Raytheon CK-722 interesting reading

[Homer J Simpson]

There was a post recently that mentioned the Raytheon CK-722 and the fact it was the first  low cost transistor available for general sale.

That got me interested since I had never read any thing on that before.

Here are some links with some good info.

Some things I did not know............

The 722 and 721 were actually 718's that did not meet spec. They were rebranded and sold at a lesser cost. What is interesting is Raytheon was apparently one of, if not the first to do this (1953).

Original cost was $7.60 but fell to $.99 by 1956.

Raytheon actively supported and encouraged the amateur market.

The designer was Norman Krim who graduated MIT and started working for Raytheon in 1933 for $.50 / hour. He worked for the company until 1997. He also was the CEO of Radio Shack from 1961-1963.

Links


Raytheon CK-722 Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CK722



Norman Krim Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Krim



The CK722 Museum.

http://www.ck722museum.com/



The Semiconductor Museum.

http://semiconductormuseum.com/Museum_Index.htm


Lots of good reading. A lot of interesting other links on these sites too.

[TimFox]

When I was a Cub Scout, the only two transistors available to kids were the Raytheon CK722 and the GE 2N107.  I built a code-practice oscillator with the CK722.

[Homer J Simpson]

From Wikipedia.

"Carl David Todd --Participant in the CK722 Design Contest

Carl Todd a hobbyist and later engineer at GE Transistor division placed 6th in Raytheon's CK722 design contest. He won $100. The CK722 was partly responsible for his interest in becoming an engineer. His interest as a hobbyist and engineer would permit him to conceive the 2N107 transistor, GE's alternative to the CK722."