Lincoln Walsh
Encyclopedia
Lincoln Walsh was an engineer and inventor.
Walsh was educated at Stevens Institute of Technology, Columbia University and at Brooklyn College. Before World War II, he founded the Brook Amplifier Company. During the war, he worked with Rudy Bozak
at the Dinion Coil Company in Caledonia, New York, developing high voltage power supplies for radar use. Walsh worked as a member of the War Planning Board, where he met and later married Harriet Walsh. They were residents of Millington, New Jersey for many years. They had no children.
Walsh may have been involved in the development of the Kettledrum Baffle that one associates with the first Bozak speaker systems. He redesigned the "Mark II" (Colossus computer
) power supply to prolong the unit's life. Later, he was a consultant on very large transformer designs for power distribution. He also developed a high-quality AM radio receiver and an aircraft collision avoidance system.
His interests extended to loudspeaker design. With the help of Bozak, he developed a direct-radiator design using a single speaker with an aluminum foil cone, operating out of a vertical column, and offering a wide frequency response. A Simple Quality Rating System for Loudspeakers and Audio Systems appeared in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
for July, 1963. He went on to invent the wide-range coherent transmission-line loudspeaker
, which was granted U.S. Patent 3,424,873 in 1969 (filed in 1964).
In 1971, Martin Gersten founded Ohm Acoustics. Gersten raised the capital needed to buy back the Walsh patent rights from a metal-casting company which had invested with Walsh. Walsh's new speaker design was developed and marketed by Ohm (the Ohm 'A'), after Gersten invented an edge-wound anodized aluminum voice coil, U.S. Patent
3,835,402 (1974), which was needed to make the unit viable. Unfortunately, Walsh died before his speaker was released to the public. Current Ohm Chief Engineer, John Strohbeen further developed Walsh's concepts.
Walsh was educated at Stevens Institute of Technology, Columbia University and at Brooklyn College. Before World War II, he founded the Brook Amplifier Company. During the war, he worked with Rudy Bozak
Rudy Bozak
Rudolph Thomas Bozak was an audio electronics and acoustics designer and engineer in the field of sound reproduction. His parents were Bohemian Czech immigrants; Rudy was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Bozak studied at Milwaukee School of Engineering; in 1981, the school awarded him an honorary...
at the Dinion Coil Company in Caledonia, New York, developing high voltage power supplies for radar use. Walsh worked as a member of the War Planning Board, where he met and later married Harriet Walsh. They were residents of Millington, New Jersey for many years. They had no children.
Walsh may have been involved in the development of the Kettledrum Baffle that one associates with the first Bozak speaker systems. He redesigned the "Mark II" (Colossus computer
Colossus computer
Not to be confused with the fictional computer of the same name in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.Colossus was the world's first electronic, digital, programmable computer. Colossus and its successors were used by British codebreakers to help read encrypted German messages during World War II...
) power supply to prolong the unit's life. Later, he was a consultant on very large transformer designs for power distribution. He also developed a high-quality AM radio receiver and an aircraft collision avoidance system.
His interests extended to loudspeaker design. With the help of Bozak, he developed a direct-radiator design using a single speaker with an aluminum foil cone, operating out of a vertical column, and offering a wide frequency response. A Simple Quality Rating System for Loudspeakers and Audio Systems appeared in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
Audio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
for July, 1963. He went on to invent the wide-range coherent transmission-line loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
, which was granted U.S. Patent 3,424,873 in 1969 (filed in 1964).
In 1971, Martin Gersten founded Ohm Acoustics. Gersten raised the capital needed to buy back the Walsh patent rights from a metal-casting company which had invested with Walsh. Walsh's new speaker design was developed and marketed by Ohm (the Ohm 'A'), after Gersten invented an edge-wound anodized aluminum voice coil, U.S. Patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
3,835,402 (1974), which was needed to make the unit viable. Unfortunately, Walsh died before his speaker was released to the public. Current Ohm Chief Engineer, John Strohbeen further developed Walsh's concepts.
External links
- http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/jaes.obit/JAES_V20_1_PG080.pdf
- http://www.ohmspeakers.com/
- http://www.german-physiks.com/technology/the-ddd-driver.html
- http://theaudiocritic.com/back_issues/The_Audio_Critic_29_r.pdf