bell labs and western electric

can someone give or guide me to the history of the connection between bell labs and western electric? shared patents? shared engineering?
i know that bell had a huge budget for engineering, being interested in vocal reproduction. i have harvey fletchers book 'speech and hearing' kind of a hard read, but very many interesting things in it. what was really cool was the articulation they were looking for even in individual constanant or syllable accuracy. it shows pictures of them speaking across a gas flame and analizing the shape. recording large clusters of musicians gathered around a huge horn to record on a dictograph. lots of interesting facts on human voice travel and the such.

Here's some basic time lines that ~answers your Q: http://web.archive.org/web/200310032...evolution.html

http://web.archive.org/web/200308180...bell-labs.html

http://web.archive.org/web/200609030...udspeaker.html

GM

They were both part of the phone company; basically Bell Labs was research and Western Electric was manufacturing.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Tom Brennan:
They were both part of the phone company; basically Bell Labs was research and Western Electric was manufacturing.

---

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Tom definitely knows where it's ATT.

The old Altec Lansing marketing materials from the 1970s often mentioned their heritage going back to the Bell labs days and my recollection was that Bell held the first patents on edge wound voice coils and Alnico motors.

The "other" Lansing cite has some interesting history on the early Altec days.

LANSING HERITAGE

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GM

[url="http://web.archive.org/web/20030818094212/history.acusd.edu/gen/recording/bell-labs.html"]
GM

---

GM, Anyone-- Do you know what plant WE used to manufacture the 555, 594, 597 speakers ?

Where were they made ?

And while we are on the subject - what about Westrex? It was the UK arm of W.E., but the drivers look a bit different. What's the story?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Horn Savant

GM, Anyone-- Do you know what plant WE used to manufacture the 555, 594, 597 speakers ?

---

I assume the huge Hawthorne plant near Chicago where the first manufacturing facility PA system was installed since IIRC I read somewhere that by then it was the only one left in the US, becoming a self sufficient 'city' in its own right.

GM

Westrex were into 35mm optical ,dolby digital and sdds film recorders and 35mm mag recorders player.They stopped manufacturing these equipment in 2006.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GM

I assume the huge Hawthorne plant.

GM

---

It's funny how no one knows for sure , I've heard some say New Jersey.

This, for me, deepens the mystery and esoteric attraction for these rare, desirable speakers and Amps.

Murray Hill, N.J. is where Bell Labs R&D was/is, so it's a given IMO that prototypes were built in their model shop, but I seriously doubt any production runs were done there.

GM

Hawthorne plant was in Chi-town as was Jensen who made their woofers to spec, so it would be possible that Jensen made compression drivers under contract. A clue would be the use of same diaphragms in Jensen drivers.

I was once at a high end audio show Las Vegas (where many foreign esoteric brands are displayed) and started talking to a learned German tube Amp designer. I raised the subject of classic tube Amps of the 20's & 30's from Western Electric. The German became a little annoyed at the reverence esoteric audio attaches to early W.E. He dismissed its significance by saying: "Bell Labs, they were mainly staffed with German scientists who fled Germany's disastrous post-WWI economy !" An interesting historical insight.

So the implication being: "You want German esoterica ? Don't bother with early 20th century US 'German' product,--buy my items now !"

I find it hard to believe Bell Labs/WE would entrust the manufacturing of their compression drivers to a competitor, but all this speculation can probably be put to rest by contacting WE.

GM

Some reading material:-

[ame="http://www.scribd.com/doc/124435/Western-Electric-and-the-History-of-the-Bell-System-A-Survey-of-Service"]Western Electric and the History of the Bell System: A Survey of Service@@AMEPARAM@@/docinfo/124435?access_key=38wk05moukpsf@@AMEPARAM@@124435@ @AMEPARAM@@38wk05moukpsf[/ame]

and

Western Electric and the Bell System - Preface and Table of Contents

Louspeaker Timeline:-

Loudspeaker History



Is there more info on this loudspeaker-see history link, above? It's hard to tell whether its coming or going.

Cheers, Marshall.

Thanks for links Marshall
From this , it looks like loudspeaking-telephone receivers may have been made in Kearny Works, Kearny NJ or Hawthorne Works, Hawthorne, IL - but no one knows for sure which for me increases their curiosity !

Also where were 300b tubes made in the '30s? --The present Kansas facility has only made tubes since 1962.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mah

Some reading material:-

Western Electric and the History of the Bell System: A Survey of Service

Marshall.

