The former RCA Laboratory in central New Jersey, now called the David Sarnoff Center, maintained for many years a collection of RCA artifacts and records from decades of research. That included some artifacts of the RCA COSMAC 1802 processor, developed there as part of RCA's CMOS product line. Those materials were moved in 2009 to The College of New Jersey and to the Hagley Museum and Library. This document describes that transition and the status of access to those materials, particularly the artifacts at TCNJ. My interest in these is a consequence of my interests in the RCA 1802 microprocessor and the 1802-based Membership Card of Lee Hart. This document last updated July 27th 2011. - Herb Johnson
Many Web sites provide a history of RCA's COSMAC product line of CMOS logic chips and microprocessors. Here's a few links:
Decode Systems private RCA 1802 product collection
Cosmac Elf Web site article on Joseph Weisbecker
For more information on the David Sarnoff Library visit davidsarnoff.org. As of July 2011, the site refers to the move of the Library and archives to the Hagley and to TCNJ, with generic links to their respective Web sites. Portions of the Sarnoff Library's Web pages appear to remain intact.
In December 2009, I contacted the director of the David Sarnoff Library and had a pleasant email exchange. Dr. Alexander B. Magoun, the Curator and Executive Director, told me that the Library's collections contained the Princeton site's technical reports and engineering memos, some photos, an incomplete and uncatalogued collection of RCA Solid-State Division reports, some press releases, manuals, some lab notebooks of participants, interviews with B.J. Call and Joyce and Jean Weisbecker, and most substantially the papers of Joe Weisbecker as donated by the Weisbecker family. These would go to the Hagley, he said. They would likely complete a catalog of the collection.
Specific to the 1802, he added that a ceramic 1802 was on exhibit, and confirmed the exhibits were to go to the College of New Jersey for display there. He noted from his prior work that "the missing part of this story is Andy Dingwall's work in reducing Weisbecker's design to an actual chip. That took place in Somerville and Dingwall died earlier this decade."
As reported in press accounts and by Sarnoff Library officials, The College of New Jersey plans are to house and display the Sarnoff exhibit items at the former Roscoe L. West Library building on the TCNJ Campus in Ewing NJ. The campus is several miles south of the intersection of US Route 1 and I-95. Plans on the TCNJ Web site suggest that West Hall will also be used for office space. Below is a discussion of the history of events involving TCNJ. - Herb Johnson
A "Trenton Times" newspaper article in late October 2009, discusses the status of the Sarnoff exhibit collection at The College. "Sarnoff museum may find home at TCNJ" by Meir Rinde for October 29, 2009, was found at the nj.com Web site. That Web site carries articles from the Trenton Times and the Star-Ledger, daily newspapers of central and north New Jersey. Contact reporter Meir Rinde via that Web site.
Extracts from that article are as follows. "The Sarnoff family and TCNJ have tentatively planned to move the exhibits to the campus's former library, which is undergoing renovations...The preservation effort won the enthusiastic support of NJ state Sen. Bill Baroni, R-Hamilton. ...The archives are being packed up into some 3,000 boxes that will go to the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, DE....[Library board member] Robert Bartolini said legal documents...are still being prepared. He said he expected the artifacts would be moved to storage at TCNJ by the end of the year, and the school building could be renovated and opened to visitors in three to six months. TCNJ spokesman Matthew Golden said he could not confirm the move would happen, but said the museum "would be a great addition to our campus." Bartolini said funds are available to pay for the move and renovations at TCNJ, but Magoun and Baroni said $100,000 or more is needed... [and local] firms may be interested in helping out."
Subseqently, The College Web site has a Web page on the Sarnoff collection at this link. As of July 2011 the page dates from November 2010.
Plans for an exhibit of some artifacts during the "Trenton Computer Festival" at TCNJ in April 2011 never materialized. In spring 2011, there was a course on-campus by the former Sarnoff archivist Dr. Alexander B. Magoun (see below) where he discussed the history of Sarnoff and how its activities and technology impacted 20th century media. I attended on a few occasions.
By July 2011, the Times of Trenton reported that TCNJ hired a director, Emily Croll, as curator of the Sarnoff Collection and of the TCNJ Art Gallery. A July 2011 Wikipedia page for TCNJ states the exhibit "is located in ...West Hall". But a July 20th 2011 article in a local Princeton newspaper "Town Topics" (the content is copyright protected) on the Sarnoff Collection at TCNJ, describes the West Hall space as "open boxes ....and bubblewrap", exhibit space still under design, and the director as seeking funding.
Hagley Museum and Library Web site says:"Hagley Museum and Library, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, collects, preserves, and interprets the unfolding history of American enterprise....".
The GPS address for Hagley's main entrance is 200 Hagley Rd, Wilmington, DE, 19807.....The Hagley Library is located off Route 100 and Buck Road in Greenville, Delaware approximately 4 miles from downtown Wilmington." Refer to their Web site for more information about their facility, hours, fees and collections.
A search of the Hagley Web site on-line catalog as of July 2011, for "Sarnoff", produces 165 entries. Most are items which reference RCA and David Sarnoff. A few entries appear to be other collections of RCA or Sarnoff materials; one entry is of "250 linear ft." of materials apparently from a Camden NJ RCA site. It's unclear if any entry represents the Sarnoff Library collection. As of July 2011 it appears the Sarnoff Library collection is not yet cataloged. A Hagley report from 2010 describes the former Sarnoff Library collection as "totaling 2,000 linear feet" and recieved in December and January of 2009-10; and references an RCA collection obtained from Camden in 1993.
There is a "vintage computer museum" in New Jersey at the Infoage educational facility near Wall, NJ, at the former "Camp Evans" military research base. The computer museum group is called "MARCH" and they have a Yahoo "discussion group" named "midatlanticretro". Go to yahoo.com and find their "groups" area to read messages from that group. InfoAge has a Web site at infoage.com.
Posted by Dave Sica in midatlanticretro, was his account "Re: interesting infoage day", on Wed Dec 23, 2009. He recounts how he helped the David Sarnoff Library with their move of the archives. He confirms the division of materials to Hagley and to TCNJ, and that only the most unsalvagable materials were discarded. Some discarded bits that are computer relevant, could end up with MARCH and InfoAge.
- Herb Johnson
This page and edited content is copyright Herb Johnson (c) 2011. Copyright of other contents beyond brief quotes, is held by those authors. Contact Herb at www.retrotechnology.com, an email address is available on that page..