History of Electro technisch Bureau Bal

ID: 251169
This article refers to the manufacturer: To the manufacturer

History of Electro technisch Bureau Bal 
06.Apr.11 19:46
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Peter den Boer (NL)
Articles: 38
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Peter den Boer

Electro-technisch Bureau Bal
1910: Markt 15 at Ginneken
Nov.1917: Nassausingel 5 at Breda
Closed: Dec. 1920
Leonard Bal
Leonard Bal was born on 7-8-1881 at Ravenstein. He was raised in a family with 15 children.
They moved a lot because the father, Leendert Bal, was an inspector of the construction of railways.
In 1903 the family Leendert Bal lived in Boxtel and there Leonard for the first time met his future wife, Alijda Sterrenburg. She also came from a big family with 13 children.
Between 1902 and 1904 Leonard Bal lived in Amsterdam and Venlo and got an education as goldsmith-engraver. Between 1908 and 1910 he worked in London several times for short periods as a clockmaker. And there he met again Alijda Sterrenburg, who worked as an au pair for R.F. Pope, one of the founders of Pope Metaaldraadlampenfabriek at Venlo. R.F. Pope had also a lamp factory in London and sales offices in London and Liverpool.
When Leonard Bal came back to Boxtel on 24-5-1910 he called himself electrician. He moved on 7-6-1910 to the city Ginneken (near Breda) and Alijda Sterrenburg joined him there on 6-7-1910. They married on 3-8-1910, got two sons and three daughters. And in Ginneken Leonard Bal started his Electro-Technisch Bureau Bal in 1913. Ginneken was a logic choice because this city got its first Electricity plant in 1904. And Leonard Bal was busy with replacing the polluting gas lighting by electric lighting. He used Pope lamps for the lighting.
Business was booming and he got prosperous.
In 1915 he became interested in radiotelegraphy, took a course and got his certificate as telegraphist 2nd class on 27-9-1917. Soon thereafter he must have started with the development of his Bal valve. His wife told years later that he made the electrode system himself and took it to Pope in Venlo, where the glass envelope was made. The result was a double-ended low vacuum tube.
For his first valve receivers he used loose couplers and during his experiments he discovered the advantage of feedback.
During the Radiotelegraphy Exhibition in The Hague in March 1918 he demonstrated his Bal valve and some of his receivers. The Bal valve was the first Dutch valve for sale. The Philips-Ideezet came for sale in June 1918.
Pictures taken from the catalogue of the Radiotelegraphy Exhibition in The Hague.
Although he was the first with a Dutch valve and valve receivers, business was not going well. He tried to enter the market for professional transmitters and receivers with his Avia transmitter/receivers, but at the end of 1920 he closed the company and on 25-1-1921 he went to London with his family and started a sales office for the Czech Ceramic Company, 45 Hatton Garden, London. But this was no success either and he came back to the Netherlands on 2-2-1922. The rest of his working life he was agent in all kind of goods. He moved from city to city and in 1933 he moved to Nijmegen, where he worked as a radio repairman. He was a passionate radio amateur and member of the Veron (experimental amateur radio research) and tutor of the local brache of the Veron. After the liberation of Nijmegen in 1944 he became operator of a Gouvernement morse transmitter/receiver till his death.He died on 3-2-1946 as a result of a cardiac infarct. The Veron printed a Silent Key in its magazine electron.
Bal valves
During 1918 and 1919 Pope Metaaldraadlampenfabriek at Venlo made Bal valves. Philips bought Pope at the end of 1919. During 1920 Philips was the supplier for Bal valves. Philips supplied valves were standard Philips valves with Philips etched on the glass and “Bal Breda, afd. Radio” printed on one of the bases. The Philips valves had always small allowance in sizes.
The Pope made valves differed very much in length and diameter. The shortest I have seen is 97 mm long and the longest 130 mm. The diameter varies between 20 and 27 mm.
As for the different Bal valves I have to rely on advertisements.
As for receiving valves, there were at least the following types:
2 Volt, 0.25 Amp, low vacuum, Pope
2 Volt, 0.25 Amp, high vacuum, Pope
4 Volt, 0.5 Amp, low vacuum, Pope,
4 Volt, 0.4 Amp, high vacuum, Pope
4 Volt, 0.8/0.9 Amp, high vacuum, Pope
4 Volt, 1.0 Amp, high vacuum, Pope, used in some Avia transmitter/receivers
2 Volt, 0.5 Amp, low vacuum, Philips
4 Volt, 0.5 Amp, high vacuum, Philips
As for transmitting valves:
12 Volt, 2 Amps, Pope
6 Volt, 1.6 Amps, Philips
8 Volt, 5 Amp, 1000 V anode Volts, 100 Watt, Philips
Bal receivers and receiver/transmitters
Although the Bal Company existed for only 3 years, the number of receivers and receiver/transmitters is very large. From a March 1918, an August 1918 and a January 1919 catalogue and advertisements, I have made the following list:

