• Blumlein book

    From John Larkin@21:1/5 to All on Sun Dec 31 14:37:45 2023
    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped
    England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

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  • From piglet@21:1/5 to John Larkin on Mon Jan 1 11:25:25 2024
    On 31/12/2023 10:37 pm, John Larkin wrote:

    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    He lives on in the trillion op-amps made each year! I think he used the
    long tail pair topology not only as linear low-drift diff amps but also
    as a fast current steering switch. Thanks for heads up, I will get the book.


    piglet

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  • From John Larkin@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jan 1 08:17:23 2024
    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 11:25:25 +0000, piglet <erichpwagner@hotmail.com>
    wrote:

    On 31/12/2023 10:37 pm, John Larkin wrote:

    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped
    England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    He lives on in the trillion op-amps made each year! I think he used the
    long tail pair topology not only as linear low-drift diff amps but also
    as a fast current steering switch. Thanks for heads up, I will get the book.


    piglet



    There is some philosophizing on the nature of genius and invention,
    with comparisons to Edison and Marconi and some others.

    What's interesting is that Blumlein was very mathematical but could
    barely read. And his hand-drawn schematics were awful.

    Doing the 405-line interlaced video generation and reception with
    pre-WWII tubes is awesome.

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  • From John Larkin@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jan 1 16:50:20 2024
    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:24:32 +0000, JM <sunaecoNoSpam@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 08:17:23 -0800, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 11:25:25 +0000, piglet <erichpwagner@hotmail.com>
    wrote:

    On 31/12/2023 10:37 pm, John Larkin wrote:

    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped >>>> England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    He lives on in the trillion op-amps made each year! I think he used the >>>long tail pair topology not only as linear low-drift diff amps but also >>>as a fast current steering switch. Thanks for heads up, I will get the book. >>>

    piglet



    There is some philosophizing on the nature of genius and invention,
    with comparisons to Edison and Marconi and some others.

    What's interesting is that Blumlein was very mathematical but could
    barely read. And his hand-drawn schematics were awful.


    It seems to be you that cannot read.

    Why do so many creeps, and so few electronic designers, post here? We
    won't miss google groups.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bill Sloman@21:1/5 to John Larkin on Tue Jan 2 14:20:10 2024
    On 2/01/2024 11:50 am, John Larkin wrote:
    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:24:32 +0000, JM <sunaecoNoSpam@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 08:17:23 -0800, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote: >>
    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 11:25:25 +0000, piglet <erichpwagner@hotmail.com>
    wrote:

    On 31/12/2023 10:37 pm, John Larkin wrote:

    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped >>>>> England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    He lives on in the trillion op-amps made each year! I think he used the >>>> long tail pair topology not only as linear low-drift diff amps but also >>>> as a fast current steering switch. Thanks for heads up, I will get the book.

    There is some philosophizing on the nature of genius and invention,
    with comparisons to Edison and Marconi and some others.

    What's interesting is that Blumlein was very mathematical but could
    barely read. And his hand-drawn schematics were awful.


    It seems to be you that cannot read.

    Why do so many creeps, and so few electronic designers, post here? We
    won't miss google groups.

    You are the creep here. JM is no less an electronic designer than you
    are, and much better informed on the history of the subject. He used to correspond with Peter Baxandall, which is an honour I never aspired to.

    I have talked to Jim Williams, Barry Gilbert and Bill Percival but what
    they had doesn't seem to have rubbed off onto me.

    --
    Bill Sloman, Sydney

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  • From Jeroen Belleman@21:1/5 to John Larkin on Tue Jan 2 14:53:39 2024
    On 1/2/24 01:50, John Larkin wrote:
    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:24:32 +0000, JM <sunaecoNoSpam@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 08:17:23 -0800, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote: >>
    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 11:25:25 +0000, piglet <erichpwagner@hotmail.com>
    wrote:

    On 31/12/2023 10:37 pm, John Larkin wrote:

    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped >>>>> England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    He lives on in the trillion op-amps made each year! I think he used the >>>> long tail pair topology not only as linear low-drift diff amps but also >>>> as a fast current steering switch. Thanks for heads up, I will get the book.


    piglet



    There is some philosophizing on the nature of genius and invention,
    with comparisons to Edison and Marconi and some others.

    What's interesting is that Blumlein was very mathematical but could
    barely read. And his hand-drawn schematics were awful.


    It seems to be you that cannot read.

    Why do so many creeps, and so few electronic designers, post here? We
    won't miss google groups.


