Lou in 2004; Far right, photograph of Lou taken by Joseph Desch, about 1942

Louis K. Sandor

Louis Kruse Sandor was born in Piqua, Ohio, in 1914. He first became interested in radio at a young age (as most of the Electrical Research staff did)-- only 12 years old. He saved enough money to buy a ket of parts until building radios and learning about electronics became a big interest in his life.

Jump ahead to 1935 when Lou, who was operating a radio repair shop in Piqua with a friend named John Matthews. One of their suppliers was a company, Standard Radio, which was located in Dayton, Ohio, and operated by Ray Stotts and Harry Friedman. In the fall of 1935 these men started a night school in radio and basic electrical theory which was conducted by Joe Desch. The classes were held once a week and continued until 1938 when Joe went to work for NCR. Lou joined the staff of the Electrical Research Department in March 1942.

Note: These clips excepts of the interviews done by Aileen LeBlanc for the documentary Dayton Codebreakers. Aileen traveled with a crew to interview Lou in S. Carolina in 2004. Although Lou (whom I met at the 1995 Reunion), Vince Gulden, Bob Mumma and even my father had shared some of them with me, I had never recorded them in any way. It has been fun to hear Lou tell them to Aileen, with so much clarity--amazing for a man of 90.
Video editing, I find, is not one of my natural aptitudes and has been a challenge. Despite that, the quality of Lou's stories--his humor, his incredible memory, and his insights have made editing these a joy for me.

The following links will open in new windows. These QuickTimes movies are edited for streaming, and are from 740KB to 7 MB in size. If needed, you can download the software to view them at here. Please be patient while the clips load. [note: I hope that I've smoothed out most of the problems and you can enjoy them. Debbie Andeson. 14 Feb 07]

Lou goes to work for Joe Desch -- 1.6 MB

The move from Bldg. 10 to 26 -- 2.4 MB

Lou invents his first job and the exciting topic of signal to noise ratio! 6.3 MB

The Bombes at work and their testing and secrecy again -- 7.3 MB

Photo below: Joe Desch, and Bob Mumma in the rear, with the Advanced Development staff in 1948. Lou Sandor is at the far right.