ASHLAND, MA PEBMIT NO.7 - Quarter Century Wireless Association

the school radio club and earned his amateur
radio license W3EL0 in March, 1934.
He still holds the same radio call sign today.
The CW speed required at that time was
only ten words per minute.
John's teenage years were full of mis-
chief. While playing with his CW key, it
almost electrocuted him, and his father was
furlous because the subsequent relay made
too much noise in the middle of the night,
His rig overwhelmed the electrical power at
his parents' home, and the lights flashed as
he happily carried on transmitting to a ham
in Australia. He built a radio that enabled
him to hear pioneer Pittsburgh Radio Station
KDKA, one of the first radio stations in the
country. At seventeen, John lied about his
age and joined the Maryland National
Guard. He worked diligently through the
ranks and earned a 2nd Lt. commission in
the Field Altillery,
John was accepted to the University of
Maryland in College Park, Maryland, a sub-
urb of Washington, D.C.
While attending classes, John learned to
fly a Piper Cub single-engine, high-wing air-
craft for his private pilot's license and a
Fairchild for an advanced aerobatics course.
ln January, I941 , John s National Guard
unit was called up to active duty. However,
he had only a few months to complete his
degree, so he asked for a waiver from duty.
He graduated in June, 1941 , earning his
Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Maryland.
The Westinghouse Electric Company
immediately hired him as a microwave tube
division scientist and gave him the job of
building magnetrons and klystrons. He also
helped establish a new Westinghouse plant
in Fairmont, West Virginia.
ln May, 1942, John married Helen Day of
Baltimore. The newlyweds moved to a new
town across the river from Washington,
D.C., known as Fairlington, Virginia. In July
of 1942, John left Westinghouse and Joined
the U.S. Navy. He received a commission as
an Ensign and was assigned to the Navy
Depaftment in Washington, DC. 0nce there,
John joined the Aircraft Radar Design Group
and became paft of a secret project group
charged with developing a guided missile
Quader Century Wi reless Association
with television, which was unknown at that
time.
After six months of workrng on the secret
project, John asked for a transfer to the
South Pacific War Theater for overseas duty,
He received the transfer-to Brisbane,
Australia-to join the 7th Fleet, Service
Force. About this time, Helen returned to
Baltimore, where she gave birth to their first
child in 1943.
John was assigned to Milne Bay, New
Guinea, as the Radio Material 0fficer. This
was a large ship repair facility. He became
the technical troubleshooter on the new, and
in many cases, still secret radar equipment.
As war moved further toward the
Philippines, John earned promotion to Lt
Junior grade. He became the Staff Radar
Officer Commander Aircraft 7th Fleet, which
had no aircraft caniers.
When General MacAfthur landed in the
Philippines, John was on board a seaplane
tender that took parl at Leyte and Lingayan
Gulf operations and eventually Manila Bay in
the Philippines. John learned about the
Navy's plans to train 50,000 men as pilots
for the invasion of Japan. He applied for and
was granted yet another change in duty to
Dallas and Corpus Christi, Texas, for training
on the Stearman and the AT6 aircraft. John
was just graduating from naval flight training
when the war ended in 1945.
John returned to Westinghouse in
Baltimore at their special Air Arm Division.
He became the Manager-Fighter Radar
Engineering, where for six years he was
responsible for the design, development,
and production engineering of a series of
successful high-power, fire-control, radar
systems. For several years, John was also
the industry member of the Department of
Defense, Research, and Development Board,
Airborne Radar and Guidance Equipment
Subpanel.
Some of the electronic systems John
developed are still used today and consid-
ered state-of{he-art. ln 1 948, John earned
the Master of Science degree in Electrical
Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
ln 1952, John left Westinghouse and
became the President and General Manager
of California Technical lndustries, which had
been formerly known as Color Television,
lnc. He pioneered CTI in automatic electron-
ic test equipment, three-axis flight simula-
tors, and microwave boresighting equip-
ment. CTI eventually became a division of
Textron, lnc., with John President of the divi-
sion.
ln 1961 , John formed Carco Electronics in
Menio Park, California, a few miles from his
home in Athefton. The new company would
design and build flight motion simulators for
the development of guidance and control of
weapons. John donated 1 4 United States
patents to Carco, which flourished as cus-
tomers from all over the world, including
England, France, Germany, Japan, South
Korea, Spain, Australia, Sweden, and
Taiwan, purchased John's products. The
U.S, Government was a big customer, with
large facilities using his products in China
Lake and Point Magu for the Navy; in
Huntsville, Alabama, for the Army; and at
Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for the Air
Force.
John served as the President of Carco
almost into his B0s, when the Board of
Directors suggested he was getting old and
they had a potential CEO who would expand
the company tenfold. John agreed, and they
bought back his stock in the company.
Today, John remains an active padicipant in
the Menio Park division of ldeal Aerosmith,
where he started as Manager of the
Hydraulic Simulators Division, The
November, 2005, Cessna Pilots Association
newsletter reports that John received The
Wright Brothers "Master Pilot" award by the
FAA. lt was given in recognition for his 65
years as a pilot and in appreciation for his
service, technical expertise, professionalism,
and outstanding contributions that have fur-
thered the cause of aviation safety.
I had the oppodunity to visit John's radio
shack and to view his original logbook that
clearly shows his first QSO of March 6,
1934. He currently uses an lcom 2at hand-
held VHF radio when traveling around the
area. John has ten grandchildren, two greatgrandchildren,
and a very supportive and
understanding wife, who is the love of his
life.
John Carter, W3EL0, is an active member