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Old 2nd Sep 2017, 4:34 pm   #1
stevehertz
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Default Jason anyone?

I've been familiar with the brand name 'Jason' since the 70s. I've seen - and I think owned - a tuner or two. I keep seeing the name being mentioned on here and I'd like to know more about the company. I'd always thought that it was a low budget brand and perhaps basic designs too. I'm now getting the impression that they were actually a maker of good 'sets'. Were they kit sets? Did they make just tuners? In what period were they operating?

Anything you can tell me about Jason will be of interest, (pics too?) thanks.
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Old 2nd Sep 2017, 4:50 pm   #2
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

There is a Jason sales brochure on the Forum here:-

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...6&d=1264310070

There are also other Forum threads that can be searching for Jason in the "Search This Website" box.

Ron
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Old 2nd Sep 2017, 5:30 pm   #3
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

There's a minor entry in Grace's Guide
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Name:	tuner.jpg
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ID:	148782  
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Old 2nd Sep 2017, 5:36 pm   #4
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

Thanks Ron, Kevin. Quite a bit of info in those two pieces of ephemera.
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Old 2nd Sep 2017, 7:41 pm   #5
Ted Kendall
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

Jason made kts, for sure - Dad, a serial Heathkit builder, didn't think much of them...
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Old 2nd Sep 2017, 10:49 pm   #6
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

At least some of the 'factory' built models were actually outsourced. A colleague built a kit back in the day, but there was a problem and he took it back to Jason. They were so impressed by his build quality that they asked if he would assemble units at home for them. Can't remember if he took up the offer.

I don't own any Jasons but they always seemed to be a poor man's Heathkit. Like Heathkit they also produced budget test gear. Test gear sales must've been small as they are pretty uncommon.
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Old 2nd Sep 2017, 11:18 pm   #7
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

I remember having a Jason FM tuner come through my hands, it was built into a home built radiogram from the mid 1950's I was asked to restore. amp was a Leak TL12. The tuner had five presets only and was very simple and cheeply made but did have very good reception, think it only used three valves too.
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 3:59 am   #8
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

Jason Motor Co. started c.1952-53 as a maker of three-speed gramophone motors. It branched out into FM tuners in the second half of 1954, and was probably best known for this class of product, which were available in both built (Jason) and kit (Jasonkit) form. Thereafter the Jason and Jasonkit product lines overlapped to some extent, but not completely. Some models were Jason-only, some were Jasonkit-only, some were both, but in that case sometimes overlapped for a limited time only.

Late in 1957 Jason added integrated amplifiers to its product line, both Jason and Jasonkit. Then at a later date came Jasonkit (only, I think) test equipment and Jasonkit transistor portable receivers, the latter range including the “Everest 7” with 3-gang front end and RF amplifier.

The company name was changed to Jason Motor and Electronic Co, by the end of 1954, and again to Jason Electronic Designs Limited c.1961. It went into receivership in 1962, but a new owner was found and it continued trading under its established name, and with essentially the same product line. I imagine that it lost its founder and key designer, Geoffrey Blundell, at this time. Whether as result of that ownership change, or because of subsequent events, late in 1964 it was recorded as being associated with Radio Traders Limited and Lorlin Electronics Co.

Advertising of the Jasonkits, both by Jason itself and by traders, continued in Practical Wireless (and probably elsewhere) until about the middle of 1965, and then seems to have stopped. The last Hi-Fi Year Book (HFYB) listing for the Jason (built) products was 1967-68. In the Practical Wireless issues for 1967 October and November, Wirecomp was offering a “firesale” of Jason and Jasonkit products, evidently having bought the remaining stock.

Jason’s tuner range varied from simple local-area models to quite sophisticated designs. Its first model, c.1954 September, was a simple local area FM unit that used four Z77 (EF91) valves, and was available in both Jason and Jasonkit forms. It was apparently designed for maximum stability considering the variable nature of home construction. It was soon, c.1954 December, followed by a fringe area version, with an additional Z77 IF stage and a Z719 (EF80) rather than a Z77 for the RF stage. It too was available in Jason and Jasonkit forms.

Next, in 1956 came an AM/FM tuner, self-powered, and available in Jason (built) form only. I have found little information about this, other than that on FM, it had a cascode RF stage and AFC, and that on AM it covered MF only. It was also described as having separate FM and AM front ends.

Also in 1956 came the Jasonkit Argonaut AM/FM unit, which could be built either as a tuner or a complete receiver with output stage. It appeared to have shared the same faceplate as the Jason AM/FM, but used a much simpler circuit. It stayed in the Jasonkit range until about the end of the 1950s.

