When I was an Ensign in the US Navy often, I would get orders that just didn't make sense and I would say (under my breath) "Who in the hell thinks this stuff up?" Often the answer is surprising. As a Lieutenant I was surprised to find out the answer for one order.
The CO calls me up to his office one day and says to me "Pete, I want you to form a Seabee Band and with the best of the players a small Dance Band?" Aye, Aye Sir!
I did just that as it turned out it was not too hard to find quality musicians as being in the Seabee Band was the alternative to a mount out to South Vietnam. I found a Chief Petty Officer who played sax in Woody Herman's' band and so we had a key player.
The dance band was also formed, and their debut was opening night at the Port Hueneme Seabee Officer's Club. That is when I got my answer. It was the CO's wife! It seems the skipper and his wifey were former ball room dancers and she missed that venue to doing some serious dancing. You never know from whence the order comes.
Thus, our subject of where radio innovation starts, and I sat down and prepared this chart.
This was an eye opener for me and likely I forgot some manufacturer, but this shows not the coastal guys, but the mid-west has the majority. One or two started in a garage and the rest is history. But that begs the question as to why.
I wondered about a company like Ten Tec who had a start-up in Tennessee (Dolly Parton Country) and formerly produced some high quality and innovative radio products. Having had some personal experience in setting up a manufacturing plant in Melbourne AK, I think I know why.
The answer is that the workers often came from a farm background where problems were aplenty, and they were the only path to solution. There was no help line or 800 number (which actually is in Indonesia). They had to figure it out -- and they did. I also think it was inherent in their upbringing about being self-sufficient and not giving up.
Sadly, today most on that chart are gone with only two who remain technical innovators one in the mid-west (FLEX Radio) and a left coaster (Elecraft). I am not certain if Ten Tec is still active under their new ownership so there may be a third.
In case you wondered this is a Morrow radio receiver from Oregon.
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In mind, the left / right coast "think tanks" like Stanford, Cal-Tech, Harvard and MIT may have come up with the theory part, but it is the mid-west who turned that theory into radios that even today are in use. (Gulp, my boat anchor stable includes Drake, Collins, Hallicrafters, Swan, Ten Tec, SBE and National.)
73's
Pete N6QW