Fred Link was born in York, PA in 1908 and became a communications industry veteran. Early on he showed an interest in telegraph, ham and early wireless communications. Fred received a B.A. in electrical engineering from Penn State University and started as an apprentice electrician. His love for radio led to his first job at New York Telephone. Fred was eventually hired at DeForest Radio Company, and then left to become a partner with R. C. Powell at the R. C. Powell Company in New York City. When Powell left the company, Fred became the sole owner and in 1931 renamed it the Fred M. Link Co.
His company eventually became Link Radio Corp., which manufactured two-way radio equipment used by police and fire departments in the U.S. and abroad. At one point Link Radio employed more than 800 people in 3 locations. In 1939, the Connecticut State Police wanted a new communications system, and consulted with engineering Professor Dan Noble to design the system. Prof. Noble wanted to use FM in a 2-way system and hired Fred to build the equipment. This type of equipment was then used by the armed forces during WWII, especially with tank commanders for comms. This equipment ultimately replaced wired telephone and teletype communications for the military.
In the early 1950s, Fred sold the company and joined the mobile radio division as director at DuMont Laboratories, which manufactured similar radio equipment as Link Radio Corp. In 1959, Fred was hired as a consultant to the Radio Corporation of America, after helping to resolve a problem with a police radio system RCA had contracted to provide to the city of Philadelphia.
Fred was a consultant for many companies over the years and widely acknowledged as an expert in FM and 2-way radio equipment and operation. The state of Connecticut commemorates him with the installation of the first FM police radio communications system, which was built by Link Radio. Fred won 5 Army-Navy E Awards for his communications equipment contributions. He received the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984. Fred was the Radio Club of America president from 1968 to 1992, and president emeritus until his death in 1998. He was posthumously inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame in 2000.