---

Here's an intriguing search result.
Can't read the entire AES paper as they want $20 to download it:

AES E-Library: A Brief History of Early Motion Picture Sound ... At this point it is necessary to review the work of several individuals ... the Western Electric 555-W receiver which, when coupled with a horn ... all of its telephone plant manufacturing facilities at Kearney, NJ, .... aAND o. u 30 35 40 The Motion Picture Research COuncCILbecame effective in 1934 Co UN il March, ...
AES E-Library: A Brief History of Early Motion Picture Sound Recording and Reproducing Practices - Similar pages
by JK Hilliard - Cited by 2 - Related articles

HS,

Check out the references at the end of this article:

Antique Radio Classified: The 300B Tube Lives Again!

This link names WE tube manufacturing plants:

History - Western Electric

Well, assuming this statement from the above link is accurate, Hawthorne is still looking like the only place for production since the 555's patent wasn't applied for until over a decade later: "Hawthorne absorbed the operations of the company's existing plants in New York and Chicago and by 1914 it was Western Electric's only manufacturing facility."

This link states:" They manufacture the tubes in the same Kansas City plant where they were previously made"

Well, the AT&T website for modern 300Bs states they have only made tubes there since 1962, so this isn't where the desirable 1930's tubes were made and I doubt if WE were making any 300Bs at all in 1962 ( I think the last WE 300Bs were made in the early-mid 50s)(where I don't know). The original assembly line is probably a brownfield or the location of a Home Depot today?

An esoteric audiophile told me that the AT&T revival 300Bs - justifiably or not - have been all but rejected by modern WE purists.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mah

HS,

Check out the references at the end of this article:

Antique Radio Classified: The 300B Tube Lives Again!

---

WE history paper stated Kearny started in 1924-1925 , maybe too late for production of 555 receiver (1926) (there were earlier WE PA loudspeaking receivers also) so Hawthorne looks lke a good candidate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GM

Well, assuming this statement from the above link is accurate, Hawthorne is still looking like the only place for production since the 555's patent wasn't applied for until over a decade later: "Hawthorne absorbed the operations of the company's existing plants in New York and Chicago and by 1914 it was Western Electric's only manufacturing facility."

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Horn Savant

...I doubt if WE were making any 300Bs at all in 1962 (

---

I'm pretty sure they were - continued up to the early 90's. A group of my friends visted the 300B production line in the mid to late 80s, but I don't remember where it was.

HS, Here is an interesting AK thread:

[ame="http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14644"]Western Electric Tubes - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums[/ame]

If 'lightfoot22' is still an AK member you could contact him.

Cheers.:Don't tell anyone:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Panomaniac

I'm pretty sure they were - continued up to the early 90's. A group of my friends visted the 300B production line in the mid to late 80s, but I don't remember where it was.

---

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/277...9033000003.jpg


Till 1988.

most all to Japan ...

as stated by Attila R. Balaton, in th AWA Review -

(this article was also in the Jaes,)

AES E-Library: Tube Manufacturing at Western Electric: The WE 300B

. . VOLUME 4 - 1989

FOREWORD .................................................. ...... 5

A SKETCH OF EARLY RADIO VACUUM-TUBE RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
J. M. Anderson .................................................. 6

THE HRO REPORT: DATING THE EARLY HRO
Charles P. Fisher .............................................. 32

TUBE MANUFACTURING AT WESTERN ELECTRIC: THE WE 300B
Attila R. Balaton .............................................. 45

THE FEMININE TOUCH IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Louise R. Moreau ............................................... 70

A DECADE OF ELECTROCOUSTIC REPRODUCTION (1920-1930)
Floyd A. Paul .................................................. 84

AN ELUSIVE FRAME OF TELEVISION HISTORY PRESERVED
William E. Denk ................................................ 99

WESTERN ELECTRIC TUBES: SOME INTERESTING AND HISTORIC TYPES
Ludwell Sibley ................................................ 110

EARLY MICROPHONE HISTORY
Bob Paquette .................................................. 131


The Antique Wireless Association, Inc., AWA Review, Cumulative Index

Until a couple of years ago, I though the new facility in Huntsville, AL was the new manufacturing site of the WE300B.

as quoted from their website....

"The WE300B is manufactured in the United States and is now in production at their new Huntsville, Alabama factory."

Western Electric


I am not sure, but I thought I heard something about them moving to a new site, again?

I can always call and find out.......


Hmmm, looks like their site hasn't been updated since 2005.......

Thought of applying for a job there before the economy slowed down, would have been cool, since I like tubes..


-chris

Just got off of the phone.....

Good news/bad news......

The facility in Huntsville, AL is shut down, but they plan to re-open it in Late summer of this year and restart production.....


-chris