Television digest with AM-FM reports (Jan-Dec 1951)

2 Nor should supplementary and replacement equipment be overlooked. The cost of towers, real estate, labor, etc. may well add. up to multi-billion business. Even if Coy proves over-optimistic by a substantial margin, even if prices continue to drop (5-kw transmitters went from §90,000 to §65,000 in last few years) — the relatively few manufacturers have enormous kitty to split. New manufacturers of the basic transmitter-antenna equipment aren't likely to spring up overnight. * * ♦ * Competition is already rough among the few now in the business, though as yet nothing like the dog-eat-dog rivalry of the 90-odd receiver makers. Today. 4 companies — DuMont . Federal. GE and RCA — have the field pretty much to themselves. There may be others later and quite a number are carving, or intend to carve, a slice of the lighter equipment business — camera & film chains, microwave gear, industrial TV, etc. Among these are General Precision Laboratories. Standard Electronics (Claude Neon), Gates, Diamond Specialty. Remingt on-Rand . Considering only transmitters, here are delivery dates and prices quoted to us by the top companies — antenna delivery dates quoted by all makers generally paralleling or preceding transmitter availabilities; GE; 5-kw vhf transmitters will be available Oct. -Nov. 1951, at §65,000 for Channels 2-6, §69,000 for Channels 7-13. Scheduled for delivery secondthird quarters 1952 are 55-kw amplifiers for Channels 2-6 at §75,000, 20-kw amplifiers for Channels 7-13 at §65,000. Uhf transmitters are due second and third quarters 1952, include 120-watt "hamlet" unit at §37,000, 12-kw unit at §125,000. RCA ; 20-kw amplifiers for existing 5-kw transmitters are scheduled Jan.Feb. 1952. New 10-kw transmitters (5 kw has been dropped) are due July 1952, priced at §79,000 for Channels 2-6, §84,000 for Channels 7-13. Further into future, about July 1953, are 50-kw units at §225,000. DuMont ; Fifteen 5-kw transmitters available in "next few months," 13 of these already sold, priced at §65,450 for Channels 2-6, §69,250 Channels 7-13. Ten .5-kw units, 4 already sold, will be ready by March 1952, at §35,750 for Channels 2-6, §38,450 Channels 7-13. Amplifier to boost .5-kw transmitter to 5 kw is §35,000. In planning stages, details unrevealed, are 50-kw vhf transmitters and uhf units, powers of latter not disclosed. Federal ; 1 & 5-kw vhf transmitters in production, but everything sold out, at §46,000 for 1-kw units, §75,000 for 5-kw Channel 2-6 models, §82,500 for Channels 7-13. Prices include much associated equipment — consoles, monitors, dummy loads, etc. Mid-1952 is estimated date for delivery of 20-kw vhf amplifiers, 10-kw uhf transmitters. Company also makes high-gain, high-band vhf antennas, plans low-band, offers full line of equipment, including cameras obtained from DuMont. Note ; Though transmitter is biggest single equipment item, associated gear brings cost of electronic equipment to the §150, 000-§200, 000 average. This includes antennas . monitoring equipment, camera & film chains, transmission lines, switching equipment, microwave relays, etc. EVALUATING THE STATION POWER HIKES: Results of power boosts permitted by the FCC (Vol. 7:30-33) can now be fairly well assessed, though major manufacturers, notably Philco and RCA, are in process of nation-wide surveys to get more exact gauge of market enhancement. Improvements seem to amount to this: Noticeable widening of some markets, no change in most, and better in-city pictures in all cases. Translating increases into new potential purchaser-viewers, for nation as a whole, brings only modest results. Increases of 3 to 8 times original powers are recognized as valuable by everyone. Anything less is regarded "all to the good, but nothing really exciting." Much more important than recent station boosts, manufacturers say, has been constant improvement in receiver sensitivity over last few years. Philco 's research v.p. David Smith puts it this way: "Receiver sensitivity has increased about 15 db over the years. That's equivalent to something like a 35-times increase in station power. This increased