On Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:51:10 +0200, "ronwer"
wrote:

Hi!

I am doing a study into the early use of silicon diodes in radar and
communication equipment during the Second World War.

What I would be interested in is as follows:

-type numbers of the diodes
-name/type number of radar/communication equipment
-technical infor on those systems
-info on producers
-pictures of actual diodes, also "in" the circuits
-anecdotal stories about the actual use
-anything else!

The information will be used for an on-going study project related to
practical application of minerals (i.e. quartz) in industry and technology.

So, since this is an aspect of a broader study, other quartz-related info
would
be most appreciated, especially about early use of piezoelectric
quartz crystals in electronic equipment.

If you'd prefer, answering off-list is possible:




Thanks for ANY help!


Ronald
Norway



Volume 15 of the MIT RadLab books, "Crystal Rectifiers" 440 pages, is
all about that. History, theory, parts, applications. Appendix D lists
the common mixer types. The history part mentions early mineral-based
rectifiers.

Some interesting sections are one which notes that some diodes have
power gain when used as mixers, and a suggestion that semiconductor
triodes should be possible, and some interesting 100-volt
welded-junction "power" diodes.

Volume 16, "Microwave Mixers" has some more stuff.

These books show up on ebay, or a used-book thing like Alibris.

I think Bliley Corp may have some papers on the history of quartz
crystals. They, along with the point-contact diode, helped to win the
war.

John