In our on-going series looking at classic computing devices birthed at HP, we see not only what they did, but also get a better sense of what was happening at the time each product came to market. (For a full explanation of why we’re calling this “Tales from the Next Bench,” read here).
     在 “惠普档案馆”系列文章中，我们介绍了各种惠普公司创造的神奇产品。我们不仅会介绍惠普曾经发明过什么，也将介绍这些产品上市时都发生了什么。
 

    This installment: The HP200A (1939)
    HP200A（1939）

     Disney was one of HP's first customers. Bet that you didn't know that! Way back in 1939, an HP product was used to help construct the amazing audio in Fantasia. But I should probably backtrack to a little earlier, first.
    迪士尼是惠普最早的客户之一，我打赌您不知道这一点。早在1939年，一款惠普产品就被用来在《幻想曲》中营造惊人的音效。但是我想我应该再往前推一点。

    The unassuming -- if a little intimidating-looking -- metal box that you see here is the HP200A, an audio oscillator. That is, it generates one pure tone or frequency at a time. Through the years, HP oscillators were used to design, produce and maintain telephones, stereos, radios and other audio equipment.
    您看到的这个并不起眼，或许看起来还有点诡异的金属盒子是HP200A，一个音频振荡器。它可以每次产生一个纯音或者频率。多年来，惠普音频振荡器被用于设计、制造以及维护电话、音响、收音机以及其他音响设备。
 

    The 200A began as the subject of Bill Hewlett's master's thesis at Stanford University in the late 1930s. A light bulb went off for Bill – literally. He used a bulb in a Wien bridge oscillator circuit to solve the problem of how to regulate the output without causing distortion. Other oscillators that were available at that time were costly and unstable. As a result, Bill was able to simplify the circuit, improve the oscillator's performance and reduce the price.
    二十世纪三十年代，HP200A始于 比尔.休利特（Bill Hewlett，HP公司中的H）在斯坦福大学的硕士论文。他在文氏桥振荡器电路中使用了一个灯泡来解决调节输出的问题，同时不会引起失真。同时代其他的振荡器不但昂贵，而且还不稳定。比尔的研究成果最终简化了电路，提高了振荡器的性能，并且降低了价格。

    In fact, this instrument represented the first low-cost method of measuring audio frequencies. Bill and Dave priced the 200A at $54.40 -- considerably less than competitive equipment then on the market, which was priced from $200 to $600.
    事实上，这个设备代表了第一个低成本测量音响频率的方法。比尔和大卫（David Packard，HP公司中的P）给HP200A的定价是54.40美元，比起市场上的其他竞争产品要低廉很多，当时其他同类产品的价格是200至600美元。

    Bill and Dave made the first of these in the garage behind Dave's house (the address: 367 Addison Avenue) and baked the paint on the panels in Lucile Packard's oven. Lucile claimed the roast beef never tasted right after Bill and Dave started using the oven as HP's first paint-baking facility.
    比尔和大卫在大卫家的车库里制造出惠普的第一款产品，并且把它放在露西尔（Lucile Packard，大卫妻子）的烤箱里，以烘干面板上的油漆。自从比尔和大卫开始使用她的烤箱作为惠普最早的油漆烘干设备后，露西尔抱怨说烤出的牛排味道再也不对了。

    In a 1985 letter, Dave described Hewlett's audio oscillator as "the foundation on which Hewlett-Packard Company was able to grow into the largest manufacturer of electronic instruments in the world, the keystone that allowed four and one-half decades of major contributions to electronic measurement technology and equipment."
    在一封写于1985年的信中，大卫形容比尔的音响振荡器是“惠普（Hewlett-Packard）公司能够跻身于大型电子设备提供商市场的基础。并且在长达45年的时间里，为电子测量技术和设备提供了坚实的基础。”
   

    OK, so you're probably wondering where Disney comes in.
    好，您现在可能正在思考迪士尼是为何而来的了吧？

    In 1938, when a sound engineer from the Walt Disney Studios saw the Model 200A audio oscillator in action, he asked Bill Hewlett to make some modifications to it. The Model 200B was born. Disney ordered eight of the Model 200B at $71.50 each (That is about $1,103 in 2010 dollars according to dollartimes.com).
    1938年，一个来自沃特.迪士尼工作室的音响工程师看到了HP200A音频振荡器，他向比尔.休利特建议做出一些修改，HP200B应运而生。迪士尼以每台71.50美元的价格，订购了8台HP200B（这一价格在2010年相当于1103美元）。

    Disney engineers used HP 200B oscillators to test the various channels, recording equipment and speaker systems in the 12 specially equipped theaters that showed Fantasia in 1940.
    迪士尼的工程师使用HP 200B音频振荡器，在12个装备特殊设施的剧场，测试了不同的声道、录音设备以及扩音器系统，正是这12个剧场，在1940年上映了迪士尼经典影片《幻想曲》。

    As for why they called the first unit the 200A: To make it seem like the company had been around for a while.
    至于他们为什么把自己的第一个产品称为HP200A：只是为了让人产生公司已经成立了一段时间的感觉。

    What else happened in1939?

     Let's get the grim, obvious facts out of the way. Germany invaded Poland and the rest of the world teetered before joining the war. Regular television broadcasts start in the US and UK (though the war abruptly put BBC broadcasts on hold until 1946). Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin – this was the foundation for what would become the Manhattan project. There was some good news from 1939: The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were in theaters, taking some people's minds off some of the newsreels.
   

    1939年还发生了什么？
    让我们看看严峻而明显的事情。第二次世界大战爆发，德国入侵了波兰，世界上其他国家在加入战争前陷入了动荡。美国和英国开始提供正常的电视播放（由于战争，BBC直到1946年才恢复电视节目播出）。爱因斯坦给富兰克林总统写了一封信，这促成了曼哈顿计划的实施。当然，1939年还是有些好消息的：《绿野仙踪》和《飘（乱世佳人）》开始在剧场上映，这能够让一些人们忘却新闻记录片中的现实。