Ballantine model T-20-B throat microphone

Description (Brief):

Cord length: 10.75". Throat microphone designed and developed for the US Army Air Force by Stuart Ballantine of Ballantine Labs., Inc. Boonton, NJ. Known as a "talking collar" this device permitted aviators to communicate without removing hands from aircraft controls. References: US Patents 2121778 through 2121781, and 2122191, issued 28 June 1938 to Stuart Ballantine.

Description (Brief)

According to a newspaper account, the Army had been secretly testing Ballentine's throat microphones for "more than three years" at the time the patents issued. Stephen McDonough, "Talking Collar," NY Journal and American, 17 July 1938; Newark, NJ, Sunday Call, 17 July 1938.

Date Made: ca 1939Associated Date: ca 1939

Maker: Ballantine Laboratories, Inc.

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: New Jersey

See more items in: Work and Industry: Electricity

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: from Ballantine Laboratories, Inc. thru A. W. Parkes

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: EM.325633Catalog Number: 325633Accession Number: 256739

Object Name: MicrophoneOther Terms: Microphone; Audio Devices

Measurements: overall: 11 1/2 in x 7 in x 1 in; 29.21 cm x 17.78 cm x 2.54 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-2f25-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_708298

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