Karl, W4KRL, posted this to the AMRAD mailing list….Dan
Printed circuit board technology was invented by Paul Eisler (right), an Austrian refugee to England in 1936. Its first significant use was in anti-aircraft proximity fuses by the US Army. Eisler made little money from his invention. His autobiography is My Life With the Printed Circuit.
He set up a company called TechoGraph, in England, to promote the printed-circuit board. Their online history, notes:
But for both Eisler and Technograph, getting the printed circuit off the ground was to take some time. Not only had development work to be undertaken, but the electronics industry had to be persuaded to drop point-to-point wiring in favour of an interconnection medium that, although inherently more consistent and more reliable, was, at least initially, considerably more expensive. Not an easy task.
Prior to the PCB almost all construction was point-to-point except for a few high-end and military products that used turret boards. Some people still use turret boards, and you can still roll your own.
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