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Norman Krim
Norman B. Krim (1913–2011) was an American electronics engineer and engineering executive. His drive to create a transistor product for the electronics experimenter-hobbyist market contributed to paving the path for a generation of American electronics engineers and technicians during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
"The result was that a whole generation of aspiring engineers — kids, really, working in their garages and basements — got to make all kinds of electronic projects. A lot of them went on to become engineers." — Harry Goldstein, editor for IEEE Spectrum magazine.
Krim was born June 3, 1913, in Manhattan, New York, one of four children of parents Abraham and Ida Krim. He graduated from George Washington High School at age 16, then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he graduated in 1934 in electrical engineering. He worked for most of his career for Raytheon, (over 75 years).
He began as an engineer at Raytheon when he was hired in 1933 during his junior year at MIT for 50 cents an hour. His first success was in the development of subminiature tubes, in the Special Tubes group. While working in the special tube division, before the outbreak of WW2, he wanted to use subminiature tubes in consumer products (hearing aids and radios). After Raytheon's success in subminiature tubes for wartime applications such as the proximity fuze, Raytheon became the leader in the design and production of subminiature tubes. Raytheon promoted Krim to be head of the Special Tube Division.
The proximity fuze was a small device on an artillery shell that would detonate the shell when close to the target, without requiring a difficult direct hit. Previously, fuzes had relied on a time or altitude setting in the fuze and an estimated target height close enough that the shrapnel cloud would impact the target. Given the extremes of aircraft target range and speed, and of shell accuracy of the day, the proximity fuze dramatically increased the effectiveness of anti-aircraft fire. After World War Two ended, Norman Krim got the go-ahead from Laurence Marshall, head of Raytheon, to build the first pocket portable tube radio using and adapting subminiature tubes for commercial products. The radio was called the Belmont Boulevard, designed by Niles Gowell (Raytheon had acquired Belmont Radio Corp for this purpose).
Although the Belmont Boulevard did not sell well, he later was given another challenge by Laurence Marshall, the head of Raytheon, to start making semiconductor products. Under his direction, Raytheon became a leader in making hearing aid transistors. A Time article in 1953 stated, "This little device, a single speck of germanium, is smaller than a paper clip and works perfectly at one-tenth the power needed by the smallest vacuum tube. Today, much of Raytheon’s transistor output goes to America's hearing aid industry." The hearing aid was the first mass-produced consumer electronic device to be miniaturized. By 1948 Raytheon had 98% of the hearing aid tube market. Because of the invention of the transistor by Bell Labs in 1948, Raytheon, under Krim's direction, started making transistors for hearing aids. Their first transistor product was the CK703 point-contact transistor. His successes in Raytheon's Semiconductor Products allowed him to become Vice President of Receiving, Cathode Ray Tubes and Semiconductor Division.
He is particularly known for developing the first mass-production alloy-junction transistor and used the fallouts or transistors that did not meet specifications as transistors to be sold at a much lower cost, the CK721 and CK722. Raytheon quickly moved into alloy-junction transistors because they were lower noise, more rugged, and lent themselves to mass production compared to point-contact transistors. Establishing a tradition that would become a distinctive feature of early transistors, these (CK722) were production dropouts from another transistor line, the CK721, that did not pass test criteria for the CK718 hearing aid transistor (the main product). However, they could be sold at a much lower cost as a lower specification product. This concept helped start a new market for transistors, the experimenter and hobby line. Seeing this window of opportunity, Krim linked up with Radio Shack to market the hobby-grade transistors. Other manufacturers followed soon after.
Early- Before 1956
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Norman Krim
Norman B. Krim (1913–2011) was an American electronics engineer and engineering executive. His drive to create a transistor product for the electronics experimenter-hobbyist market contributed to paving the path for a generation of American electronics engineers and technicians during the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
"The result was that a whole generation of aspiring engineers — kids, really, working in their garages and basements — got to make all kinds of electronic projects. A lot of them went on to become engineers." — Harry Goldstein, editor for IEEE Spectrum magazine.
Krim was born June 3, 1913, in Manhattan, New York, one of four children of parents Abraham and Ida Krim. He graduated from George Washington High School at age 16, then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he graduated in 1934 in electrical engineering. He worked for most of his career for Raytheon, (over 75 years).
He began as an engineer at Raytheon when he was hired in 1933 during his junior year at MIT for 50 cents an hour. His first success was in the development of subminiature tubes, in the Special Tubes group. While working in the special tube division, before the outbreak of WW2, he wanted to use subminiature tubes in consumer products (hearing aids and radios). After Raytheon's success in subminiature tubes for wartime applications such as the proximity fuze, Raytheon became the leader in the design and production of subminiature tubes. Raytheon promoted Krim to be head of the Special Tube Division.
The proximity fuze was a small device on an artillery shell that would detonate the shell when close to the target, without requiring a difficult direct hit. Previously, fuzes had relied on a time or altitude setting in the fuze and an estimated target height close enough that the shrapnel cloud would impact the target. Given the extremes of aircraft target range and speed, and of shell accuracy of the day, the proximity fuze dramatically increased the effectiveness of anti-aircraft fire. After World War Two ended, Norman Krim got the go-ahead from Laurence Marshall, head of Raytheon, to build the first pocket portable tube radio using and adapting subminiature tubes for commercial products. The radio was called the Belmont Boulevard, designed by Niles Gowell (Raytheon had acquired Belmont Radio Corp for this purpose).
Although the Belmont Boulevard did not sell well, he later was given another challenge by Laurence Marshall, the head of Raytheon, to start making semiconductor products. Under his direction, Raytheon became a leader in making hearing aid transistors. A Time article in 1953 stated, "This little device, a single speck of germanium, is smaller than a paper clip and works perfectly at one-tenth the power needed by the smallest vacuum tube. Today, much of Raytheon’s transistor output goes to America's hearing aid industry." The hearing aid was the first mass-produced consumer electronic device to be miniaturized. By 1948 Raytheon had 98% of the hearing aid tube market. Because of the invention of the transistor by Bell Labs in 1948, Raytheon, under Krim's direction, started making transistors for hearing aids. Their first transistor product was the CK703 point-contact transistor. His successes in Raytheon's Semiconductor Products allowed him to become Vice President of Receiving, Cathode Ray Tubes and Semiconductor Division.
He is particularly known for developing the first mass-production alloy-junction transistor and used the fallouts or transistors that did not meet specifications as transistors to be sold at a much lower cost, the CK721 and CK722. Raytheon quickly moved into alloy-junction transistors because they were lower noise, more rugged, and lent themselves to mass production compared to point-contact transistors. Establishing a tradition that would become a distinctive feature of early transistors, these (CK722) were production dropouts from another transistor line, the CK721, that did not pass test criteria for the CK718 hearing aid transistor (the main product). However, they could be sold at a much lower cost as a lower specification product. This concept helped start a new market for transistors, the experimenter and hobby line. Seeing this window of opportunity, Krim linked up with Radio Shack to market the hobby-grade transistors. Other manufacturers followed soon after.
Early- Before 1956