"Interview with KSL man for inventors' conference" 5/76., 1976

Item — track: 24

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

RCA challenged whether Phil was the inventor of the dissector tube which powered the television. The final hearing was in 1934. She tells the story of another man jumping out the window after being sued by RCA and losing all of his money.
There is a very loud airplane that makes it difficult to hear what is said for a minute or so.
Before the interview itself, you get to hear them discuss what they will talk about in the interview.
Dr. Zworykin challenged that he had developed the tube before Phil, but through cross questioning they found out that he was unaware how his tube actually worked. RCA believed that Phil could not have possibly developed his tube as a thirteen to fifteen year old.
Pem says that Phil would sympathize with inventors in the United States because it is so difficult to fight a large corporation because the inventor must give so much control to the company that helps to finance them.
She discusses his other inventions as well as his television related patents.
She tries to describe his habits and thought processes and the way that he worked on inventions.
She talks about his disinterest in writing papers or articles and how it contributed to his lack of credit for many of his inventions.
They look through a photo album that Pem has and they decide on pictures that will be used.
She says that working in a small group helped Phil's ability to complete his television project because they didn't have many of the same guidelines and rules that restricted what the engineers at larger companies were able to do.
She once again begins to talk about photos that she is showing the interviewer.
The last few minutes of the tape are blank, it is unclear if they forgot it was running or what happened.

Dates

1976

Language of Materials

From the Collection: Collection material in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials must be used on-site; no use of original material, access copies will be made available for viewing. Five business days advanced notice required. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law, condition of the material, or by donor.