Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

VOL. 16: No. 49 21 Nose-count of scientists & engineers in the electronics ./ industry has been started by EIA for the Defense Dept. James M. Bridges, dir. of electronics of the Office of the Secy, of Defense, has requested the survey in order that the Dept, “may determine possible adverse effects which major shifts in defense programs could have on the reservoir of professional electronics manpower.” Preliminary findings have indicated there are about 140,000 electronics engineers & scientists in the U.S. — of whom 110,000 are working in industry. Bridges believes 80-to-90% are working on defense-supported programs. Detailed “plant location study” of Minnesota’s electronics & related science industries has been published by Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis. It includes a directory of the 117 electronics & related companies operating in the state as of Oct. 1960, together with analysis of factors relating to their growth. Copies are available from the bank’s industrial development div. at 620 Marquette Ave., Minneapolis 40. Unlimited atomic electric power came an important step closer recently with the report of a successfully controlled thermonuclear reaction at U. of Cal. The controlled hydrogen fusion reaction lasted only one-thousandith of a second. The announcement stated that the reaction on which the experiments were based released 3.25 billion volts of energy. Successful practical controlled reactions, said the University, “would provide the world with a virtually unlimited source of power.” Rebuilt TV tubes produced by 6 firms must not be misrepresented to buyers under terms of consent orders announced in a batch by FTC. Agreeing to FTC orders which settled cases against them were: Budco Inc. and Metropolitan Electronics Distributors Inc., 113 S. Beatty St., Pittsburgh, and their affiliate K. M. K. Corp., 3323 Superior Ave., Cleveland • Theta Electronics Inc., 123 Stark Ave., Greensburg, Pa. • Tube Mfg. Corp., 29th & Hunting Park Ave., Philadelphia. Hereon Electronics, Newark, N.J. manufacturer of glass-to-metal seals, has changed its name to Harvey-Wells Corp. Its Natick, Mass, subsidiary, maker of nuclear magnetic resonance equipment & electromagnets, has been renamed Harvey-Wells Nuclear Corp. New models: Magnavox adds 2 promotional Yuleseason TV models with 90-degree 23-in. tubes — a horizontal console in 3 finishes, beginning at $229.90, and a vertical console in 4 finishes, beginning at $249.90 • Autovox Corp. of America introduces an Italian-made portable-auto AMSW radio, which locks into a compartment under the dashboard when used as a car radio; price, $69.95 • Muntz TV adds 23-in. TV-AM-FM-phono combination at $395. TV service was not needed in 1959 by nearly 50% of 2,500 Los Angeles families surveyed for Admiral by the Woodbury College Research Clinic. Findings: 25% called a TV serviceman only once during the year; 14% twice; 11% more than twice. The Admiral survey also found that 83% of the households required no service on radios during 1959. Only 13% needed one service call, 4% more than one. Philco will market a coin-operated dry cleaning machine under the Philco-Bendix brand next year. The unit is slated for unveiling during the Feb.1-5 show of the National Institute of Dry Cleaning in Philadelphia. RCA Chmn. David Sarnoff was named “Man of the Years” last week by the fashion div. of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of N.Y. Trade Personals: Jack S. Beldon, who resigned from RCA as of Dec. 1 (Vol. 16:48 pl8), will join Magnavox in a high executive post, it was learned last week, although no announcement will be made until mid-December, and Beldon himself was unavailable for comment. Beldon joined RCA in Feb. 1959 as vp-gen. mgr. for home instruments, coming from GE, where he was TV mktg. mgr. He became president of RCA Sales Corp. a year ago, resigning from that post last August, but remaining with RCA until last week. In last August’s reorganization, RCA group exec, vp W. Walter (Wally) Watts became RCA Sales Corp. chairman & president, taking over the responsibilities of former Chmn. P. J. Casella and of Pres. Beldon. Leslie J. Woods retires Dec. 31 as Philco research & engineering vp, after 35 years with the company, during which he served in a wide variety of top engineering & executive posts, after an early role as Philco’s first TV engineer — in 1928. No successor will be named, technical planning vp David B. Smith continuing as technical chief. Dermot A. Dollar, RCA exhibits dir., reportedly will move into electronic data processing div. as sales administration mgr. . . . Earl M. Wood has retired as RCA industrial tube mgr. of operations; the onetime mgr. of RCA Lancaster kinescope plant is succeeded in the industrial tube post by Sidney White Jr. . . . John F. Daly, promoted to new post of mgr. of field activities. Admiral Sales Corp. commercial electronics div. Alan R. Shilts resigns as Stromberg-Carlson vp-gen. mgr., his gen. mgr. duties taken over by Pres. James D. McLean; successor to Shilts may be announced next week . . . Charles G. Klock named pres.-gen. mgr., GE Credit Corp., succeeding George F. Mosher, who continues as a dir. & consultant. James E. Archambault, president of Dormeyer Corp., recently acquired by Webcor (Vol. 16:48 pl9), also assumes presidency of Webcor; Titus Haffa, former Webcor president, continues as chairman of both firms. Alex Arnold, Motorola controller, elected vp . . . Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner, MIT electronics research lab dir., elected to Sprague Electric board; Dr. Jerrold Zacharias, distinguished MIT nuclear physicist, named Sprague consultant . . . Lester Krugman, ex-Emerson Radio mktg. vp and onetime NTA ad vp, elected vp, mktg. services, Digitronics Corp., Albertson, N.Y. Clayton Kiernan, ex-Transitron, named national distributor sales mgr., heading new headquarters distributor organization of General Instrument semiconductor div. George Cohen named distributor headquarters sales mgr., Ronald Friedman distributor sales administrator of the semiconductor div.; both were formerly with General Transistor, now merged with General Instrument. Emidio A. DeLollis appointed engineering mgr., Raytheon’s receiving tube operations . . . Donald Christiansen promoted from information services mgr. to new post of publications mgr., CBS Electronics. S. I. Neiman, head of Public Relations Associates, Chicago, well known as an electronics industry PR man, is the author of a Civil War book, Judah Benjamin, the story of the Confederate Secy, of State. It will be published next summer by Bobbs Merrill. Distributor meetings: RCA Sales Corp., consumerproducts lines, Cleveland (Eastern distributors), Dec. 6-10, and San Francisco (Western), Dec. 13-17 • Sylvania Electronic Tubes, annual distributor sales meeting, Bal Harbour, Fla., Dec. 6-10.