ARFTG History

The ARFTG was founded in 1972 to create a more cohesive voice for the RF and microwave test and measurement community to solicit support from the manufacturers of test instrumentation. The primary focus of the first few meetings was on the automation and calibration of network analyzers. In the early years, the ARFTG was more like a users' group than the professional measurement society the ARFTG would become. In fact, the early meetings were not a pleasant place for the representatives of the instrumentation manufacturers. The magic of these early test systems was embedded and hidden from the user in the software, which was then not available in source form. The ARFTG was formed to “help” the manufacturers realize and appreciate the needs of the users.