EF Johnson Technologies

Lore & Background

The company was founded in 1923 by Edgar F. Johnson and his wife Ethel Johnson, beginning as a mail order business selling radio transmitting parts to amateurs and early broadcasters from a space shared with a woodworking shop in downtown Waseca. In 1936, E.F. Johnson Co. built its first factory and office building in Waseca with 17 employees. The company designed and produced electronic components in volume and was active in World War II defense production. By 1945, it had grown to 500 employees with expanded facilities in a garage, a nearby grocery store, and the Odd Fellows Hall.

In 1949, the company manufactured its first amateur radio transmitter, the Viking I model, followed by the Viking line including the Valiant, Ranger, and Pacemaker. In 1958, the company manufactured equipment for Class D Citizens Band Radio; one such transceiver, the Johnson Messenger, is exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution. The company later transitioned to land-mobile radio products such as the Logic Trunked Radio trunking format. The discontinued Viking line of amateur transmitters is collected, restored, and operated by vintage amateur radio enthusiasts.

In 1982, the company merged with Western Union, was purchased in 1997 by Transcrypt International, relocated its headquarters to Irving, Texas in 2005, and became EF Johnson Technologies in 2008. In 2010, it was acquired by Francisco Partners, and later absorbed by JVCKenwood in 2014.

Reader's Guide

EF Johnson Technologies holds significance as a long-standing American manufacturer of radio communications equipment, particularly for public safety and military users. Its history reflects the evolution of radio from amateur and broadcast components to professional land-mobile and Project 25 systems. The company's Viking line of amateur transmitters, introduced in 1949, became collectible artifacts among vintage radio enthusiasts. The Johnson Messenger CB transceiver, exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution, represents early American consumer radio technology. In the 21st century, EF Johnson introduced several notable products for first responders, including the 51FIRE ES portable radio engineered specifically for firefighters, the Hybrid IP25 system for interoperability between conventional and trunked systems, and the StarGate Dispatch Console. The company's acquisition by JVCKenwood in 2014 integrated it into a global electronics group while maintaining its focus on public safety communications. Its legacy includes contributions to Project 25 standards and trunked radio formats used by emergency services.

Did You Know?

• The Johnson Messenger CB transceiver is exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution.
• In 2010, EF Johnson introduced the 51FIRE ES, the first portable radio engineered specifically for firefighters.
• The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of JVCKenwood in 2014.

Origins in a Waseca Workshop

EF Johnson Technologies traces its roots to 1923, when Edgar Frederick Johnson and his wife Ethel opened a small mail-order operation in downtown Waseca, Minnesota. Their workspace was shared with a woodworking shop, and their initial inventory consisted of radio transmitting parts sold to amateur operators and early broadcasters. The humble beginnings quickly outgrew their modest quarters. By 1936, the company had constructed its first dedicated factory and office building in Waseca and employed 17 people. The onset of World War II accelerated growth dramatically, as the firm entered defense production and manufactured electronic components in volume. By 1945, the workforce had swelled to 500 employees, and operations spilled into a nearby garage, a grocery store, and the Odd Fellows Hall. This wartime expansion transformed a small-town parts seller into a serious electronics manufacturer, laying the groundwork for decades of innovation in two-way communications.

The Viking Line and a Living Collector Culture

In 1949, the company rolled out its first amateur radio transmitter, the Viking I, and it became the anchor of a product family that also included the Valiant, Ranger, and Pacemaker models. The Viking name became a defining part of the company's early identity in the amateur radio world. The company also ventured into the consumer market in 1958, producing equipment for the newly established Class D Citizens Band Radio service. One transceiver from that era, the Johnson Messenger, now sits in the Smithsonian Institution as a representative example of early American-made radio technology. Although the Viking transmitter line was eventually discontinued, it has not faded from public memory. A community of vintage amateur radio enthusiasts actively collects, restores, and operates these discontinued units, keeping decades-old circuitry alive on the airwaves and preserving a tangible link to the company's roots in radio manufacturing.

Pioneering Public Safety Communications

After transitioning from amateur and consumer radio to land-mobile products, EF Johnson built a reputation as a key supplier to law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and military agencies. The company developed the Logic Trunked Radio trunking format and later became a major player in Project 25 digital radio systems. A string of product launches between 2006 and 2013 underscored that commitment: the 2006 rollout of the Enhanced AMBE+2 Project 25 Vocoder across its entire radio line; the 2007 IP25 MultiSite switchless trunked infrastructure; the 2009 Hybrid IP25 wide-area conventional system and the StarGate IP-based dispatch console; the 2010 51FIRE ES, the first portable radio engineered specifically for firefighters; and the 2011 ATLAS P25 System Solutions. Both the StarGate console and the ATLAS platform earned Hot Product recognition from APCO's Public Safety Communications magazine, a mark of industry-wide respect for the company's first-responder-focused engineering.

A Chameleon of Corporate Ownership

EF Johnson's corporate identity has shifted hands more than once over the past four decades. In 1982, the company merged with Western Union, and in 1997 it was acquired by software manufacturer Transcrypt International. Headquarters relocated from Minnesota to Irving, Texas in 2005, and the firm rebranded as EF Johnson Technologies in 2008. Francisco Partners took control in 2010, but the next chapter proved the most dramatic: in 2014, Japanese electronics company JVCKenwood, based in Yokohama, absorbed the company entirely. Today, EF Johnson Technologies operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of JVCKenwood, making the once small-town Minnesota radio shop a part of a Japanese electronics firm. Despite these ownership changes, the company continues to serve the same core markets—law enforcement, fire services, EMS, and the military—with Project 25 systems, portable and mobile two-way radios, and radio encryption products.