The Awa Review

THE AWA REVIEW Volume 20 2007 Published by THE ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION, INC. PO Box 108, Stafford, NY 14143 http://www.antiquewireless.org i Devoted to research and documentation of the history of wireless communications Member: Antique Wireless Association, Inc. Founded 1952, Chartered American Association PO Box 108 as a non-profit corporation of Museums Stafford, New York 14143 by the State of New York Regional Conference of http://www.antiquewireless.org Historical Agencies THE A.W.A. REVIEW EDITOR Robert P. Murray, Ph.D. Vancouver, BC, Canada OFFICERS OF THE ANTIQUE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: Geoffrey Bourne VICE PRESIDENTS: Brian C. Belanger Ron Frisbe SECRETARY: Christian R. Fandt TREASURER: Christian R. Fandt AWA MUSEUM CURATOR: Edward Gable, K2MP 2007 by the Antique Wireless Association, Inc. ISBN 0-9741994-5-1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Printed in the United States of America by Carr Printing, Inc., Endwell, NY ii Table of Contents Volume 20, 2007 “One Hundred Years of Electronic Communications” Foreword ...................................................................... iv One Hundred Years of Electronic Communications Ludwell A. Sibley ....................................................................1 Henry J. Nolte and General Electric’s High Power, Metal Envelope Tubes John M. Anderson .................... 19 Marconi vs. De Forest Audion Infringement Litigation Revisited Eric P. Wenaas ............................... 31 First World War Aircraft Radio Larry Babcock ................ 75 The 1902 Wireless Connection - Santa Catalina Island to San Pedro, California Norwood Teague and Joe A. Knight .................................................................................. 97 The Early History of the Electric Loudspeaker John D. Jenkins ............................................................................... 125 Emil J. Simon: A Busy Life Indeed Russ Kleinmann, Karen Blisard, A.J. Link and Warren Berbit ................................ 145 A Portal into Radio’s Past: Francis A. Hart and his Radio Log James E. O’Neal .............................................169 Exploring the Origins of the Loud Speaker David and Julia Bart.................................................................. 191 The Supreme Model 45 Tube Tester and the 1933 Tube Pin Standard Charles C. Kirsten .................................... 213 iii Foreword The AWA Review, Volume 20, is dedicated to, “100 years of electronic communication.” There are articles directly related to this theme, as well as others. We are pleased to bring you a volume of outstanding articles by some of the finest writers on the history of wireless today. • We invited an article by noted AWA tube expert Ludwell Sibley, on “one hundred years of electronic communication.” His account fo- cuses on the telephone industry and their use of amplification for long distance connections, which he describes as the “killer applica- tion”. His account includes other major applications, and through these examples Lud describes the major achievements along the 100 year course of development. And yes, he includes the implications for wireless technology. • Eric Wenaas, also closely linked to this year’s theme, describes in detail the Marconi vs. De Forest audion infringement litigation. In explanations not seen before in detail, he explores the demonstra- tions that were used in court to support the various arguments brought forward. • Larry Babcock, also in an invited paper, describes the artifacts and literature he presented in an award-winning exhibit at last year’s AWA Conference. His theme is First World War aircraft radio, and he had much of it on display last year. • Reaching back more than a century, Norwood Teague and Joe Knight describe a regular commercial wireless link established in 1902! It connected the residents and visitors on Catalina Island to the community of San Pedro, both in California. This commercial service is as much a social and political achievement as a technical one, but it nonetheless has important implications for the development of radio. • John Anderson describes the contributions of Henry J. Nolte to the development of General Electric’s high power, metal envelope tubes. John’s background comes as close as anyone’s today to that of someone who “was there”. He describes the challenges of glass-on- metal seals, among others, that led ultimately to the ubiquitous metal receiving tube. • We have two perspectives on the history of electrical sound repro- duction. One is by John Jenkins, and the other by David and Julia Bart. After some hesitation, we decided to publish both of these articles in the same issue. The articles have much in common, and it is interesting to see how different authors put their own spin on what is essentially the same history. After reading them, you can decide for yourself which approach you prefer. • The life of Emil J. Simon, an