Knight and Allied Radio Corporation, Chicago, Illinois
The company was started by Simon “Sy” Wexler in 1928.
In 1962, The first industrial catalog was released for its commercial supplier division under the name of Allied Electronics. Through the 1960s both divisions would be headquartered in Chicago. Allied Radio would change ownership in 1970 when Radio Shack’s parent company (Tandy Corporation) bought both Allied Radio & Allied Electronics. In 1999 the company was acquired by Electrocomponents, the largest catalog distributor in the world.
Knight (Allied Radio): the short history
This is the page the English Wikipedia cites in its articles on Jerrold Wexler and RS Americas, so it is worth setting out what is known around it. Simon "Sy" Wexler founded the Columbia Radio Corporation in 1921 and Allied Radio in Chicago in 1928, originally as Columbia's radio-parts distribution arm. Allied sold radios, tubes, components, amateur and CB equipment, kits and hi-fi through its stores and, from the early 1930s, by catalog. Its house brand was Knight, and the kit versions were sold as Knight-Kits.
Tandy Corporation, the parent of Radio Shack, bought both Allied Radio and Allied Electronics in 1970. Allied Electronics became part of Electrocomponents in 1999 and changed its name to RS on 6 February 2023; it is now RS Americas, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Sy Wexler's sons were Jerrold Wexler, a Chicago businessman and film producer, and the cinematographer Haskell Wexler.
The archive's Knight equipment, including the KG-250 stereo amplifier, is collected in the Knight category.
| Founded | 1928, Chicago |
|---|---|
| Founder | Simon "Sy" Wexler |
| House brand | Knight; kits sold as Knight-Kit |
| Mail order | From 1962 |
| Acquired by | Tandy Corporation, 1970 |
| Successor | Allied Electronics, now RS Americas (since 2023) |
Questions collectors ask
Who founded Allied Radio?
Simon "Sy" Wexler, in Chicago in 1928. He had founded the Columbia Radio Corporation in 1921.
What happened to Allied Radio and the Knight brand?
Tandy Corporation, Radio Shack's parent, bought Allied Radio and Allied Electronics in 1970. Allied Electronics continued as an industrial distributor and has been RS Americas since 2023.
What was a Knight-Kit?
The kit version of Allied Radio's Knight equipment, which customers assembled themselves. Allied's Knight-Kit line appears alongside Heathkit and EICO among the main kit suppliers of the era.
Sources: Wikipedia: Jerrold Wexler; Wikipedia: RS Americas; Wikipedia: Amateur radio homebrew.