Type
Subtypes
Wavelength
Catalogue, Ad.
Remark
 
 
 
 or Brochure.
 
Alice
1
300 -   8000 m
3-1918   Cat
2 Bal receiving valves 4 Volt
Alice
2
300 - 12000
8-1918   Cat
2 Bal receiving valves 4 Volt
Alice
3
600 - 12000
1-1919   Cat
2 Bal receiving valves 4 Volt
T.B.B.
1
300 -   6000
3-1918   Sat
1 Bal receiving valve 4 Volt
T.B.B.
2
300 -   8000
8-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
T.B.B.
3
600 - 12000
1-1919   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
B.S.1
1
300 - 6000
3-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
B.S.1
2
300 - 8000
8-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
B.S.2
1
 
3-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
B.S.2
2
 
8-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
B.S.3
 
300 - 10000
8-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve 4 Volt
B.S.4
 
300 - 10000
8-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
B.S.5
 
300 - 12000
8-1918   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
B.S.6
 
300 - 12000
8-1918   Cat
2 Bal receiving valves
L.K.1
 
600 -   8000
1-1919   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
L.J.2
 
 
1-1919   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
L.J.3
 
600 - 12000
1-1919   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
L.J.4
 
600 - 12000
1-1919   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
L.J.5
 
600 - 12000
1-1919   Cat
1 Bal receiving valve
L.J.6
 
600 - 12000
1-1919   Cat
2 Bal receiving valves
Simplex
 
600 -   8000
1-11-1918   Ad
1 Bal receiving valve
Avia
1
 
1-4-1919   Ad
1 Bal valve 4 Volt. 0,8 Amp for trans-
 
 
 
 
mitting and receiving
Avia LJ1
2
max   1000 m
1-6-1919   Ad
ditto
Avia LJ2
3
max   2000 m
1-6-1919   Ad
ditto
Avia LJ3
4
max   6000 m
1-6-1919   Ad
ditto
Avia LJ4
5
max 10000 m
1-6-1919   Ad
ditto
Avia LJ5
6
max 12000 m
1-6-1919   Ad
ditto
Avia LJ6
7
max 16000 m
1-6-1919   Ad
ditto
Mignon
 
 
1-7-1919   Ad
 
Avia LJ1
8
max   1000 m
1-8-1919   B
2 receiving + 1 transmitting valve
Avia LJ2
9
max   2000 m
1-8-1919   B
2 receiving + 1 transmitting valve
Avia LJ3
10
max   6000 m
1-8-1919   B
2 receiving + 1 transmitting valve
Avia LJ4
11
max 10000 m
1-8-1919   B
2 receiving + 1 transmitting valve
Avia LJ5
12
max 12000 m
1-8-1919   B
2 receiving + 1 transmitting valve
Avia LJ6
13
max 16000 m
1-8-1919   B
2 receiving + 1 transmitting valve

 
3-1918  is the Bal catalogue of March1918
8-1918  is the Bal catalogue dated 8-1918
1-1919  is the Bal catalogue dated 1-1919
1-6-1918 Ad is a Bal advertisement in Radio Nieuws of 1-6-1918
1-8-1919 is the Avia brochure dated 1-8-1919

Subtypes Some receivers and receiver/transmitters have different versions. This is indicated in this column.

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