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L I N E A R   H I S T O R Y
 

Linear Corporation was founded in 1961 by Ted Farrell, who served as President and Chief Executive Officer. William A. Schanbacher joined the Los Angeles-based Company as a co-principal shortly after incorporation. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Originally, Linear was a retail operation that sold and installed automatic garage door operators for residential installations.

However, both principals had made the decision early to create an electronics manufacturing company and soon acquired the rights to manufacture wireless radio controls marketed under the trade name "Tamar."

Soon after beginning production of the Tamar products, Messrs. Farrell and Schanbacher established a limited wholesale market for their products in San Diego, California. From 1962 through 1965, distribution expanded throughout the United States.

Concurrently, the Company designed and built an advanced set of controls that were smaller, more reliable, and more attractively packaged than the competitive controls. From 1965 through 1975, Linear marketed a proprietary line of wireless controls based on a Frequency Shift Keyed (FSK) coding and transmission technique developed in-house. The success of this equipment in the door controls marketplace accounted for the Company's rapid growth during that period. FSK also enabled the Company to produce its first home security systems comprised of proprietary components.

A new line of digitally coded transmitters and receivers was introduced in 1975. With a large number of discrete codes available, this equipment enabled Linear to move to a commanding position in the industry as a supplier of high-tech home security systems.

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