Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Robert Weitbrecht papers
Date (inclusive): 1931-1982
Collection Number: BANC MSS 85/67 c
Creator:
Weitbrecht, Robert H.
Extent:
8 cartons, 2 boxes
(10.8 linear feet)
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The papers of Robert H. Weitbrecht, a physicist and electronic design engineer best known for his invention of TTY, also known
as the teletypewriter, TDD, or Telecommunication Device for the Deaf.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information
on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for
any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Robert Weitbrecht papers, BANC MSS 85/67 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog
Weitbrecht, Robert, 1920-1983--Archives
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf
Applied Communications Corporation.
Lawrence Radiation Laboratory
Lick Observatory.
R.H. Weitbrecht Company
Stanford Research Institute
United States--Naval Air Missle Test Center, Point Mugu, California.
Weitbrecht Communications
Yerkes Observatory
Amateur radio stations--United States
Assistive listening systems--United States
Astronomers--California
Electronics--Design
Hearing impaired--History--Sources
Physicists--California
Radioteletype--United States
Self-help devices for people with disabilities--Research--United States
Telecommunications devices for the deaf--United States
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Robert Weitbrecht papers were given to the Bancroft Library by Mr. Norman Davis in 1985. Additions were made in 1986.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Processing Information
Processed by Lara Michels in 2012.
Biography/Organization History
Robert H. Weitbrecht was a physicist and electronic design engineer best known for his invention of TTY, also known as the
teletypewriter, TDD, or Telecommunication Device for the Deaf. Weitbrecht, born deaf in 1920, became interested in amateur
radio as a young man, eventually constructing his own ham radio set at the age of 13. The set allowed him to decipher Morse
code messages received by means of amplified ear phones that produced vibrations that enabled him to distinguish the codes.
By college, Weitbrecht had become licensed as a ham radio operator by the Federal Communications Commission. He was thought
to be the only deaf amateur radio operator in the world in the late 1930s. Weitbrecht attended Santa Ana Junior College from
1938 to 1940 and then enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley. He received his bachelor's degree in Astronomy in
1942. During World War II, Weitbrecht worked at UC Berkeley on Cyclotron Hill at the Radiation Laboratory. After the war,
he moved to the U.S. Naval Air Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, California, where he spent four years developing electronic
timing systems for the missle range instrumentation. It was during these years that Weitbrecht became acquainted with the
Teletype Model 15. In 1950, Weitbrecht obtained his own radio teletypewriter and began experimenting with the machine in his
amateur radio pursuits. In 1951, Weitbrecht moved to Wisconsin to work at Yerkes Observatory and, in his spare time, continued
to develop electronic equipment for radio teletypewriter communication. While in Wisconsin, Weitbrecht obtained a master's
degree from the University of Chicago in Astronomy. In 1957, he moved to Stanford University, where he worked as a physicist
at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park. He remained with SRI for eleven years. It was during this time that Weitbrecht
designed and built cameras and electronic equipment for the Lick Observatory. In 1964, he met some members of the Alexander
Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and, with their encouragement, started determining how to adapt the
teletypwriter into an assistive-listening device for the deaf community by figuring out how to make it work on a regular telephone
line. In 1964, he developed the acoustic coupler that allowed the teletypewriter to be used with a telephone. This coupler
eventually became known as the Weitbrecht’s Modem. Weitbrecht's companies specializing in the distribution of TTYs and other
assistive listening devices included the R.H. Weitbrecht Company, Applied Communications Corporation, and Weitbrecht Communications.
Scope and Content Note
Collection consists of 5 series: Business and Professional Correspondence, Subject Files, Personal Papers and Correspondence,
Publications and Manuals, and Patent Files. The business and professional correspondence is mostly Weitbrecht's work-related
correspondence dating from the founding of his company, the R.H. Weitbrecht Company, in the middle of the 1960s to circa 1982.
The subject files date from 1953 to 1982 and include files on topics relating to Weitbrecht's research and his personal interests.
The personal papers and correspondence consist of a small amount of personal correspondence as well as an autobiographical
sketch, some writings, drawings, and school work. The publications and manuals include technical manuals and bulletins. The
patent files consist of files of patent documents and correspondence relating to Weitbrecht's inventions.