Bird Technologies
Bird provides radio frequency communication products, services, calibration and training for the public security, cellular networks, broadcasting, semiconductor, military, government and medical industries.
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Industry | Electronic Manufacturing |
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Founded | 1942 |
Founder | J. Raymond Bird |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | Reston, Virginia, U.S. Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Singapore EMEA |
Area served | World Wide |
Key people | Terry Grant, President Dennis Morgan, CFO Michael Simpson, VP of Operations |
Products | Coverage & Capacity, Off Air Testing, Sensors (M2M), Test & Measurement |
Services | Repair and Calibration, Educational, Site Optimization |
Website | birdrf |
Bird's product portfolio includes spectrum analyzers, antenna and cable testers, power sensors, power meters and monitors, wattmeters, attenuators, terminations and loads, cellular repeaters, signal boosters, distributed antenna systems (DAS), RF streaming solutions, RF signal generation, and RF software analysis tools. The company's core market segments are Coverage Enhancement, Off Air Testing, M2M Sensors and Test & Measurement.
History
In 1942 James Raymond Bird teamed up with a college friend to start a small job shop in Cleveland, Ohio which led to the development of a line of products used to measure RF power generated by television and radio transmitters.[1] James and his partner founded the Bird Engineering Company which later changed its name to the Bird Electronic Corporation. During his career, James Bird had been awarded several patents.[2] Bird acquired TX RX Systems in 1995.[3]
Bird acquired X-COM Systems in 2010, the company designs and manufactures digital communication hardware and software for military and commercial applications.[4]
Milestones and patents
2018 - Combilent US Acquires Bird's Radio Infrastructure Products Division[5]
2017 - Bird Launches the SignalHawk SH-42S Handheld Spectrum Analyzer[6]
2013 - Bird Technologies Acquires Distributed Antenna System Manufacturer DeltaNode[7]
2013 - VSG5000A Multi-Channel Phase Coherent Vector Signal Generator launched[8]
2013 - IQC5000A Series, RF Spectrum Capture and Playback System launched[9]
2013 - X-COM Systems releases Spectro-X 4.0 Signal Analysis Toolkit[10]
2012 - Bird Technologies Celebrates 70 Years[11]
2012 - X-COM Systems releases Version 3.0 of RF Editor Graphical RF Signal Editor Software[12]
2010 - Bird Technologies Group Acquires X-COM Systems for Its Advanced RF Military Technology[13]
2009 - Radio Magazine Pick Hits Awarded at NAB Show for PC SignalHawk[14]
2008 - Radio Magazine Pick Hits Awarded at NAB Show for Transmit Power Monitor[15]
2007 - Ohio Governor's "E" Excellence in exporting award received (2nd time)[16]
2005 - Radio Magazine Pick Hits Awarded at NAB Show for Broadcast Power Monitor (BPME)[17]
2003 - Radio World Cool Stuff Awarded to Bird Site Analyzer[18]
1999 - Antenna Tester patent granted[19]
1959 - Thruline power measurement patent granted[20]
Model 43 Thruline Directional Wattmeter
![](../I/m/Bird-model-43-rf-wattmeter.jpg)
The Bird Model 43 Thruline Wattmeter was created in the early 1950s. The self-contained instrument used microwatts of energy from the transmission it measured. Its reference line section made it economical and provided built-in reference accuracy that remained consistent with age. The patent was granted for the Directional Wattmeter in 1958.[21]
References
- US US2752572A, Bird, James R.; Harold E. Stevens & Blossy D. Frederico, "Liquid-cooled load for a coaxial transmission line", issued 1956
- "Google Patents". patents.google.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2018/09/04/angola-based-maker-of-radio-equipment-acquired-by.html. Retrieved 12 August 2019. Missing or empty
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(help) - "Bird Technologies Group Acquires X-COM Systems for Its Advanced RF Military Technology". Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- "Combilent US Acquires Bird's Radio Infrastructure Products Division". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- "Bird Technologies Acquires Distributed Antenna System Manufacturer DeltaNode". Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- "Multi-Channel Phase Coherent Vector Signal Generator: VSG5000A". Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- "High-performance X-COM system records, analyzes RF spectrum". Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- "Spectro-X 4.0 Software Analyzes Four RF Spectrum Capture Files". Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- "Bird Technologies celebrates 70 years of helping others be heard loud and clear". Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- "X-COM Systems Releases Version 3.0 of RF Editor Graphical RF Signal Editor Software". Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- "Bird Technologies Group Acquires X-COM Systems for Its Advanced RF Military Technology". Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- "The Radio magazine Pick Hits of the 2009 NAB Show". Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- "NAB Insider from Radio magazine - Apr 22, 2008". Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- "2009 Governor's Excellence in Exporting Awards - Previous Award Winners (2007-1995)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- "NAB Insider from Radio magazine - April 26, 2005". Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- "Radio World Names 2003 "Cool Stuff" Award Winners". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- US 5949380, Swank II, John D., "Antenna Tester", issued 1999
- US 2891221, Bird, James R.; Henery J. Calderhead & Herbert H. Heller, "Standing wave indicator", issued 1959
- US 2852741, Bird, James R.; Henery J. Calderhead & Herbert H. Heller, "Directional Wattmeter", issued 1958