    Creeps want attention. Unfortunately, they often get it here.

    Jeroen Belleman

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From john larkin@21:1/5 to jeroen@nospam.please on Tue Jan 2 13:49:12 2024
    On Tue, 2 Jan 2024 14:53:39 +0100, Jeroen Belleman
    <jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:

    On 1/2/24 01:50, John Larkin wrote:
    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:24:32 +0000, JM <sunaecoNoSpam@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 01 Jan 2024 08:17:23 -0800, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote: >>>
    On Mon, 1 Jan 2024 11:25:25 +0000, piglet <erichpwagner@hotmail.com>
    wrote:

    On 31/12/2023 10:37 pm, John Larkin wrote:

    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped >>>>>> England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    He lives on in the trillion op-amps made each year! I think he used the >>>>> long tail pair topology not only as linear low-drift diff amps but also >>>>> as a fast current steering switch. Thanks for heads up, I will get the book.


    piglet



    There is some philosophizing on the nature of genius and invention,
    with comparisons to Edison and Marconi and some others.

    What's interesting is that Blumlein was very mathematical but could
    barely read. And his hand-drawn schematics were awful.


    It seems to be you that cannot read.

    Why do so many creeps, and so few electronic designers, post here? We
    won't miss google groups.


    Creeps want attention. Unfortunately, they often get it here.

    Jeroen Belleman

    What sad lives they must lead, to need such crude hostility.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Larkin@21:1/5 to bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com on Wed Jan 3 07:44:35 2024
    On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 07:09:41 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 5:38:56?PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped
    England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    The author is a bs artist with a very skewed outlook. There is nothing very profound there.

    Have you read the book? It's mostly doumented references, not much
    opinion. Blumlein's work and patents are all real.


    For most of the so-called high tech gadgets developed in the 30s and 40s, they were lucky to get them to work 30% of the time, and usually much less.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_computer

    Tech isn't much better now. Most new ideas and companies fail, but now
    they burn billions of dollars doing it.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bill Sloman@21:1/5 to John Larkin on Fri Jan 5 16:37:06 2024
    On 4/01/2024 2:44 am, John Larkin wrote:
    On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 07:09:41 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 5:38:56?PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped
    England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    The author is a bs artist with a very skewed outlook. There is nothing very profound there.

    Have you read the book? It's mostly doumented references, not much
    opinion. Blumlein's work and patents are all real.


    For most of the so-called high tech gadgets developed in the 30s and 40s, they were lucky to get them to work 30% of the time, and usually much less.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_computer

    Tech isn't much better now. Most new ideas and companies fail, but now
    they burn billions of dollars doing it.

    They don't have to. The usual approach is to start off with an expensive product aimed at niche market which can make a lot of money out of it,
    and once you've got a regular income out of them, work on making the
    product cheaper and better.

    The electron-beam tester project that I got drawn into got the first
    stage right, but boss - the original inventor - was obsessed with making
    the product easier to sell, rather than easier to use, and one of his ex-engineers wiped him out with a version of his machine that was more
    reliable and easier to use.

    --
    Bill Sloman, Sydney

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From john larkin@21:1/5 to bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com on Fri Jan 5 13:38:03 2024
    On Fri, 5 Jan 2024 13:18:39 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 10:45:46?AM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 07:09:41 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs
    <bloggs.fred...@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 5:38:56?PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped
    England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    The author is a bs artist with a very skewed outlook. There is nothing very profound there.
    Have you read the book? It's mostly doumented references, not much
    opinion. Blumlein's work and patents are all real.
    Author is British.


    Yeah, Brits talk and spell funny.

    I guess you are a lot smarter and more inventive than Blumlein was.

    Don't read the book. You know everything already.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bill Sloman@21:1/5 to john larkin on Wed Jan 10 00:32:17 2024
    On 6/01/2024 8:38 am, john larkin wrote:
    On Fri, 5 Jan 2024 13:18:39 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 10:45:46?AM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 07:09:41 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs
    <bloggs.fred...@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 5:38:56?PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped >>>>> England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    The author is a bs artist with a very skewed outlook. There is nothing very profound there.

    Have you read the book? It's mostly doumented references, not much
    opinion. Blumlein's work and patents are all real.

    Author is British.

    Yeah, Brits talk and spell funny.

