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Biographic Note
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Bob Mendelson joined RCA in 1953
with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. He spent the next six years in the Methods and Process Lab (M&P Lab), responsible for the
hydrogen furnaces, electroplating, and all chemical problems. He fully retired from RCA in 1989. During those 36 years, Bob had the
unique opportunity to work with several key RCA technologies, including
germanium transistors, silicon transistors, integrated circuits and
Nuvistors. He has authored numerous
books and articles, continues as an active ham radio operator (W2OKO), and
has been issued two U.S. patents.
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This is a scan from the front cover of
the Spring 1965 RCA Ham Tips publication, highlighting a construction
project and article by Robert Mendelson in that issue. The Two-Meter transceiver designed by
Bob used both silicon transistors and Nuvistor tubes, combining the best of
both technologies. Bob authored
several articles of this type, building on his RCA work experience with
these technologies as well as his interest in amateur radio.
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Oral History – Bob Mendelson
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This Oral History was taken in Dec 2001.
I started at Purdue University
in 1942, then on to the Navy from 1944-1946. I then returned to Purdue and earned a BSChE in 1947 and
a MSChE in 1948.
My first job was at Stauffer
Chemical Company for 6 years in a pilot plant making carbon disulfide as a
raw material for tire manufacture.
In 1953, I earned my Professional Engineering License and joined
RCA, where my first assignment was with the Methods and Process Lab
(M&PL).
In 1959 I was transferred to
Nuvistor production at its start. At that time the yield was only 5 to 10
percent. Over the next year we
raised the yield to 90 percent.
Here I worked on chemical problems as well as electrical such as
burn in of the finished product. I
stayed there till 1963 when I went to the Somerville transistor plant. I
came to Somerville with no experience in transistors. My first assignment
was a step backwards to Germanium from the latest Silicon every else was
on. It seemed that India wanted
more Germanium transistors like the ones they had previously bought. Politically RCA was required to make
them. With help from the foreman we did manage to manufacture, but there
was a big problem with final test of the quality control parts. I developed
an improved test where the pins were contacted in a predetermined sequence
so as not to burn out the transistors.
Mendelson
Oral History, Page 2
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