George H. Eash (May 11, 1911 – July 6, 1980)Cartridge Inventor George Eash Dead

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

vol. 92, No. 29, 18 Juli 1980, p. 97 was an American inventor of several magnetic tape audio cartridges having a single tape reel. In 1950s he worked next desk to

Bernard Cousino Bernard August Cousino (1 August 1902 – 29 December 1994) was an American music technology inventor. He is known for inventing an endless loop tape cartridge design in 1952, known as the Audio Vendor, patented under US2804401A. The tape is pulle ...

, who invented the endless tape loop, using it at first on an open reel. Eash created further cartridges using this tape loop like the

Fidelipac The Fidelipac, commonly known as a "NAB cartridge" or simply "cart", is a magnetic tape sound recording format, used for radio broadcasting for playback of material over the air such as radio commercials, jingles, station identifications, and mu ...

, also known as " NAB-Cartridge" or even "cart" and used in broadcast, and as a consultant of

Earl "Madman" Muntz Earl William "Madman" Muntz (January 3, 1914 – June 21, 1987) was an American businessman and engineer who sold and promoted cars and consumer electronics in the United States from the 1930s until his death in 1987. He was a pioneer in telev ...

the 4-Track cartridge, known as the ''Muntz Stereo-Pak'' or ''CARtridge''. With the Lear

8-Track cartridge The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, whi ...

Eash's patent plea failed.

Career

Eash was born in Pennsylvania to Joe and Lydia Eash. Working for a promotion company, in 1952 Eash rented a desk in the office of Bernhard Cousino's Electronic Workshop, Toledo (Ohio).Jay Ehler
Earl Muntz Meets George Eash
Billboard vol. 84, No. 47, 18 November 1972, p. 62, 76, 78 In 1954 Eash finished a handmade 1200 ft continuous loop tape prototype cartridge with

tape transport A tape transport is the collection of parts of a magnetic tape player or recorder that move the tape and play or record it. Transport parts include the head, capstan, pinch roller, tape pins, and tape guide. The tape transport as a whole is call ...

driven by the rubber pinch roller of the capstan, for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

and filed it for patent. The next day, 23 December 1954 his employer Paulsen died. The interim management canceled Eashs project. In 1957 the 1954 filed patent was granted and Eash was working for ''Viking Corporation'' of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. The result was the "35 Series", a 600 ft tape cartridge operating on 7.5

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. In 1961 Eash moved to

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

, a northern suburb of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where

operated some of his business. Eash was a consultant of Muntz and created based on his

the ''Muntz

Stereo-Pak The Muntz Stereo-Pak, commonly known as the 4- track cartridge, is a magnetic tape sound recording cartridge technology. The Stereo-Pak cartridge was inspired by the Fidelipac 3-track tape cartridge system invented by George Eash in 1954 and ...

'' (also known as the 4-Track cartridge or ''CARtridge'') and the player device for it.USD201280SMagnetic tape playback unit
George H. Eash, filed: 23 January 1964, granted: 8 June 1965 In 1967 Eash was working for ''TelePro Industries'' and failed in a patent plea at

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

court. The judge stated Eash's patent filed in 1954 was an obvious modification of the ''Mohawk Message Repeater''. Inside the Mohawk cartridge, the tape revolves on a fixed hub. Eash used a free rotating reel in his cartridge. William "Bill" Lear benefited from this judgement by getting a clear patent situation for this 8-Track cartridge system.TelePro Cartridge Patent Fails
Billboard vol. 79, No. 27, 8 July 1967 p. 3 Eash died in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between the ...

, aged 68, of an intestinal ailment. He left a widow, son, and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eash, George 1911 births 1980 deaths Audio electrical engineers