    Americans do think that. Noah Webster did publish an American dictionary
    with oddly spelled words. His excuse was that he was rationalising the spelling, but it looks more like a scheme to squeeze English-published dictionaries out of the American market. There are a bunch of America
    accents, as there are a range of British accents. They all sound funny
    to Australians - we do have regional variations in accent, but it takes
    a phoneticians to pick them out.

    I guess you are a lot smarter and more inventive than Blumlein wa

    Seems unlikely. Blumlein got his name on 128 patents and he died at 38.
    It doesn't strike me that Fred was asserting anything of the sort.

    The bit of the book that JM put on-line, about Blumlein's family, his
    education and first steps in his career, wasn't all that inspired and
    did put me off buying it, but it does cover an interesting bit of
    technical history.

    Don't read the book. You know everything already.
    '
    John Larkin being rude again.

    --
    Bill Sloman, Sydney

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Bill Sloman@21:1/5 to Bill Sloman on Fri Jan 26 15:12:59 2024
    On 10/01/2024 12:32 am, Bill Sloman wrote:
    On 6/01/2024 8:38 am, john larkin wrote:
    On Fri, 5 Jan 2024 13:18:39 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs
    <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 10:45:46?AM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 07:09:41 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs
    <bloggs.fred...@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 5:38:56?PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote: >>>>>> https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously
    helped England win WWII.

    <snip>
    The bit of the book that JM put on-line, about Blumlein's family, his education and first steps in his career, wasn't all that inspired and
    did put me off buying it, but it does cover an interesting bit of
    technical history.

    I did order the books - in hardcover, so it wasn't cheap, and it finally arrived last night. The first part - as put on-line by JM - is heavy going.

    Don't read the book. You know everything already.
    '
    John Larkin being rude again.

    I do know more than John Larkin - not an extravagant claim - but, unlike
    him, I am willing to learn more.

    --
    Bill Sloman, Sydney

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From brian@21:1/5 to jl@650pot.com on Fri Jan 26 04:53:39 2024
    In message <hgtgpi53s5ptuc8lc5imi2b24le8cr2d0b@4ax.com>, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> writes
    On Fri, 5 Jan 2024 13:18:39 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs ><bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 10:45:46?AM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:
    On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 07:09:41 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs
    <bloggs.fred...@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 5:38:56?PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote:




    https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously helped >>> >> England win WWII.

    He invented the cathode follower and the long-tail pair.

    The author is a bs artist with a very skewed outlook. There is
    nothing very profound there.
    Have you read the book? It's mostly doumented references, not much
    opinion. Blumlein's work and patents are all real.
    Author is British.


    Yeah, Brits talk and spell funny.

    Funnily

    Brian
    --
    Brian Howie

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Bill Sloman@21:1/5 to Bill Sloman on Sat Jan 27 01:49:47 2024
    On 26/01/2024 3:12 pm, Bill Sloman wrote:
    On 10/01/2024 12:32 am, Bill Sloman wrote:
    On 6/01/2024 8:38 am, john larkin wrote:
    On Fri, 5 Jan 2024 13:18:39 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs
    <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 10:45:46?AM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote: >>>>> On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 07:09:41 -0800 (PST), Fred Bloggs
    <bloggs.fred...@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 5:38:56?PM UTC-5, John Larkin wrote: >>>>>>> https://www.amazon.com/Times-Blumlein-History-Management-Technology/dp/085296773X/

    This guy practically invented electronics design. And seriously
    helped England win WWII.

    <snip>
    The bit of the book that JM put on-line, about Blumlein's family, his
    education and first steps in his career, wasn't all that inspired and
    did put me off buying it, but it does cover an interesting bit of
    technical history.

    I did order the books - in hardcover, so it wasn't cheap, and it finally arrived last night. The first part - as put on-line by JM - is heavy going.

    <snip>

    The rests of the book isn't much better. The author isn't good at
    setting up any kind of narrative or organising the the information he is presenting.

    The subject matter is fascinating, and I found the book held held my
    attention - I read it in one sitting (which took me a couple of hours,
    not a lot for 521 pages).

    It doesn't provide a lot of insight into what Blumlein was actually
    doing - the author doesn't seem to have had much of a clue. Bill
    Percival's distributed amplifier gets a mention, but the idea that he's
    the father of the travelling wave tube doesn't come up. Percival (who I
    met in 1978) is also mentioned for his involvement in transversal
    filters, but not in any informative way.

    The world probably does need a good biography of Alan Dower Blumlein,
    but this isn't it.

    --
    Bill Sloman, Sydney

    --
    Bill Sloman, Sydney

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