Written by RH (03/2013), reformatted by JS (03/2013)
Paul Beard, who is today referred to as “the Father of Spread Spectrum,” began his RC career sailing miniature yachts in 1978. From there, he moved on to many different genres of aeromodeling.
“[Paul] has brought the model aviation community the single greatest advancement in 30 years. It is for this accomplishment that I submit him for consideration into the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame,” wrote Charles Anderson, president of the International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association.
Long before he invented Spread Spectrum technology,
Paul took his first job at British Telecom (BT), in Martlesham Heath, England, in 1978. While working there, he earned a degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Manchester, located in Manchester, England. He continued to work as the head of group at BT, where he helped develop voice and data systems and terminals, until 1989.
Paul moved to the US in 1989—taking a position at VMX Inc., located in San Jose, California. He continued to work as a product developer of computer and telecommunications systems until he founded his own business, Alation Systems, in 1998.
He invented, launched, and sold the WirelessUSB product line through Alation Systems, which earned him four international electronics products awards. However, this wasn’t, by far, the end of his inventing days.
In 2001, Paul began looking for a way for RC radios to operate without interference from other radios, or a model’s engine, motor, or ESCs. He tirelessly worked to perfect Spread Spectrum technology, and in 2004, he became vice president of engineering at Horizon Hobby. He and the company launched the first successful system for surface models. He continued to advance the Spread Spectrum, which lead to the successful release of Spektrum DX6 in October of 2005. Spektrum DX7 followed in October of 2006. Paul created many more hobby-specific developments after the launch of Spread Spectrum including a sail winch, a tachometer, the Throttle Jockey Governor servo, the RevMax (altitude) Limiter, and the world’s first park flyer DSS DX6 in 2005. He also had a hand in the designing of consumer products such as the $999 Compaq PC, the Fisher-Price RC Racer radio, and the Mattel Barbie camera.
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