View source for Hilmer Swanson

'''Hilmer Irvin Swanson''' (July 25, 1932 [[Davenport, Iowa]] – July 21, 2005 [[Quincy, Illinois]])<ref name="theBDR">[http://www.thebdr.net/articles/prof/people/Swanson.pdf Hilmer Irvin Swanson 1932 - 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116122431/http://www.thebdr.net/articles/prof/people/Swanson.pdf |date=2010-11-16 }}, Barry Mishkind – the Eclectic Engineer, theBDR.net</ref><ref name="RW">[http://www.radioworld.com/article/54248 Hilmer Swanson Dies], RadioWorld, July 22, 2005, accessed April 18, 2012</ref><ref name="obit">[http://www.radiolists.net/pipermail/broadcast/2005-July/048061.html Hilmer Swanson Obituary], radiolists.net, July 23, 2005, accessed April 18, 2012</ref> was an American [[radio engineer]] who developed several leading, patented techniques for [[broadcast radio]] [[Amplitude Modulation]] (AM) while working for [[Harris Corporation]].
==Early years and education==
Swanson was educated in his home town of Davenport, Iowa, from a rural one room school house to high school. He was then drafted into the [[U.S. Army]] during the [[Korean War]]<ref name="theBDR"/> and served with the [[10th Mountain Division (United States)|10th Army Mountain Division]] at [[Fort Riley, Kansas]].<ref name="obit"/> The Army [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|Signal Corps]] sent him to its school at Fort Gordon, where he graduated with honors.<ref name="obit"/> Hilmer was assigned to Fort Huachuca where he was involved with AM transmitters with the US Army Electronic Proving Ground (EPG), and began his career in [[radio]].
Upon demobilization with an honorable discharge on June 25, 1953,<ref name="obit"/> he went to Indiana and worked briefly with [[Bendix Corporation|Bendix]], then attended [[Valparaiso, Indiana|Valparaiso]]'s [[Technical Institute]] (closed 1991),<ref>[http://indiana.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,3,fid,450319,n,valparaiso%20technical%20institute.cfm Valparaiso Technical Institute (historical)], http://indiana.hometownlocator.com</ref> and was awarded the degree of [[Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering]]. He then was awarded the degree of [[Master of Science In Electrical Engineering]] from [[Iowa State University]]<ref name="theBDR"/> on February 4, 1959.<ref name="obit"/>
==Working life==
Swanson worked for [[Collins Radio]] in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]] and [[Dallas, Texas]] before joining Gates Radio in Quincy Illinois, which was later bought by [[Harris Corporation]].<ref name="theBDR"/>
Swanson worked for Harris for 35 years until retirement in 1999, primarily on the design of high efficiency [[amplitude modulation]] (AM) [[transmitter]]s. His work led to a series of [[patent]]s on various types of high efficiency modulation, and led to the first commercial implementation of [[pulse duration modulation]] (PDM) system,<ref name="Hawkins">[http://hawkins.pair.com/wabcnow.shtml Digital AM Transmitter Page]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Jim Hawkins' Radio 77 WABC, date unknown</ref> and later [[progressive series modulation]] (PSM), polyphase PDM, and [[Amplitude modulation#Low-level generation|digital amplitude modulation]].<ref name="theBDR"/>
Swanson's patents led to almost all AM broadcast transmitters being designed using digital modulation techniques, and made AM [[vacuum tube]] transmitters obsolete.
Swanson designed and developed a 2 Million Watt transmitter for the Voice of America. It still stands as the world's most powerful AM Broadcast transmitter ever made.
One of his last works was a paper, "Performance of Modern AM Modulation Methods for Linear Digital Broadcast Applications," co-authored with [[John DeLay]].<ref name="RW"/>
==Honors==
Swanson was a made a Harris Fellow, the highest honor given to an employee of that company.<ref>[http://www.spoke.com/info/p9446v7/HilmerSwanson Hilmer Swanson, Harris Corporation]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, spoke.com, accessed April 18, 2012</ref> After retirement, Harris created a scholarship in Swanson's name at the [[John Wood Community College]] in Quincy, Illinois for the study of radio broadcast technology.<ref name="theBDR"/> [[Phillip W. Farmer]], former Harris Chairman, President and CEO, said, "Mr. Swanson, a Senior Scientist at the Broadcast Communications Division has become a radio engineering legend in his own time. It is believed that no one has contributed more to the advancement of AM broadcast radio transmitters than Hilmer Swanson. Most famous are his PDM and PSM modulation techniques, and his "Crown Jewel"—the digital AM generation technology for Harris' DX series AM broadcast product Line."<ref name="obit"/>
In 1990, Swanson received the [[National Association of Broadcasters]] [[NAB National Radio Award|Engineering Achievement Award]].<ref name="theBDR"/>
He was an honorary member of [[Society of Broadcast Engineers]] (SBE), and a life member of [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] (IEEE) and the [[Sigma Xi]] Science Honor Fraternity.<ref name="theBDR"/>
Swanson was awarded at least 28 patents in at least six countries<ref name="theBDR"/><ref>[https://archive.today/20120716035406/http://new.wikipatents.com/as/s_inventor/Swanson;+Hilmer+I. Results for INVENTOR: swanson hilmer i.], wikipatents.com, accessed 18 April 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.patentgenius.com/inventedby/SwansonHilmerIrvinQuincyIL.html Inventor: Swanson, Hilmer Irvin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225327/http://www.patentgenius.com/inventedby/SwansonHilmerIrvinQuincyIL.html |date=2016-03-03 }}, patentgenius.com, accessed 18 April 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.patentmaps.com/inventor/Swanson_Hilmer_I_1.html Swanson Hilmer I - Inventor]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, patentmaps.com, accessed 18 April 2012</ref>
==Later life==
In his retirement, Swanson and his wife, Carolyn, performed [[Christian missionary|missionary]] work in [[Palau]], [[Chile]] and [[Estonia]] working to establish [[Christianity|Christian]] AM broadcast radio stations.<ref name="theBDR"/>
He was survived by three sons, a daughter, and their families.<ref name="obit"/>
==References==
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[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:Iowa State University alumni]]
[[Category:American electronics engineers]]
[[Category:American Protestant missionaries]]
[[Category:Protestant missionaries in Palau]]
[[Category:Protestant missionaries in Chile]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Palau]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Chile]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Estonia]]
[[Category:Protestant missionaries in Estonia]]
[[Category:20th-century American engineers]]
[[Category:20th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:John Wood Community College people]]
[[Category:Bendix Corporation people]]