Fritz Langford-Smith (29 June 1904 – 3 December 1966) was an Australian electrical engineer. He was the author of the classic engineering reference ''Radiotron Designer's Handbook'' (RDH). He was heavily involved in the science of communication and engineering research in England and in Australia. He was a long-term editor of the journal ''Radiotronics'' (1935–1950).

Education and career

Langford-Smith received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

in 1926. In 1928, he received a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) also from the UoS. From 1929 to 1932, he was an engineer at Cosmos Lamp Works in the UK. From 1932 to 1956, he worked as an engineer at AWA (

Amalgamated Wireless Australasia AWA Technology Services, name based on former name Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd, is an Australian provider for technology related services. Throughout most of the 20th century AWA was Australia's largest and most prominent electronics o ...

) Valve Co. From 1956 to 1963 he was an engineer with the English Electrical Co. in the UK. From 1935 to 1950 he was editor of ''Radiotronics''.

''Radiotron Designer's Handbook''

Fritz Langford-Smith was the author of ''Radiotron Designer's Handbook'' (or ''Radio Designer's Handbook'') which was often called the "bible" of

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. The type kn ...

s and their circuits due to its sheer size and complete scope It was also sometimes known as "the big red book" due to its bright-red leatherette cover. It was first published 1934 and revised until 1967.

Honorifics

Honorary member of the

Audio Engineering Society The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is a professional body for engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or product ...

in 1959 for his ''Radiotron Designer's Handbook'' for "its importance in the education of a generation of audio engineers."

Works

* ''Tone compensation in broadcast receivers''. Radio Review of Australia, 4 (7) (July 1936), 6–12. * ''Power output systems'' (Abstract). Radio Review of Australia, 4 (12) (December 1936), 18. * ''The relationship between the power output stage and the loudspeaker''. World Radio Convention. Proceedings. (Sydney, 1938), paper no. 24; A.W.A. Technical Review, 4 (1939), 199–223. * ''The Radiotron Designer's Handbook'': ** 1st edition. Sydney: Amalgamated Wireless Valve Co./Harrison, New Jersey, USA: Radio Corporation of America, 1934. ** 2nd edition. Sydney: Amalgamated Wireless Valve Co./Harrison, New Jersey, USA: Radio Corporation of America, 1935. (58 pages) ** (352 pages) (Also published as ''Radio Designer's Handbook''. London: Wireless World, 1940.) **

https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_rcaRadiotr1954_94958503]

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langford-Smith, Fritz Australian electrical engineers Australian audio engineers 1904 births 1966 deaths University of Sydney alumni People from Sydney