For Armstrong, the Second World War started in
1939, when the Signal Corps came to him for advice on adapting FM
to mobile military communications. Through 1940 and 1941 he was
proud to undertake a number of projects for the Signal Corps at
no cost.
Armstrong's fortunes would soon change - with the cessation of
all FM station construction, and a halt to all radio
manufacturing, except for the war effort, royalty payments dried
up - and so did his income. Armstrong had spent over
$1,000,000.00 on FM, but had received less than $500,000.00 from
royalties thus far.
In order to support his laboratories at Columbia and Alpine (with
personnel now numbering 18), Armstrong took on a number of cost
plus fee projects for the military. His primary contribution,
although not completed by the end of hostilities, was a complete
FM radar system capable of very long range detection.
George H. Clark was RCA's longtime historian and had accumulated a large collection of historic hardware and documents from many sources. Information from Clark is usually accurate, however, information contained in this letter, regarding the first superheterodyne in the U. S. Navy, is certainly mistaken.
1947 - Armstrong visits his boyhood bedroom in Yonkers, where, in 1912, he made his first great discovery, regeneration.
Judging by the signatures on this 1948 Radio Club of America program, the banquets held in those days must have been awesome experiences.
