Ray Trott was a pioneer in the wireless industry and was in the forefront of the development of mobile radio technology. In 1978, he formed Trott Communications Group (Trott) and served as President until being elected Chairman of the Board in 1998. He returned as President of the company in January, 2010.
Well known for his ability to tackle the most challenging assignments, Ray designed antenna systems, detailed interference and propagation studies and training seminars in many areas of RF engineering including developing a wide-area simulcast UHF voice system for the Los Angeles Police Department. He engineered complex public safety radio systems, mobile telephone and paging systems, and licensing procedures for paging, cellular and SMR systems.
Earlier in his career, Ray worked with Texas Instruments in Dallas, where he began research and development of extremely low noise parametric amplifiers for use in radar systems and radio telescopes. One of these amplifiers was used for the first communications satellite, Telstar, in the early 1960s. He also worked for Gabriel Electronics designing radar antennas for the Federal Aviation Administration. Before starting Trott, Ray was Vice President of Engineering at Decibel Products where he developed a new line of microwave antennas and designed cavity filters, duplexers and combiners.
Ray was awarded the Fred M. Link Mobile Radio Award, the Radio Club of America Special Services Award, the APCO President’s Award, the RCA’s President’s Award, and the IEEE Third Millennium Medal for his advancements in mobile radio technology and commitment to ethics and high standards in the engineering profession. He was a Life Senior Member of IEEE, Past President of the Radio Club of America, and served on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society. Ray frequently served as an expert witness on RF engineering, addressed industry groups on issues such as RF radiation and regulation, and supported industry councils that wanted an independent perspective on legislative and technical matters. He held a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston and was a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. Inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame in 2010, Ray passed away August 27, 2021.