Muntzing
Encyclopedia
Muntzing is the practice and technique of reducing the components inside an electronic appliance to the minimum required for it to function. The term is named after the man who invented it, Earl "Madman" Muntz
, a car and electronics salesman who was also a self-taught electrical engineer.
In the 1940s and 1950s, television
s were very complex pieces of equipment, often containing upwards of 30 vacuum tube
s, as well as transformers, rheostats, and other heavy electronics. The consequent high price limited their potential for high volume sales. Muntz determined, through trial and error, that he could remove a significant number of parts and still end up with a monochrome
TV that worked very well in urban areas, close to transmission towers. He literally carried a pair of wire clippers around and when he felt that one of his builders was overengineering a circuit, he would begin snipping components out. When the TV stopped functioning, they would reinsert the last part and leave the TV as-is.
As a result of removing tubes and greatly simplifying circuits originally designed to boost function in fringe areas (far from transmission towers), Muntz's sets generated less heat; overheating was one of the most common reasons for failure in early sets. The sets also weighed significantly less, because as the circuitry was reduced, smaller in-set power supplies were needed. Additionally, as the power supplies contained expensive copper this further reduced cost.
Madman Muntz
Earl William "Madman" Muntz 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 television commercials with his oddball "Madman" persona – an alter ego who generated publicity...
, a car and electronics salesman who was also a self-taught electrical engineer.
In the 1940s and 1950s, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
s were very complex pieces of equipment, often containing upwards of 30 vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
s, as well as transformers, rheostats, and other heavy electronics. The consequent high price limited their potential for high volume sales. Muntz determined, through trial and error, that he could remove a significant number of parts and still end up with a monochrome
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
TV that worked very well in urban areas, close to transmission towers. He literally carried a pair of wire clippers around and when he felt that one of his builders was overengineering a circuit, he would begin snipping components out. When the TV stopped functioning, they would reinsert the last part and leave the TV as-is.
As a result of removing tubes and greatly simplifying circuits originally designed to boost function in fringe areas (far from transmission towers), Muntz's sets generated less heat; overheating was one of the most common reasons for failure in early sets. The sets also weighed significantly less, because as the circuitry was reduced, smaller in-set power supplies were needed. Additionally, as the power supplies contained expensive copper this further reduced cost.