude of an input signal versus frequency within the full frequency range of the instrument. The primary use is to measure the power of the spectrum of known and unknown signals. The input signal that most co ...

frequency counter A frequency counter is an electronics, electronic measuring instrument, instrument, or Electronic component, component of one, that is used for measuring frequency. Frequency counters usually measure the number of cycles of oscillation or pulses p ...

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 by ...

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 r ...

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 signal ...

analysers,

moisture meter Moisture meters are measuring instruments used to measure the percentage of water in a given substance, as physical properties are strongly affected by moisture content and high moisture content for a period of time may progressively degrade a mat ...

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 known ...

and

metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...

laboratory for the

electronics industry The electronics industry is the industry (economics), industry that produces electronic devices. It emerged in the 20th century and is today one of the largest global industries. Contemporary society uses a vast array of electronic devices that ar ...

. 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 was ...

in 2002.GEC Sells Marconi Instruments

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

, 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 Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegraphy, wireless tel ...

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