In the 1930’s, Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock owned and operated a radio and appliance store at the corner of Foster Road and 67th in Southeast Portland, Oregon. Despite the severe economic depression at the time, Murdock’s enterprise prospered. He acquired a reputation for expertise and integrity. In addition to an affable disposition, he took a personal interest in all customers and made sure that they were satisfied.
Howard Vollum, the eventual cofounder of oscilloscope maker Tektronix, located his electronic repair operation in Jack’s store — the space came rent free. Murdock benefited from Vollum’s expertise and Vollum had a place to conduct his repair work and to build oscilloscope prototypes in his spare time.
The mutually advantageous arrangement was interrupted by the coming of war. The two went off in different directions, Vollum to England to work on radar equipment intended to detect the approach of enemy bombers. Radar was a lot like oscilloscopes. At the heart of both were cathode ray tubes that made possible a human interface. Vollum received the Legion of Merit award (twice) in recognition of outstanding contributions in this important endeavor.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into the war, Murdock closed his store and joined the U.S. Coast Guard. At the time, the Coast Guard maintained and repaired all mainland naval radio equipment in addition to its own installations.
Murdock engaged in this work and was noted for his ability to diagnose and repair particularly difficult electronic problems. During this time he met a number of individuals who after the war joined the two to manufacture the first commercially available implementation of the triggered sweep oscilloscope. Additionally, the instruments were much lighter and more compact than competitors’ washer-sized machines.
The new corporation, Tektronix, soon ramped up production. Murdock, no slouch as an electronics technician, excelled when it came to business administration. In the early years, the business experienced phenomenal growth. It its second year, 1947, Tektronix had 12 employees, 3,500 ft2 of working space and sales amounting to $125,000. The operation grew rapidly so that by 1952 there were 359 employees and 32,000 ft2 of space. Sales were $5.5 million.
Murdock was quite active throughout the next two decades of accelerating expansion. Always, he firmly believed that Tektronix should be known as a great place to work and renowned for fair treatment of employees. He remained a strong presence in Tektronix until 1971 when he perished at the age of 53 in a tragic float plane accident in the Columbia River.
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