History of wireless telegraphy and broadcasting in Australia/Topical/Biographies/Raymond Cottam Allsop

Raymond Cottam Allsop
Raymond Cottam "Ray" Allsop was an early wireless experimenter, holding callsign XCA Randwick from as early as 1911, being amongst the first 20 experimental licences issued by the Postmaster-General's Department. Allsop continued with wireless experiments after amateur licences again commenced to be issued following conclusion World War 2 hostilities from 1922. His postwar callsign was 2YG (later A2YG, OA2YG, VK2YG) through to 1930. His callsign lapsed in the early 1930s. Again, when amateur licensing recommenced in 1946, Allsop took out a licence and was allocated VK2AYG (1946), later VK2NA 1961 and finally the very appropriate VK2BL in the late 1960s.

In the early 1920s he was the principal of a wireless business, but this failed in 1923 and Ray entered voluntary bankruptcy. This proved only a brief setback for the pioneering genius. He was active with the Wireless Institute of Australia (NSW Division). In late 1923, when a group of Sydney traders formed a consortium to operate Australia's first "A" class station 2SB (soon 2BL), Allsop was appointed chief engineer. The station struggled with finances, during the great depression, and eventually failed. Ray took on a roll which brought him into the popular arena: Associate Technical Editor with the ubiquitous "Wireless Weekly." In the 1930s he developed the Raycophone system of synchronised sound and video on film which proved a commercial success. He served during World War 2 as Engineering Lieutenant and developed radar and submarine detection systems. He nominally retired in 1945, but took an appointment with the Australian Broadcasting Control Board in 1953, resigning the following year. He was awarded a Coronation Medal in 1937 and was made an Officer of the British Empire in 1971.

Resources
A comprehensive biography of Raymond Cottam Allsop has not yet been prepared, however the following resources have been assembled in preparation:


 * Research - Raymond Cottam Allsop - Summary of research to date


 * Transcriptions and Notes - Raymond Cottam Allsop - More than 70 transcriptions and notes


 * Photos, QSL cards and other graphics - Raymond Cottam Allsop - Nothing uploaded as yet, but several QSL cards held


 * Incubator of Wikipedia Article on Raymond Cottam Allsop - Coming real soon now!

Internet Material
Jan Brazier's biography of Allsop in the Australian Dictionary of Biography is most professional, if tantalisingly brief (as required by ADB style).