Finding Aid to the Robert Weitbrecht papers, 1931-1982
Lara Michels
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/
© 2012
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Robert Weitbrecht papers, 1931-1982
Collection number: BANC MSS 85/67 c
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/
- Finding Aid Author(s):
- Lara Michels
- Date Completed:
-
2012
- Finding Aid Encoded By:
- GenX
© 2012 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
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.
Series 1:
Business and Professional Correspondence,
1964-1983
Physical Description:
Cartons 1-3, Carton 4, Folder 1-23
carton 1, folder 1-27
APCOM correspondence files,
1964-1968
carton 2, folder 1-25
APCOM correspondence files,
1968-1971
carton 3, folder 1-24
APCOM correspondence files,
1971-1974
carton 4, folder 1-23
APCOM correspondence files,
1973-1983
Series 2:
Subject Files,
1953-1982
Physical Description:
Carton 4, Folders 24-28; Cartons 5-6; Carton 7, Folders 1-21
carton 4, folder 24
APCOM: letters relating to patent problems,
1964-1967
carton 4, folder 25-28
APCOM: Lawlor patent work,
1965-1966
carton 5, folder 1-2
APCOM: London correspondence
1975
carton 5, folder 3
APCOM: Correspondence re: teletypewriters, procurement, maintenence,
1968-1969
carton 5, folder 4
APCOM: Modem standards, Teletypewriters for the Deaf, Inc.,
1973
carton 5, folder 5
APCOM: The Ivy Modem,
1971
carton 5, folder 6
APCOM: Phonetype 10 and 11,
1975-1979
carton 5, folder 7-10
APCOM: Electronic TTYs, lab notes,
1973-1976
carton 5, folder 11-12
APCOM: Electronic TTYs, lab notes, vol. 2,
1976-1979
carton 5, folder 13
APCOM: Experiment reports, measurements, etc,
1964-1972
carton 5, folder 14
APCOM: Phonetic checks,
1968
carton 5, folder 15-16
APCOM: Office files,
1977-1978
carton 5, folder 18
ASCII, Baudot Converter
1982
carton 5, folder 19
Aviation matters,
1966-1968
carton 5, folder 21
Carrier Current Signaling System,
1966
carton 5, folder 21-24
Communications re: laboratory projects involving R.H. Weitbrecht,
1964-1969
carton 5, folder 25-26
Consultations with John Crandall and R.H. Weitbrecht,
1974
carton 5, folder 27-28
Correspondence: AGBAD and ODAS,
1966-1967
carton 5, folder 29-30
Correspondence with Kujawa/Townsend/Herron,
1974-1976
carton 5, folder 31
Correspondence: Specialized Systems, Inc.,
1974-1980
carton 5, folder 32
Crystal Control for Drake 2-B Receiver,
1980
carton 5, folder 33-34
Data Access Arrangement and Acoustal Coupling,
1968-1978
carton 6, folder 1
Data Access Arrangement and Acoustal Coupling,
1968-1978
carton 6, folder 2-3
Design using UARTS and FIFOs,
1976
carton 6, folder 5
Drake 2-B Communications Receiver,
1976-1980
carton 6, folder 6-9
ESSCO infringements,
1970-1971
carton 6, folder 13
Flywheel Integrating Regenerative Repeater,
1959
carton 6, folder 14
Garbled communications on the Teletypewriter,
1970
carton 6, folder 15-18
Ham radio projects,
1974-1979
carton 6, folder 19
Landline telephone circuits,
1964
carton 6, folder 20
Final report: The Like Astronomic Camera,
1962
carton 6, folder 21
Mark IV and VI Integrators,
1956
carton 6, folder 22-23
Mark IV and VI Integrators,
1958-1962
carton 6, folder 24
Mark Six-B Amplifier,
1957
carton 7, folder 1-6
Phonotype II (cont.)
1971-1976
carton 7, folder 7
Photo-electric guider,
1953-1957
carton 7, folder 8
Scientific calculators,
1975
carton 7, folder 9
Society of Wireless Pioneers,
1982
carton 7, folder 12
Technical bulletins, R.H. Weitbrecht Company,
1966-1967
carton 7, folder 13
TEIE phone line remote control system,
1964
carton 7, folder 16
The Telegraph System,
1966
carton 7, folder 17
Teleprinter conversations at R.H. Weitbrecht's office and home,
1967
carton 7, folder 18
Telescope making class notes (Foothill College)
1967
carton 7, folder 19
Things to do with astronomy, instruments, and clocks,
1975
carton 7, folder 20
W6NRM Mark Six System,
1978
Series 3:
Personal Papers and Correspondence,
circa 1950-1980
Physical Description:
Carton 7, Folders 21-30; Carton 8, Folders 1-2
carton 7, folder 21
Autobiographical sketch,
undated
carton 7, folder 22-26
Personal and academic correspondence,
1975-1980
carton 7, folder 29
Writings and commentaries,
1958-1974
carton 7, folder 30-31
School assignments,
circa 1938-1945
carton 8, folder 1-2
Assorted technical drawings and communications,
circa 1960-1972
Series 4:
Publications and Manuals,
1931-1978
Physical Description:
Carton 8, Folders 3-24
carton 8, folder 3-11
Teletype Bulletin (scattered)
1931-1967
carton 8, folder 12-13
Assorted flyers and publications,
1960-1978
carton 8, folder 14
Palo Alto Tiny Basic,
1976
carton 8, folder 15
Heathkit Assembly Manual,
1962
carton 8, folder 16-19
Manuals, assorted,
1955-1970
carton 8, folder 20
Principals of Telegraphy (US Dept. of the Navy),
1967
carton 8, folder 21
Handbook of Maintenance Instructions for Radio Receivers BC-348-T, N, and Q,
1943
carton 8, folder 22
Teletype Technical Training Center Model 33 Manual,
undated
carton 8, folder 23-24
4U1TU Calling (International Amateur Radio Club),
1964-1965
Series 5:
Patent Files,
1966-1982
Physical Description:
Box 1-2
box 1, folder 1
Correspondence re: patents,
1979
box 1, folder 2-4
Telegraph System, Patent No. 873, 989,
1970-1971
box 1, folder 5-8
Frequency Shift Teletypewriter patents,
1966-1972
box 2, folder 1
Frequency Shift Teletypewriter patents (cont.)
1966-1972
box 2, folder 2-8
R.H.Weitbrecht-ESSCO, Brody, patents,
1969-1982
