CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗
HP 200A Audio Oscillator
- Year
- 1939
- Creator
- William Hewlett, David Packard
- Company
- Hewlett-Packard
- Location
- 367 Addison Avenue, Palo Alto, California
- Room
- Radio Valley ↗
Description
The HP 200A is a test instrument that makes clean audio tones at a frequency that the user selects. Bill Hewlett designed it at Stanford, and a small light bulb in its circuit keeps the output stable.
Importance
The 200A was the first product of Hewlett-Packard, and the partners made the first units in the HP Garage. It sold for $54.40, and similar oscillators from other companies cost $200 to $600. Walt Disney Studios bought eight units of a changed model, the 200B, to test sound equipment for the film Fantasia.
Interesting fact
Hewlett and Packard gave their first product the number 200A so that their new company would seem older.
Sources
- HP Virtual Museum: Model 200A audio oscillator, 1939 ↗Hewlett-Packard
- HP timeline: 1930s ↗Hewlett-Packard
- A Deal with Disney ↗HP History