An Introduction to Swan and Siltronix

Typical HF Amateur tranceiver model numbers are the classic Swan 350 and Swan 500, which became standard players in the Ham Radio Community. Other models and versions were offered along different production time lines, the Swan 250 (a six meter mono band rig) and the 700cx were offered up for sale. My recent conversations with a retired Swan Employee mentioned Everything at Swan was great until the Overseas Mfgrs started flooding the Amateur Radio Market."

I spotted this advertisement in a 1968 Issue of Ham Radio Magazine.

Kind of a unique bit of history and information, circa 1968.
One of the best things about the Swan rigs is that they work well, offered up multi-band operation and features for a price well below many other brands. Sort of the "Chevrolet Model" for many hams through the years. The line was very popular, mostly tube hybrid radios with "sweep tube" rf output sections. Depending on the model and version Swan Rig you have, the output section could be a single or dual (parallel) sweep tube(s) like the 6HF5, 6LF6, 6LQ6, 8950 or 6DQ5 *(the 6DQ5 is not a sweep tube)
One of tranceiver model produced by Swan was the 1011 in various suffix labeled "plain", B, C & D revisions. I've heard of, own and seen most of the versions like the "plain Swan 1011", the Siltronix B, C, and last produced D through the years. All 1011's were similar in appearance and basic operational features, each model had cosmetic changes, updates and slightly different circuits. Features were added or deleted with the various models through the production years.
Swan sold out to Cubic Communications, eventually they moved out of the Amateur Market in favor of Commercial and Military Applications. Cubic Communications did continue to produce a line of solid state Amateur Swan rigs for short time. Original Swan type tube radio production was said to have "wound down" around 1978.

From what I now understand, Swan and the later made Siltronix were actually two different Companies working as partners. Siltronix stands for "Sam I Lewis"... tronix, one of the partners sons of the Siltronix Company that marketed the later 1011 radio line. Swan actually made the radio in their Southern California plant. Siltronix was the Company that sold the later same named 1011 rigs. I had a chance to talk with Sam some months back and he was nice enough to fill me in on quite a bit of history. He's doing well these days, now relocated to the Pacific Northwest. Of special interest to me was his oral history of the prototype manufacture.
From here we move on directly to the Swan - Siltronix 1011 model transceiver as shown below...

Last Update: 04/28/04