early wireless equipment producer, is described by Russ Kleinman, Karen Blisard, A.J. Link and Warren Berbit. Simon led an unusual personal life, but in retro- spect it makes for interesting reading. Although his wireless appara- tus was not known for its high quality, he was very effective in sup- plying military wireless equipment contracts during World War One. Simon was an important historical figure, but received mixed reviews from his contemporaries as an engineer and a businessman. iv • While searching for material on Reginald Fessenden, James O’Neal uncovered the radio log of amateur Francis Hart at the Smithsonian Institution. It covers the interval from 1906 to 1909. The log pro- vides insight into the operating environment of one of the very first radio amateurs, and offers sometimes scathing assessments of his peers. It includes comments on the technical innovations available in the period. • Finally, Charles Kirsten uses the design of the Supreme Model 45 tube tester to illustrate the engineering virtue of the short-lived 1933 RMA tube pin standard. Its replacement by a new standard in 1934 made 1933 testers obsolete. Charles concludes that the 1934 standard was introduced not for engineering reasons but from the self interest of RCA Radiotron Co. Ltd. This volume contains both articles addressing this year’s AWA theme, and a diversity of other topics by noted authors. It should appeal to the wide interests of AWA members and others. Our thanks are due to these authors for providing the AWA Review with the results of their fine and thorough work. Last year we introduced a practice of anonymous peer review of submitted articles. This practice has been generally well accepted by authors and has the result of raising the credibility of our articles as historical documentation. This year again we have drawn on a pool of re- viewers with obvious credentials. These are: David Bart, Buford Chidester, Alan Douglas, William Fizette, Donna Halper, Bartholomew Lee, Robert Lozier and Ludwell Sibley. The AWA Review is very grateful for their work, an effort that has no direct benefit to them apart from the improvement of the quality of this volume. AWA members and others with an interest in wireless communication history are encouraged to submit manuscripts to the AWA Review. A section titled Tips for Authors follows. We try to make the publication effort more collaborative than challenging. The single most important message in this regard is to contact us early if you are considering writing an article. It is my distinct pleasure to bring you this volume of the AWA Re- view. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to receiving your manuscripts for next year’s volume. Robert P. (Bob) Murray, Ph.D. Editor v Tips for Authors The AWA Review welcomes any submitted article on aspects of wireless communications history. In general, shorter articles can be directed to the AWA Journal and longer manuscripts to the AWA Review. If you are in any doubt about where your article should best appear, please contact either or both editors. For first time authors, articles can be prepared with the help of a more experienced co-author, or the editor can help with the text in the editing process. Members with an interesting story to tell should not be discouraged by a lack of writing experience. The AWA Review will ac- cept manuscripts in any clearly prepared writing style. A short style manual produced by the American Radio Relay League is available on request. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is available in most public libraries. Reference material should be cited within the text of the article in any of the accepted reference styles. Reference lists should include all of the sources mentioned in the text. Writers should look at the articles in this volume or in previous volumes for examples. Unlike writing for a regional club newsletter, articles submitted to the AWA will be laid out on the pages in a style made consistent within the entire publication. Therefore, please do not arrange your illustra- tions on each page but rather send the text in a file separately from the files for each illustration. This requirement applies equally to the Jour- nal and the Review. (see, for example, “From the Editor” in the AWA Journal, April 2006, pages 4 & 5.) Text files can be prepared on any word processing software, but preferably on Microsoft Word. Illustra- tions are best sent as .JPG or .TIF files with a resolution of around 300 dpi. JPG files should be Standard (not Progressive) and Greyscale (not RBG). Files can be submitted as e-mail attachments directed to the editor. Articles submitted to the AWA Review should be developed in con- cept not later than early January of the publication year. A first draft should be submitted around March. The editor’s deadline for submis- sion of the completed volume to the printer is July 1, so that a final draft is expected around May 1.

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