Somewhere around late 1956 or early 1957 Jason added a switched FM tuner to its built range. This had a local area circuit using four valves, and was equipped with AFC.

Towards the end of 1957, there were significant changes. Coincident with its entry into the amplifier Jason introduced its “Matching Equipment” range of free-standing and self-contained built products, of which its J10 amplifier was a member. This range initially included three tuners, all self-powered. They were the FMS2, the AM/FMS2 and the AM/FM2.

The FMS2 was a switched FM-only tuner with a fringe area circuit. The AM/FMS2 was the same with the addition of a tunable MF-only AM section, three-gang with an RF amplifier. The AM/FM2 was a highly specified unit with inter alia separate FM and AM sections, cascode FM front end, and a variable selectivity AM section. More comment on the AM/FM2 was provided in this thread: http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/s...138702&page=3; see posts #42 and 44.

At this stage, the Jason versions of the original pair of FM tuners and the Jason AM/FM were discontinued. And the Jason switched FM tuner had morphed into the Jason Prefect (rarely referred to by Jason as the FMS1) with about the same circuit but a different chassis shape. It remained unpowered.

Also around this tine arrived the Jasonkit Mercury, an unpowered kitset switched tuner with a fringe area circuit, and so a step above the Prefect in performance, and probably close to the FMS2. The established Jasonkit local area and fringe area models remained available.

About the middle of 1958 the Jason FMT3 was added to the “Matching Equipment” range. It was a new fringe area FM-only design with a circuit that was probably a bit above the level of the Mercury but below that of the AM/FM2. It had variable AFC.

The same model was also made available as the Jasonkit FMT3, self-powered, in a new Jasonkit case. It superseded the original Jasonkit fringe area model.

Concurrent with the Jasonkit FMT3, the original Jasonkit local area model, still unpowered and of open-chassis form, was renamed as the Jasonkit FMT1. And there was a new, intermediate model, the Jasonkit FMT2, which was essentially a powered version of the FMT1 in the same case as the FMT3. It had improved performance obtained by using EF80 rather than Z77 valves.

The Jasonkit FMT1, FMT2 and FMT3 then lasted until the end of Jason. The FMT1 and FMT2 were Jasonkit only, there being no corresponding Jason (built) models. The FMT3 also existed in Jason (built) form until mid-1960. The Jasonkit FMT3 was sometimes referred to as the FMT3K.

More-or-less contemporary with the FMT3 and using essentially the same case designs was the Jason/Jasonkit JTV switched FM and TV sound tuner. This concept was new to the UK market, although combined FM and TV sound tuners were available in the North American market. It was developed by Jason at the request of Hi-Fi News (HFN) magazine, who published a constructional project article in the 1958 September issue. The Jason JTV was part of the “Matching Equipment” range.

The JTV was superseded by the much better-known Jason/Jasonkit JTV2 late in 1958 October. This had a fringe-area circuit, whereas the JTV was of the local area type. The Jason JTV2 was part of the “Matching Equipment” series.

Both the Jason and Jasonkit versions of the JTV2 then lasted until the end of Jason. Note that the Jasonkit version was sometimes referred to as the JTV2K. Jason had the TV sound tuner market to itself in this period. Lowther published preliminary information on a couple of FM-TV sound models in 1960, but these seemed not to have made it into production. There was a gap when Jason disappeared in 1967, but in 1971 both Lowther and Motion Electronics introduced solid-state TV sound tuners, both then available for quite some years.

The Jason JTV et seq. came up in a recent Golborne Vintage radio thread, with more information available there, including scans of the pertinent HFN articles: http://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/fo...d.php?tid=6373.

At some time during 1959, the FMS2, AM/FMS2 and AM/FM2 were discontinued. They were listed in HFYB 1959, but not in HFYB 1969.

Then probably early in 1960, although I cannot pin down an exact date, what was essentially the JTV2 circuit was used for the Jason Monitor and Jasonkit Mercury 2. These were respectively built and kitset versions of the same compact, unpowered design. The Monitor effectively replaced the Prefect, upgrading to fringe area performance in the process, whilst the Mercury 2 replaced the Mercury. Apparently, the Jason thinking was that for a switched tuner, it was just as easy to include TV sound as not, so there was no need to make both types.

The Monitor and Mercury 2 both lasted until the end of Jason.

