The Cedar Rapids teenager whose radios reached the North Pole — and later the Moon.
As a teenager in Cedar Rapids, Arthur A. Collins built shortwave radios so capable that in 1925 he relayed communications for a MacMillan Arctic expedition when professional stations could not. He founded Collins Radio Company in 1933.
Collins equipment became the gold standard in aviation and defense communications. NASA used Collins gear during the Apollo program, and the company's avionics guided generations of aircraft.
Collins made Cedar Rapids a global center of aviation electronics, employing tens of thousands of Iowans over the decades. Its radios carried the words of Arctic explorers, airline pilots, and Apollo astronauts.
The company remains one of eastern Iowa's largest employers under the Collins Aerospace name.
Collins Radio is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Grew into Rockwell Collins, now part of Collins Aerospace (RTX), a major Cedar Rapids employer
1933.
Arthur A. Collins — founder (1933); radio prodigy who aided a 1925 Arctic expedition
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