AX Control, Inc.

General Electric: Still Evolving After a Century.

General Electric sign on top of GE Administration Building — General Electric Sign on GE Admin building in Schenectady, NY. _{Image by Chuckthewriter. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0}

General Electric began in 1892 when several companies merged together, including Thomas Edison’s Lamp Company. The men in charge hoped for lasting success. But it’s unlikely they expected their company would remain one of the largest in the world for over 100 years.

In 2000, GE was the most profitable company in the world. Yet two decades later, profits have nosedived, as has the value of the company. Why?

The answer is complex. Read on for some history and explanation.

History of General Electric: The Foundations

GE sprung from the merging of a lamp manufacturer, an electric company, and a railway & motor company. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published in 1896, GE was one of the first companies listed. The company helped industrialize America through the availability of cheap electricity.

Circuit Board Reference Designators: FAQs

Circuit board reference designators help identify individual parts on a printed circuit board. — Circuit board reference designators help identify mounted parts on this GE Mark VI PCB. The board has a number of resistors (R), capacitors (C), and integrated circuits (U).

What do you know about circuit board reference designators?

If you’ve worked with printed circuit boards (PCBs) at all, you’ve noticed the letter codes on their surface. These are called reference designators. If you’ve designed circuit boards, you’ve probably spent more time than you want thinking about them.

What are Reference Designators?

Circuit board letters can be confusing when you first start working with components. These small codes litter the board’s surface and are sometimes hard to read. And sometimes they don’t make sense. Q for transistor? U for integrated circuit? What the heck.