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

gators have been trained for cin- turies to place full confidence in celestial reckoning, those aboard the Drottningholm were soon con- vinced that loran not only was more accui'ate than the sextant but in addition could provide position readings at any time of the day or night, and especially in fogs and heavy weather when the usual opti- cal observations are useless. After versing himself in the op- eration of the loran unit, Capt. Nordlander proceeded to put the unit through its paces. He adjusted the loran unit and checked results against readings already taken by the navigator and recorded on the ship's chart. When the two points coincided precisely, the Captain turned to Oschmann and said lacon- ically: "The sun's in the right place!" It is expected that safety of life at sea will be tremendously in- creased by the use of loran since, if the positions of the disabled or sur- vival crafts are accurately known, the searching vessel or plane can proceed directly with a minimum loss of time and in any kind of weather. Special navigational aids such as the Ice Patrol will also util- ize loran to report positions of ice- bergs and will not have to depend upon "dead reckoning" or celestial navigation. This will permit 24- hour service unlimited by periods of low visibility. RCA engineers, who were largely responsible for development of the original loran receivers used so ef- fectively by the Army and Navy during the war, refined the wartime models and developed the present merchant marine loran system. Trial installations of shorter- range radar equipment developed by Radiomarine for merchant ves- sels operating in lakes, rivers, har- bors or coastal waters will be made shortly as a further application of wartime electronic safety and navi- gational devices to commercial mar- itime operations. Radiomarine is cooperating with the Lake Carriers' Association, of Cleveland, in plans for tests of radar instruments on the Great Lakes. The Association, which rep- resents leading shipping interests in that region, proposes an experi- mental program to integrate the uses of radar into a complete sys- tem of electronic navigation. A New Form of Radar Device The new RCA radar will be a high resolution device. It will in- clude a 12-inch indicator tube, a transmitter of ample power, a high- ly selective and sensitive receiver, and many other features essential to a modern navigational instru- ment. Radiomarine's aim is to make the installations reasonable in cost, easy to operate and maintain, rugged, and for use on the bridge for good navigation. In fairness to shipowners it must be emphasized that certain factors require govern- mental action before full-scale pro- duction of merchant marine radar can be undertaken. The present frequency bands are limited to experimental service and it may be some time before final commercial allocations are made. NEW FILM PROJECTOR WAS BATTLE TESTED Embodies Many Features Developed for Use of U. S. Signal Corps During War. ANEW and improved 16mm. sound film projector, incorpo- rating many wartime technical ad- vances, has been developed by RCA, and limited deliveries to dealers al- ready have been made. The new projector, known as Model PG-201, was designed primarily to provide schools and colleges, churches, in- dustry, commercial establishments, civic groups, and other organiza- tions with the highest quality of projection and sound reproduction. Engineers associated with the de- velopment consider it an achieve- ment in combining professional performance with rugged construc- tion and simple, fool-proof opera- tion. In its design and construction, RCA scientists have incorporated many features developed during the war for its military predecessor, which was designed to U. S. Army Signal Corps specifications and widely used by the armed forces on the fighting fronts and in training camps. The "battle-tested" features of the de luxe, heavy-duty projector provide a new measure of projec- tion, sound quality and dependabil- ity for industrial training, sales meetings, sales promotion, road shows, small community theatres, and other group services. Equipped with a 20-watt audio amplifier, the new model features RCA's Sound Stabilizer, an oil- driven flywheel which gently smooths out film-speed variations for sound scanning; a new friction- drive even-tension take-up, which greatly reduces film damage and pulled splices, and a completely re- movable film gate which permits easy cleaning of the aperture. All parts of the projector are ac- cessible for cleaning or replace- ments. It can be taken apart with only a screw driver and an open-end wrench, and only a few moments are required to reassemble it. THE SWEDISH-AMERICAN LINER In LORAN-GUIDED CKo ■ LM WHICH HAS MADE SEVERAL THE ATLANTIC. [RADIO \GE 19]