Radio set containing original printed circuit boards, by Paul Eisler, Europe, 1942

This radio is the first working device to use a printed circuit board (PCB), the electronic technology invented by Paul Eisler. An Austrian refugee in London, Eisler made this radio in 1942, following on from initial experiments in 1936. At the time, it was usual to interconnect all components in electronic goods with hand-soldered wires, a method of manufacture which did not lend itself to any high degree of automation. First applied in proximity fuses for anti-aircraft missiles, PCBs have subsequently found near universal application in electronic goods, yielding highly miniaturised devices which can be mass produced.