Philco Transistor Manufacturing Plant 1955

[Homer J Simpson]

Worth a watch.

Automation of the transistor manufacturing process at Philco from 1955.

[bob91343]

I think I have some of those.  Or maybe they are Sprague.  Back in the day, I think around 1960 I was planning to build an FM radio with transistors.  I only got as far as building a breadboard of the local oscillator.  I still have it and it still works and it's still on the same frequency.

[BrianHG]

Ohhhh my god, that intro music.  It begins like a horror flick.

[bob91343]

I don't know why but the 1950s seem to me (and also did at the time) the doldrums.  Change was minimal.  Eisenhower was prez and seemed like a very dull person to me.  I got married in that period and served in the Army as well as gaining my engineering degree.  Everything seemed colorless.  I bought my first new car in that period but it was toward the end of the decade and things were looking up a little.

The dull expressions of the participants in this video as well as their attire exemplified that impression.  Philco was trying to lead the pack but ended up dropping out.  The leader then was Texas Instruments, which remains a factor in the industry.  GE and RCA hung in there for quite a while but didn't make it.  Same for Delco and a few others.

[vk6zgo]

I don't know why but the 1950s seem to me (and also did at the time) the doldrums.  Change was minimal.  Eisenhower was prez and seemed like a very dull person to me.  I got married in that period and served in the Army as well as gaining my engineering degree.

All quite momentous events to most people, but to you:-

Everything seemed colorless. 

I bought my first new car in that period but it was toward the end of the decade and things were looking up a little.

My first new car was quite nice, but not anywhere as nice as my wife!

The dull expressions of the participants in this video as well as their attire exemplified that impression.  Philco was trying to lead the pack but ended up dropping out.  The leader then was Texas Instruments, which remains a factor in the industry.  GE and RCA hung in there for quite a while but didn't make it.  Same for Delco and a few others.

[bob91343]

I confess to being somewhat blase regarding my life in the 50s but I am being honest.  I won't discuss my wife, now deceased, divorced many decades ago.  The new car ended in the junkyard.  My degree was a powerful tool to prove my credibility and allow me decent employment, but said employment wasn't what I was made for.

The 1970s and later proved much more to my satisfaction.  Each decade seems better than the last and unfortunately for me it will all end too soon.

When I think about what life has given me so far, I am amazed that so much has happened and that I remember so much of it.  Perhaps incorrectly, but it doesn't matter.  The bottom line is that it's not over yet.

However we are straying very far off topic.  Philco was a venerable company that was highly successful for many years.  They merged with Ford back in the day, as GM merged with Frigidaire.  Some of my earliest radio work was with Philco units.  I believe in my youth we had a Philco tombstone radio sans the cabinet, with yellowing celluloid dial scale and a pair of 71A tubes for output amplifier producing a very nice mellow tone.  The chassis of those old radios were very high, contrasting with the more modern low profile.