EIMAC and EME

I have been receiving many notes from friends of my dads, and people who worked with him at EIMAC or on radio projects. Recently, Mike Bach was able to track down an old video from the 1950s that was done by a local television station, channel 7. They did a series of 'Success Stories' about companies in the area. This one was about EIMAC. We showed it to my mom and even though she wasnt working at EIMAC anymore by 1955, she remembered some of the people and the processes that were shown. She was happy to see it. Then of course there were the spoofs of the 'Success Story' show created by Ed Sena, the company photographer. Here is a snipet of what Jack Quinn remembers about the GLIPTRON movies made in San Bruno and then another in San Carlos when the company moved there.

"Well, I don't remember it all, but here is what I do: It was a fun movie made by Ed Sena our company photographer. Gliptol was a trade name for a vacuum leak sealer. If you had a leaker you painted on Gliptron and it sucked into the crack. So the movie was a satire on our constant striving for excellent high quality vacuum tubes. "

Another recent addition to the collection of old trivia and memories is a copy of the video that was made during the November 1975 EME tests that were conducted at the Stanford Research Insitute in Palo Alto. Brian Westfall and Arne Gjerning(N7KA) were good enough to make a DVD and send a copy to me. I have photographs of the event that my brother Robert Sutherland ex- WA6QCD made, but I didn't know of the video. I will be posting the photos I have. The participants at this particular EME test were Loren Hodap (WA6BMR), Brian Westfall (K6OJM), Arne Gjerning (ex K7CAD), Bob Sutherland (ex WA6QCD), Bruce Clark (K6JYO), Ed Tescher (QA6LCZ), Victor Frank (WB6KAP), Bob Melvin (W6VSV), and Bob Sutherland (W6PO). The stats from the test were: 102 contacts, 80-82 stations, 11 countries including the US, 20 States all areas, Luxembourg, Japan, and other countries in Europe.

I remember my dad making trips to the Stanford dish, but I didn't really know or comprehend the excitement of the activities they were involved in. Ham Radio was ham radio...... Looking back from a 30 year perspective, it was a little more. My brother actually participated in this particular test. He was about 20 at the time. He looks pretty much the same as he did then.
Of course my father was there, but he did his best to stay out of the camera's view.

Bruce Clark, Brian Westfall, Bob Sutherland, Arne Gjerning

Arne Gjerning, Bob Sutherland, Brian Westfall, Bruce Clark

Comments

[Dave Olean]

Boy do I remember this operation. It was really exciting to hear WA6LET peaking up actually out of the noise on 144 MHz. All of the East Coast operators were calling whether they heard WA6LET or not. Is there any way I can get a copy of the video made then? That would really be a special treat to see what was going on in the SRI shack. The WA6LET and EIMAC Radio Club EME pictures on the website are really great. Thanks for sharing them.

[Bob Lindsay]

I remember when I was a boy growing up in Toronto, my father had a small refrigeration business. He was one of the very first to put an AC induction motor directly coupled to a refrigerator compressor into a hermetically sealed cylinder containing several quarts of lubricating oil. (Canadian Patent about 1934.)

To protect the motor windings, he would first immerse the entire stator assembly of the motor in a 2-gallon pot of GE GLYPTAL cement, pull a vacuum on the pot, and after all the outgassing has ceased, let down the cylinder to atmospheric pressure.

This process drove the GLYPTAL thoroughly into the tiniest crevices in the motor windings. No wonder GLYPTAL was so popular at Eimac!

GLYPTAL cement was first offered by GE in the Spring of 1927, I believe.

[Dana Shtun]

Just came across the site, Bob and I had corresponded many times back in the 70's.
Was in the Shack at VE3ASO when Dennis worked the gang at WA6LET! We were a bunch of high schoolers at that time.
Noted the GE Glyptal comments - being a GE Brat I think my dad still has a container of Glyptal cement !! Had no idea of it's alternative uses!!
Regards
Dana VE3DSS/VE3KU