The VelIkiye LUki Radio Plant was once considered one of the most advanced enterprises in Velikiye Luki during the post-war period. Since the beginning of the 1960s, the plant produced military and medical equipment, which later entered mass production.
Also, a large share of the produced measuring equipment was exported, bringing a huge income to the city.
Also, a large share of the produced measuring equipment was exported, bringing a huge income to the city.
The plant produced its first batch of products (OktyAbr radios) at the end of 1958. The model was already obsolete at the time. For this reason, it was further decided to develop two areas at the plant: the production of radio measuring devices and tape recorders.
In the 1960s, the plant began to produce consumer goods. These were the first tape recorders to play reel-to-reel tapes (bobbins). The photograph exhibited in the museum’s exposition shows two engineers of the plant, Vladimir PershakOv and AnatOly PozdnyakOv. They show a new design of the ChAyka tape recorder, ChAyka-2, assembled and prepared for the upcoming 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Pershakov, who worked at the radio plant for many years, had an extensive collection of television and radio devices, some of which he donated to the museum’s collection.
Outwardly, Chayka-2 was a complete analogue of the 1956 model of the Chayka tape recorder. But its structure was noticeable different. The new tape recorder used a two-track system for recording and reproducing audio recordings. The acoustic system of Chayka-2 had two 1GD-28 loudspeakers with a frequency range from 160 to 6,300 Hz and a sound pressure of 0.45 N/m2.
This model has a built-in treble. The adjustment of the recording and playback level is separate. The tape recorder is powered from the mains. All tape recorders of this brand were relatively simple and inexpensive devices, and therefore, they were popular among Soviet buyers.
In 1967, the Velikiye Luki plant began to produce a new tape recorder, Sonata-1, which was a development of the Chayka-66 design. From that time, the name Chayka was no longer used. In the 1990s the radio plant went bankrupt and was closed. Now the building of the radio plant is owned by the city administration, and is a historically significant object: a monument of the city’s military history and of the urban planning era of the second half of the 20th century.
In the 1960s, the plant began to produce consumer goods. These were the first tape recorders to play reel-to-reel tapes (bobbins). The photograph exhibited in the museum’s exposition shows two engineers of the plant, Vladimir PershakOv and AnatOly PozdnyakOv. They show a new design of the ChAyka tape recorder, ChAyka-2, assembled and prepared for the upcoming 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Pershakov, who worked at the radio plant for many years, had an extensive collection of television and radio devices, some of which he donated to the museum’s collection.
Outwardly, Chayka-2 was a complete analogue of the 1956 model of the Chayka tape recorder. But its structure was noticeable different. The new tape recorder used a two-track system for recording and reproducing audio recordings. The acoustic system of Chayka-2 had two 1GD-28 loudspeakers with a frequency range from 160 to 6,300 Hz and a sound pressure of 0.45 N/m2.
This model has a built-in treble. The adjustment of the recording and playback level is separate. The tape recorder is powered from the mains. All tape recorders of this brand were relatively simple and inexpensive devices, and therefore, they were popular among Soviet buyers.
In 1967, the Velikiye Luki plant began to produce a new tape recorder, Sonata-1, which was a development of the Chayka-66 design. From that time, the name Chayka was no longer used. In the 1990s the radio plant went bankrupt and was closed. Now the building of the radio plant is owned by the city administration, and is a historically significant object: a monument of the city’s military history and of the urban planning era of the second half of the 20th century.
