Der "Transistor" als technisches und kulturelles Phanomen: Die Transistorisierung der Radio- und Fernsehempfanger in der deutschen Rundfunkindustrie 1955 bis 1965 (review)

Der "Transistor" als technisches und kulturelles Phänomen: Die Transistorisierung der Radio- und Fernsehempfänger in der deutschen Rundfunkindustrie von 1955 bis 1965, by Andreas Fickers. Bassum: Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, 1998. Pp. 148; illustrations, tables, notes/references, bibliography. DM 35.

The main title of this book may raise expectations that are too broad, particularly among non-German readers. It is the subtitle that defines the actual historical, geographical, and technological scope: a study of the shift from vacuum tubes to transistors in the design of audio and video receivers in Germany between 1955 and 1965. This story is told both as it relates to the products of German manufacturers of radio and television receivers and to the industrial development of new semiconductor components. There is also some attention to the behavior of consumers. "Transistor" was not just the technical term for a new electronic component; as embodied in a small device that could be taken anywhere, it also exemplified the values of a new generation that looked to America for its cultural cues. The portable radio was a harbinger in a strategic mass market.

This book by Andreas Fickers, based on his master's thesis, begins with a description of how radio frequencies in the German occupation zones were distributed during the years between 1945 and the inception of the two new German states in 1949. Conferences in Atlantic City in 1947 and Copenhagen in 1948 had allotted to the four German occupation zones frequencies that represented the traditional international standard in public broadcasting. But radio technology had made immense progress during the war years, and the occupation authorities agreed to an initiative by experts in the western zones aimed at exploring possibilities for inaugurating a new UKW (VHF) technology that was not restricted by the Copenhagen frequency schedule. After 1949 more and more transmitters used UKW frequencies and FM (frequency modulation) instead of the traditional AM (amplitude modulation). Beginning in 1963 there were also transmissions with "stereo" quality. These technological shifts defined the strategic goals of the German consumer electronics industry in the decade under consideration in this book.

In 1955 West Germans could already buy transistorized audio receivers made by American and German firms. Handy portable receivers were being made in East Germany as well as West, even though transistors had to be imported from the United States, and many receivers were still equipped with tubes. In 1957 Graetz produced the first transistorized receiver for UKW. The bigger German electrical firms worked hard to develop components for the high frequencies. From Siemens and Halske came a new electronic tube that could be used for many different functions in audio and video receivers, and finally in 1959 Telefunken and Valvo both commenced mass production of high frequency transistors. Two years later Siemens came out with transistors using Mesa technology that were usable at frequencies up to 600 megahertz.

Fickers develops a case study illuminating the development of Mesa transistors at Siemens. In another short chapter he discusses some of the changes in audio culture (Hörkultur), and he concludes his book with three interviews: with the chief of transistor development at Siemens, with one of the chief engineers of Grundig, and with a journalist who observed and recorded the development of radio technology during the last fifty years. Besides the interviews, Fickers has based his analysis on intensive research in popular technical journals. He brings much to light about technology, economics, and culture, about the saga of German industry and politics of the 1950s and 1960s. It would be interesting to learn more about how the new self-confidence that flew the flag of Wirtschaftswunder emerged and played its self-motivating role.

Hartmut Petzold

Dr. Petzold is curator for mathematical instruments, computers, and time measurement...