The passing of a legend

By Roger Lesser,

Editor

For those of you who receive the RF Design Newsletter, you’ve read an edited version of this. But, I wanted to make sure all our readers had the opportunity to learn about Al.

Roger

You may have heard a lot about who may have invented the communication devises that we depend on as an afterthought today. Well, if there is any question as to who that was let me settle it here. His name was Al Gross.

I first heard from Al following an article I had written about government communications. The focus was mostly on military communications and that’s what got Al’s attention. He called me after reading the article to just talk about it. I didn’t know who he was and thought he was just a design engineer and a reader. That is until he began to tell me about Joan and Eleanor.

Prior to World War II, while most designers concentrated on frequencies under 100 MHz, Al was looking at higher frequencies. He demonstrated it was possible to develop miniaturized components and built a number of battery-powered hand-held transceivers. Some devices operated at 300 MHz and had a range of up to 30 miles.

Then WW II came. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (the forerunner of today’s CIA) became aware of Al’s work and invited him to join them. The OSS was in desperate need of a way for their agents working in occupied Europe to communicate without being caught by the Gestapo. That’s when Al came to the table with a two-way radio system he called "Joan and Eleanor." The system allowed agents to transmit a signal up to high-flying aircraft without spreading the signal out. This kept the Nazis from using triangulation to pinpoint the agents location. As head of the project, Al made the system a reality by developing a miniaturized receiver circuit. Yet, it wasn’t until 1976 that the public became aware of the system when documents from the era were declassified.

Al was a visionary. Following the war, Al’s energies focused on personal communications. In 1949 he developed the pager and in the 1950s wireless mobile telephony. But, as he told me, the world was not ready for such devices.

But they were ready for one of his futuristic concepts. In 1948 Chester Could, the cartoonist of Dick Tracy, came across Al’s a wristwatch transmitter. He asked Al for permission to use the concept in Dick Tracy cartoons. Al gave his permission and the rest is cartoon history.

Al was very much an amateur radio buff (W8PAL, SK) and member of the National Association for Amateur Radio. According to Fred Maia’s The W5YI Report, his interest in radio began when he was only 12 when he turned his parents basement into an amateur radio station. To show just how much of an innovator Al was, the equipment he used came from a junkyard.

Of course, Al won a number of awards. These included a presidential commendation from President Reagan in 1981, the IEEE’s Century of Honor s Medal in 1984, and the Marconi Gold Medal in 1995. The first time we talked, he mentioned he had just won the 2000 Lemelson-MIT lifetime achievement award and recognition from the FCC for his life’s work. It goes without saying there were a number of other honors.

Al and I only talked a few times, but I was so impressed by his open-mindedness and insights concerning today’s technological advances, that I invited him to join the RF Design editorial board. He accepted, but before we could make it a reality he passed away on December 21, 2000 at the age of 82.

I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a number of heroes. They range from Douglas Campbell (WW1 ace) and Jimmy Dolittle (Medal of Honor winner and the first to demonstrate instrument flying) to Mercury astronauts Alan Shepherd and Wally Shirra to Fred Link (communications pioneer) and Chuck Yeager (WWII ace and first man to break the sound barrier). These men shared one thing in common—they were very humble about their achievements. When I met Dolittle, I was so awestruck that I couldn’t even say hello. He reached out for my hand and said, "Hi, my name is Jimmy." When I received the call from Al, he said. "Hi, my name is Al. I’d like to talk to you about your article." No pomp. No assumed spin on their achievements. They were just men who did what they did best and made the rest of us thankful for their coming into our lives, even if we didn’t know it. Without Jimmy, we wouldn’t have instrument flying and avionics today. Without Al, we’d still be talking on the "long line."

And we probably haven’t heard the last about Al’s advances in design. Don Bishop, editorial director for RF Design, said to me there are probably other things he designed that are still classified. I hadn’t thought of it, but I bet he is right. Joan and Eleanor are probably just the tip of the communications tower in his designs.

So the next time you check your pager, use your cell phone or use a mobile radio, do me a favor and just give a nod toward heaven as a way of saying, "Thanks, Al."

Finally, in honor of his contributions and RF Design’s way of saying thanks, Al’s name will appear in our editorial board lineup for the remainder of the year.