Herbert G. Johnson, W6QKI founded Swan Engineering.
Johnson built the first ten largely vacuum tube type design single sideband (SSB) transceivers in a garage in Benson, Arizona in 1960-1961.
The operation moved to Oceanside California where, at one point, more than 400 radios per month were being manufactured.
Estimates say that more than 80,000 transceivers were sold.