Eico

Lore & Background

EICO was established in New York City in 1945 by radio repair business owner Harry Ashley to manufacture electronic test equipment in kit form. Its first product, the model 113 VTVM/audible signal tracer, was advertised in the July 1946 issue of Radio News. A wide variety of test equipment remained the company's mainstay, though EICO often augmented its product lines with what was thought fashionable; in the late 1940s it offered Geiger counters in response to public interest in uranium prospecting. By December 1956, sales were said to be over one million instruments.

EICO's largest secondary market was audio equipment. Starting in 1958, the company produced amateur radio equipment, often in kit form, including the EICO 720 and 730 transmitters. In the 1960s it introduced the EICO 753 SSB transceiver, but problems with that model—nicknamed "seven drifty three"—damaged the company's reputation and led to its decline. EICO also sold specialty test equipment for the ham radio market, such as signal generators and grid dip oscillators.

The company was first located at 84 Withers Street in Brooklyn, New York, and later at 33-00 Northern Boulevard in Long Island City. It produced hi-fi products from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, including tuners, preamplifiers, and amplifiers available in kit form or fully assembled. The model EICO HF-81 integrated tube amplifier was one of several highly regarded products from this period. EICO also manufactured monoblock amplifiers such as the HF-50 and HF-35, stereo integrated amplifiers like the ST-40 and ST-70, and many other amplifiers and preamplifiers. In the late 1960s, EICO introduced a line of solid state audio equipment called Cortina, but by the mid-1970s the only audio products it sold were kits manufactured for it in South Korea. EICO left the audio market in the late 1970s and the electronics market some time later. The company existed as a property management company until 1999, when it was liquidated at the request of the shareholders.

Reader's Guide

EICO's significance lies in its role as a major producer of electronics kits, particularly in test equipment, audio, and amateur radio, from the post-war period through the 1970s. The company's business model—offering kits that allowed hobbyists to build their own gear at lower cost—helped popularize electronics as a hobby and made professional-grade instruments accessible to a wider audience. Its test equipment, including the model 113 VTVM and later signal generators and grid dip oscillators, became staples in repair shops and home workshops. In audio, EICO produced highly regarded tube amplifiers and preamplifiers, such as the HF-81 integrated amplifier and the HF-50 and HF-35 monoblock amplifiers, which remain sought after by vintage audio enthusiasts. The company's foray into amateur radio with the 720 and 730 transmitters and the troubled 753 SSB transceiver illustrates both its ambition and the risks of kit-based manufacturing; the 753's reliability issues damaged EICO's reputation and contributed to its decline. The later shift to solid state audio with the Cortina line and eventual outsourcing of kit production to South Korea marked the company's retreat from innovation. EICO's legacy is that of a kit pioneer whose products helped define the golden age of DIY electronics, even as quality control problems and market changes ultimately led to its dissolution as a property management firm in 1999.

Did You Know?

• The EICO 753 SSB transceiver was nicknamed 'seven drifty three' due to problems that damaged the company's reputation.
• EICO existed as a property management company from the late 1970s until its liquidation in 1999.