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

"^mt_ L/tp) This message was followed by a transmission of letters from Secre- tary of Defense James A. Forrestal and Wayne Coy, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commis- sion, addressed to General Sarnoff. Secretary Forrestal stated his in- terest in the wartime possibilities of Ultrafax, particularly in trans- mitting combat information to and from commanders in combat areas. Said Secretary Forrestal: "One of the most important, and not always appreciated, elements of a nation's life is the media of com- munications. The normal life of an American citizen depends heavily upon these media — in which each segment, such' as mail, telephone, telegraph, radio, cables and tele- vision—plays an important part. "In wartime, extra burdens are placed on the existing means of communications, transmitting com- bat information to and from the commanders in combat areas. Every step which improves the effective- ness of this network enhances the security of the nation. "The techniques utilized in Ultra- fax appear to offer many possibili- ties in this field, and its perfection will certainly add to the efficiency of the nation's communication sys- tem and thus to the national secur- ity. My congratulations to the scientists, technicians and members of your organization who have been instrumental in bringing this achievement into being." Chairman Coy said: "The ad- vance in communications repre- sented by Ultrafax reflects a spirit of research and pioneering of posi- tive benefit to our nation and the world." Dr. C. E. Kenneth Mees, Vice President and Director of Research of the Eastman Kodak Company, who described the origin of the rapid processing unit used in the demonstration, declared: "We are marking today, with the official un- veiling of Ultrafax, the beginning of a new era in communications." Future of Ultrafax Discussed General Sarnoff described the demonstration as a preview of a new prodigy of television, for Ultra- fax is an offspring of that science and art. He said that the number RECEIVING TERMINAL OF ULTRAFAX SYSTEM AT WHICH THE INCOMING MESSAGES ARE REPRODUCED AS TELEVISION IMAGES ON A KINESCOPE TUBE IN THE CYLINDER AT UPPER RIGHT, AND THEN COPIED ON FILM BY THE CAMERA DIRECTLY BENEATH THE CYLINDER. HERE C. J. YOUNG OF RCA LABORATORIES IS LOADING THE CAMERA. of uses and the scope of Ultrafax will multiply with time and experi- ence. "It is now within the compass of one's imagination to foresee the day, when through television and Ultrafax, a radio newspaper may be delivered through the air into every home equipped with a television set," he declared. "It would be pos- sible to have the same transmitter that broadcasts the television pro- gram simultaneously broadcast the radio newspaper. In fact, the same home-receiver, with proper attach- ments, could print the newspaper even without interrupting the pro- gram being viewed." Further, he said, it seems only reasonable to expect, as the present .system of Ultrafax progresses, that it may be possible to transmit full- length motion pictures from a single negative in the production studio simultaneously to the screens of thousands of theatres throughout the country. This, he added, would provide a new system of motion picture distribution. The messages, letters and docu- ments beamed through the air to be received and reproduced as exact duplicates of the originals. General Sarnoff pointed out, revealed that Ultrafax holds promise of a radio mail system. "We would, of course, have to add hands and feet to this winged mes- senger," he continued, "in order to provide a pickup and delivery serv- ice that corresponds to our present mail system. That is where the Post Office with its thousands of letter carriers and mail boxes may find new opportunities for increased service to the public." As a radio-mail system, it was pointed out, Ultrafax has the poten- tial of delivering the equivalent of forty tons of mail coast-to-coast in a single day at relatively lovi' cost. General Sarnoff envisaged this new system as a new arm of our national defense. In the busiest days of the war, the Signal Center at the Pentagon Building handled as many as ten million words a day. Ultrafax, he said, could handle this extraordinarily heavy loan in ten minutes w-ith one transmitter and in one minute with ten transmitters in operation. Thus, in any future war, should communication centers [RADIO AGE 5]