Transistor Man and the Crusaders
Albert Glinsky · 2022
Abstract Chapter 5 finds the newlyweds in Ithaca, near the Cornell campus. They break from their parents’ control, and Shirley now spells her name “Shirleigh” and insists on the “Mogue” pronunciation of the last name, a change that will reverberate through Bob’s career. The R. A. Moog Company becomes a one-man operation; Bob escapes every night to his landlord’s furnace room to build theremins. His customers are mostly Christian Evangelists. His “Vanguard” theremin still uses old, vacuum tube technology. As transistor prices fall due to the advent of Japanese consumer electronics, he offers the “Professional”—a fully transistorized theremin. In 1961, Electronics World runs Bob’s article on his “Melodia” kit, which proves an unexpected hit; Bob has more customers than he can handle, and he’s ambivalent about finishing his Ph.D. in engineering physics. Shirleigh gives birth to their first child, Laura. Chapter 5 includes discussion of Samuel Hoffman, a leading thereminist of the time.