Abandoned Motorola Headquarters

[ve3ext]

and the radio museum in now stored in an iron mountain facility.
Still have my ex FBI 4 channel radio one 6146 driving two more in the final stage., 40 watts output Wow!!
Still works., have many crystals
Jerry VE3EXT

 

[com501]

Ahhh, the days. ARDIS training.....

 

[NVAGVUP]

Went through several classes there. (The last in 2017) We still were at campus, but it was in the process of being shuttered. The history of Mother M that was on display.

Back around 1990, I was therefor Coverage Plus training. I connected with an engineer and he took me all over that place. I still remember him showing me he Motorola SSB radios that the drug smugglers loved to try and get there hands on! (They could talk across the Gulf!)

 

[footage]

The corporate archives was kind enough to offer our library their (partial) collection of old Gernsback radio magazines from the 1930s and 1940s. Wish they'd parted with more.

 

[jaspence]

At my first Hamvention I ended up at a table of friendly Motorola engineers at lunch. They had some radios that had be modified for ham frequencies. Sure would have liked to get one of the hts they had modified for 220.

 

[KG4INW]

and the radio museum in now stored in an iron mountain facility.

Part of the museum is in the CCSI in Elgin at least. I was there a year ago and took these.

 

[xyz321]

Fond Memories Still have my old lunch card from the 1990's

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

May 6, 1976 was my first day working at the Schaumburg plant. Final test on Centracomm One. That week they also had me testing an old haze beige console with lightbulbs that was last one bought by Chicago PD. A lot of good memories and friends.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Part of the museum is in the CCSI in Elgin at least. I was there a year ago and took these.View attachment 108176
View attachment 108177

Before the museum was built, I got a tour of the basement at the tower building where all the artifacts were stored on rack shelving.

 

[K9RPL]

Before the museum was built, I got a tour of the basement at the tower building where all the artifacts were stored on rack shelving.

I've been there. Around 1978 or 79. When I worked in the Annex we'd go down to the basement of the Tower and look through all the stuff. The WWII packset with the shell hole was always a conversation piece. If I recall there was one of the original gas car heaters down there too. The story was when Paul Galvin first started in business he made gas fired car heaters, at least until one burned up his wife's car.

In 1979 during the blizzard they let the Annex people from the MACC park in the undergound garage. We were snowed in and they opened up the cafeteria so we could get something to eat. I had a radio in the car and decided to try and get home so I told my dad to turn on my base station and we kept in touch on my way home around midnight or so. I just barely made it. Never stopped for a stop sign or light. If you did, you got stuck. Fortunatlely I lived in Elk Grove at the time.

 

[WA0CBW]

I probably crossed paths with many of you. I was there from 1974 to1984 as a Project Manager (later System Integration). Retired after 20 years and worked for 11 years at the local Motorola Service Shop. I lived in Kansas City but was hired in the old Area D (Dallas). Spent a lot of time traveling from Dallas to Schaumburg. Managed the first Cellular telephone system installations in Kansas City, Memphis and Dallas.

It was once a great company, today not so much.
Bill

 

[K9RPL]

I probably crossed paths with many of you. I was there from 1974 to1984 as a Project Manager (later System Integration). Retired after 20 years and worked for 11 years at the local Motorola Service Shop. I lived in Kansas City but was hired in the old Area D (Dallas). Spent a lot of time traveling from Dallas to Schaumburg. Managed the first Cellular telephone system installations in Kansas City, Memphis and Dallas.

It was once a great company, today not so much.
Bill

I visited Area D a couple of times. I almost moved to Texas. I was going to transfer to the Forth Worth facility and actually found an apartment in Farmer's Branch. It fell through when they dropped the job posting. Oh well...

 

[wa8pyr]

and the radio museum in now stored in an iron mountain facility.
Still have my ex FBI 4 channel radio one 6146 driving two more in the final stage., 40 watts output Wow!!
Still works., have many crystals
Jerry VE3EXT

When my co-worker and I went there to test our system at CCSI before it was deployed, they gave us a tour of the museum, including the back room and shop where all the stuff not on display was stored. On the bench at the time were a couple of WW2 SCR536 "handie-talkies" and a couple of SCR300 backpack radios. We were permitted to play with them; I still have a picture of myself holding a "handie-talkie" up to my head.

They guy who oversaw the museum was a retired Motorola engineer who stayed on part time to handle the museum and restore things to working order; he was over 80 and still going strong. Fascinating guy to talk to, full of stories of the old days.

At the time the museum was part of the Galvin Innovation Center, which was a fairly new building close to the freeway; as nearly as I can tell from the overhead imagery, it's gone too.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I've been there. Around 1978 or 79. When I worked in the Annex we'd go down to the basement of the Tower and look through all the stuff. The WWII packset with the shell hole was always a conversation piece. If I recall there was one of the original gas car heaters down there too. The story was when Paul Galvin first started in business he made gas fired car heaters, at least until one burned up his wife's car.

In 1979 during the blizzard they let the Annex people from the MACC park in the undergound garage. We were snowed in and they opened up the cafeteria so we could get something to eat. I had a radio in the car and decided to try and get home so I told my dad to turn on my base station and we kept in touch on my way home around midnight or so. I just barely made it. Never stopped for a stop sign or light. If you did, you got stuck. Fortunatlely I lived in Elk Grove at the time.

My family owned a 1947 Willy's Jeep station wagon in the "woody" paint scheme. It had one of those /\/\otorola gasoline heaters with a chrome control box. I was a toddler then and remember the flames shooting out from it as I sat in the car parked outside our home. My dad disconnected it and removed the control box. The heater remained installed because otherwise there was a huge hole in the firewall.

I was there at Motorola for the 1979 blizzard. The plant cafeteria was open. I tried sleeping on a golf cart with bubble wrap and after a while decided going home was my option.

I got a cafeteria tray and with it, dug a path out for my car. It was rough going. At the bridge over I90 on Roselle road, there were a half dozen cars spun out and smashed. I was unable to gain traction going up the bridge and ended up back at the plant.

 

[K9RPL]

I did manage to get to 53 which was surprising clear because the wind cleared off the snow. It was just getting on and off that was dicey.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I did manage to get to 53 which was surprising clear because the wind cleared off the snow. It was just getting on and off that was dicey.

Yeah, coming back on Algonquin, I nearly spun out once on some ice. There were two more huge blizzards up to about 1983 and I finally moved south.

 

[CanesFan95]

Where did Motorola's lawyers all work?

 

[K9RPL]

Most likely in the Tower. That was all corporate.

 

[ve3ext]

so all of this brings up another point----who/where is the extensive library of manuals for all of their products over the last several decades???

I have several needs that might be fulfilled with a schematic at least

Jerry VE3EXT

 

[belvdr]

Most likely in the Tower. That was all corporate.

Where's the tower? Is that still standing?