The final change in the Jason tuner range came with the Jason FMT4 fringe area model of later 1960 August, which directly replaced the Jason FMT3, and was similarly styled. It was quite a lot different to the FMT3, and included amplified AFC. Perhaps it was considered not suitable for home construction, as there was not a Jasonkit version, rather the Jasonkit FMT3 stayed in place. The Jason FMT4 lasted until the end of Jason.


The foregoing is drawn from perusal of various magazine articles, items and advertising, other publications such as Hi-Fi Year Book and Audio fair catalogues, and some Jason sales literature. As such it is likely to contain errors, particularly those of interpretation and extrapolation on my part. So please use it with appropriate caution.

Cheers,
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 6:54 am   #9
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

Here is a selection of Jason advertisements from the later 1950s, which provide pics as requested.

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Name:	HFYB 1956 p.165.jpg
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ID:	148821
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Name:	HFYB 1957 p.175.jpg
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ID:	148822
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Name:	HFYB 1958 p.167.jpg
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ID:	148823
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Name:	Audio Fair 1958 fp.xvii.jpg
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ID:	148824


Cheers,
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 7:09 am   #10
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And some more:

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Name:	RC 195702 p.440 Jason.jpg
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ID:	148826

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Name:	RC 195407 p.749.jpg
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ID:	148825

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Name:	RC 195810 p.168,169 Jason.jpg
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ID:	148827

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Name:	RC 195909 p.77.jpg
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ID:	148828

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Name:	TRR 195803 p.04 Jason FMS2.jpg
Views:	156
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ID:	148829
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 7:24 am   #11
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

And another group:

Click image for larger version

Name:	HFN 196010 p.328.jpg
Views:	138
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ID:	148837
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Name:	HFYB 1959 p.164.jpg
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ID:	148838
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Name:	Jason FMT3.jpg
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ID:	148839
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Name:	Jason JTV2.jpg
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ID:	148840
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Name:	PW 195801 p.812 Jason Mercury.jpg
Views:	128
Size:	84.0 KB
ID:	148841
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 8:49 am   #12
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

Synchrodyne that is an amazing response, it must have taken you many hours?! Thanks you so much, I'm sure I'm not the only one to be greatly interested in your history of Jason, plus all those ads of course.

I think the the forum should find some way of keeping this, as it's probably the best, most complete info available anywhere regarding Jason? I for one will save it to a word document for my own future use.

Synchrodyne, thanks again..
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 8:59 am   #13
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

There was also the Jason wobbo.

Lawrence.
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 9:31 am   #14
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Steve - thanks for your words of appreciation and no problem. I have a folder of information accumulated over the years, so it was about an hour to refresh my memory of what was in it and compile the narrative, then maybe about the same to pick and load the pictures. I couldn't spend too much time on it right now as we're getting ready for a longish vacation trip to Canada - not supposed to be doing this kind of stuff for a while...

ms660 - The W11 Wobbulator was included in the HFYB 1959 listing of Jasonkits, attached.

Cheers,
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 10:44 am   #15
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

How well did the Jason tuners perform? For example, I have owned and am well versed in the performance capabilities of Quad AM2 and FM1 tuners. How do specific Jason models compare with those?
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 11:12 am   #16
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

During the late 50's, early 60's I built about 20 FM radios from kits. Many for a local parts supplier who was asked by customers to have them built. They were very good, sensitive, and good value for money. We were in a good signal area but they would work with "a bit of wet string" when checking they worked.
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 5:38 pm   #17
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

The major impetus for TV sound tuners, apart from the undesirability of recording from across the LS of a live-chassis TV set with the inevitable frame buzz and shock hazard, was the two-transmitter BBC stereo experiments, which lasted until 1964.
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 8:42 pm   #18
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

I remember a Jason tape pre-amp around the mid 1960's
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Old 3rd Sep 2017, 8:48 pm   #19
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

Hi Gents, lots of stuff on Jason Kits in the Radio Constructors site that has uploads of most of these mags, They appeared to review most of Jason's products as well as some more obscure makers such as Cooper - Smith. There was always a full circuit and component listing, sometimes assembly instructions as well.
I certainly remember the Wobbulator.

Ed
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Old 10th Sep 2017, 6:52 pm   #20
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Default Re: Jason anyone?

Hi,

The Radiophonic Workshop and Delia Derbyshire used the Jason AG10 Audio Generator – see following link:

https://whitefiles.org/rwg/index3.html

Somewhere in the workshop I have a pair of output transformers salvaged from a J2-10 Mk III Jason Amplifier.

Regards
Terry
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