Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

PART OF THE MILLIONS OF GLASS ENVELOPES AWAITING THE NEXT STEP IN TUBE MANUFACTURE AT THE RCA PLANT, HARRISON, N. J. such tubes will again reach wartime peaks. Nevertheless, we confidently predict that peacetime demand for these tubes will ultimately exceed peak wartime production. We believe that the prospect for immediate production, sales and em- ployment in the electron tube indus- try compare very favorably with those of any other industry. As re- Kards long-term prospects, we know of no industry having greater po- tentialities. There is literally no individual, no industry, no service, that is not a potential customer for electronic products or equipment, and therefore for electron tubes. RCA's potential tube business, and that of the industry, is limited pri- marily by man's ingenuity in cre- ating the buying power necessary for its realization, rather than by technical considerations or want of ideas. these tubes will be television. For the immediate future, we anticipate an increase of about 1200 percent over prewar levels. We foresee a demand far in excess of even war- time levels, however, as soon as tele- vision is established on a nation- wide basis. RCA sales of power tubes, which before the war were largely for use in radio broadcast transmitters, in- creased during the war by about 1400 percent. In the early postwar period they are expected to be about 60 percent above prewar levels. While we foresee a substantial ex- pansion of business in the trans- mitter field, principally resulting from construction of new television and FM transmitters, the bulk of the increase in demand for power tubes is expected to come ultimately from applications in non-radio elec- tronic equipment. More Power Tubes Needed High-frequency heating equip- ment for industry, for example, will require many times the power tubes currently employed in the radio broadcasting industry. One com- pany alone has recently installed high-frequency heating equipment at a yearly rate of some 10,000 kilo- watts total capacity, whereas the total rated output power of all broadcasting stations in the United States is only 3,700 kilowatts. An- other company is contemplating the installation of such equipment with 1,000,000 kilowatts capacity at one plant, with plans to install similar equipment at four other plants if the original installation proves as successful as is anticipated. Special Tubes in Great Demand Special-type tubes, particularly the phototube group, found many important military applications during the war, and production and sales of such tubes rose to a peak 611 percent above their 1939 levels. Their potential field of peacetime applications is almost limitless, since electron tubes are now being made to perform all of the func- tions of the five senses and there is literally no industry which cannot employ electronic devices to advan- tage in its operations. For the im- mediate period we anticipate pro- duction and sales of special-type tubes at a rate about 105 percent in excess of prewar levels. It is obvious from the foregoing figures that we face our greatest problem in providing immediate utilization of war-expanded facili- ties for the production of power, cathode-ray, and special-type tubes. It appears that a number of years will elapse before production of RCA BEGINS CONVERSION OF TELEVISION SETS Conversion of pre-war RCA Vic- tor television receivers to accommo- date the new frequency channels allocated by the Federal Communi- cations Commission was begun by RCA Service Company, Inc., early in March on a schedule that calls for completion of the work in June. Under a plan established by RCA, service shops in New York, Phila- delphia, Chicago and Los Angeles area will, on request from a set- owner, either direct or through the RCA dealer in the area, bring in the chassis, incorporate revised cir- cuits, and then re-install and test it in the owner's home. All known owners of RCA Victor television re- ceivers have been notified by letter that the service is available at a charge of $30. The new allocations have shifted the frequencies of existing televi- sion stations, both by changing fre- quency bands for given channel des- ignations and by moving stations to new channels. The new allocations are: Channel 1, 44 to 50 megacycles; Channel 2, 54 to 60; Channel 3, 60 to 66; Chan- nel 4, 66 to 72; Channel 5, 76 to 82, and Channel 6, 82 to 88. [RADIO AGE 19]