RFT Rundfunk Technik

RFT is the shared brand of East German radio electronics, used for equipment, components and valves made by different companies. The initials began in Radio- und Fernmeldetechnik, radio and telecommunications, and later were also associated with Rundfunk- und Fernsehtechnik, radio and television. Three red letters on a white seven-line background identify a collective industrial origin rather than one factory.

The first publicly owned VEB enterprises were established from 1946. On 1 July 1948 sector companies in the Soviet occupation zone were grouped into VVB RFT, with central administration in Leipzig. The trademark association was founded in 1957. Early in 1958 management was divided among three VVBs: Bauelemente und Vakuumtechnik for components and vacuum technology, Nachrichten und Messtechnik for telecommunications and measurement, and Rundfunk und Fernsehen for radio and television. The trademark was also registered abroad in around 88 countries.

The valve range included receiving, special-purpose, transmitting and gas-discharge devices. Plants in the network included Erfurt, Neuhaus, Mühlhausen and Berlin; joint 1950s and 1960s catalogues, including the 1965 receiving-valve catalogue, brought together products from several factories. ECC82, ECC83, EL12N, EM83 and Z5670M represent different amplification, power, indication and display functions. RFT marking alone cannot locate each specimen's factory: codes, construction and period also matter.

Industrial combines developed in stages. Kombinat VEB RFT Fernmeldewerk Leipzig began on 1 January 1970, initially retaining legally independent enterprises. Late-1970s reorganisations affected the Leipzig, Erfurt, Staßfurt and Teltow sectors; the larger Nachrichtenelektronik Leipzig combine dates from 1 January 1979. There was therefore no single merger date for the whole RFT network. The brand continued on products while management bodies and company names changed; individual manufacturers' histories remain distinct from the shared initials.