Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

8— TELEVISION DIGEST FEBRUAHY 25, 1963 hove leveled off at better than 20% in the lost 3 months, indicating that these cars will do better than 17'/2% for the year." Delco, probably largest maker of car radios, told us "there's obviously a growing interest in FM car radios but we won't be able to assess this interest vmtil after the year's soles results are in. FM-AM radios won't be a heavy portion of our production this first year." Delco is making radios for GM & Chrysler. Motorola, another car radio major, and reportedly first U.S. maker to introduce FM-only car unit, told us "we're watching the growth of FM radio stations very closely." Motorola currently markets $125 FM-only car radio & $69 timer package for use with car's AM radio. Automatic Radio Mfg., which makes line of universal & custom FM-AM car radios, is "exp>onding our line this year," we were told by sales mgr. Edward L. Housmon. "Last year, FM was a negligible percentage of total car radio sales," he said, "but it will certainly be a growing figure this year." Gronco looks for "promotion by OEM manufacturers to help establish this new trend to FM car radios," Henry Fogel told us, adding : "We haven't yet scheduled any increase in production. We're waiting for the sales to materialize. This is a bad time of the year for auto accessories. The big demand usucdly comes in the spring." Gronco makes an FM adaptor that converts a car's AM radio for FM. It's sold in car agencies & in auto supply and installation stores. Two factors rate as major deterrents to sudden mass market for FM car radios: price & customer dissatisfaction. Because FM-AM radio is actually 2 radios in 1, price is 2 to 2'/2 times higher than for AM-only car radio. Motorists may be agreeable to jxrying price, but only if they understand that FM car radio has certain drawbacks. "FM in the cor is not the some thing os FM at home," Bendix's Jones told us. "It's not comparable. Not only do you hove station range & antenna limitations to contend with, FM in a moving cor passes through a series of phenomena. This affects reception adversely. People who appreciate FM in a car ore those who ore technically knowledgeable & understand its limitations. Those who don't understand, and ore educated only to FM in the home, will be disappointed. They're disappointed now." 9 STATES REQUIRE UL SAFETY APPROVAL: Proof of safety is required for sale of TVs, radios d phonos in at least 9 states, recent survey discloses. In most cases. Underwriters' Lob seal is required. In addition, at least 4 major cities also insist that sets must pass safety inspections. There's been increasing interest in this subject because most imports don't carry UL seal (although many importers claim their products meet same safety specs). While UL has plans to set up lobs in Japan, best information indicates it has no facilities there yet. Survey by EIA shows UL listing (or similar safety approval) is required by states of Ala., Colo., DeL, N.H., N.C., Term., Wash., W.Va., d Wis. Five additional states declined to specify whether or not they had such lows : Ark., Conn., N.M., Okla. d R.I. Remaining 36 states said they had no such laws on their books. Some cities in the 36 states without such regulation have their own TV-radio-opplicmce safety lows. Prime example is Los Angeles, which has own lab d own safety requirements, but doesn't require UL approval as such. Others ore Richmond, Va.; Cleveland, O.; Portland, Ore. In some cities, and possibly some states, approval by Los Angeles city lab carries as much weight os UL seal, and importers have used L.A. approval os proof of safety in cities such as Cleveland. Major "key-account" customers, such as Macy's, Gamble-Skogmo d Sears Roebuck, hove their own labs, and check equipment for performance as well os safety before ordering. Safety requirements weren't of major importance to consumer electronics importers until they entered TV field, since safety approval isn't required for transistor radios, which operate on low voltage. Looking at list of the 9 states which require approval, it's obvious that none of these is big enough to be vital toTvlmporters. Nevertheless, Japanese manufacturers who export are looking hopefully to the day when they con get UL seal at their own home base.