|
Because of RCA's close patent
license tie-in with BTL, we had access to some of the first transistors
made available by them. At first, each transistor which they shipped to us
came complete with its measured performance parameters, and I came to know
most of them personally - at least, so long as they lived. (this one works
only on Thursdays!) I still have a couple of the very earliest Bell Labs
transistors, but would be surprised if they will still amplify today.
They’re mounted in a metal can with a hole in each side through which, I
suppose, the scientists of that day jiggled the probe to make appropriate
point contact. (The packaging for one of these transistors, serial #2442,
is shown on the left, with the specific operating parameters listed on the
box). A common phrase heard then and for some years after was to
"transistorize" a circuit, but I believed that trying,
effectively, to substitute a transistor in place of its vacuum tube
counterpart tended to limit innovation. Occasionally, I shake up people by
observing that at one time I was one of the five “transistor experts” in
the world – because I had one of the five transistors. Well, maybe there
were 5,000 of them, but I got to play with some of the very first. Still
have some of these units - I anguish though when I recall what I cleaned out
of my “junk” box over the years!
|
