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

New Line of All" Conditioners liurodiiccd b\ RC/\ Details and prices of three models of home air- conditioners, the first to be offered by RCA, were an- nounced on December 27. Designed for rot)ms with floor areas up to 485 square feet, the new units range in price from $2l9.')0 to $399.50. Initial shipments of the models will be made during January to distributors in all major market areas, Robert A. Seidel, Vice President of RCA Victor Division, dis- closed. Technicians of the RCA Service Company will install and service the air-conditioners. Suitable for any room decor, the models are designed with simple lines and finished in two colors — the cabmets in "polar beige" and the grilles in "arctic tan." To assure quiet, trouble free operation, compressors of the units are hermetically sealed and spring-mounted. Adjustable grilles on ail models make possible the easy control of air flow and draft-free operation. RCA's entrance into the air-conditioning industry marks the company's first step beyond radio, television and phonograph instruments in the appliance field, Mr. Seidel pointed out. The decision to handle air-condi- tioners was made after a detailed survey of market con- ditions and a study of competitive products in the field, he said. "The home air-conditioning market has scarcely been tapped," Mr. Seidel declared. "According to reliable surveys, the industry has achieved less than ' 2 of one per cent of its potential. "One of the principal obstacles in increasing home air-conditioner sales has been the lack of adequate in- stallation and service facilities. While some air-condi- tioner manufacturers and distributors have maintained service organizations in some cities, there has been no Patent Granted on Radar System I Continued from Pitge 23) ing fighter aircraft to meet and destroy them long before they are able to reach their objective. "This could be accomplished by launching parasitic planes from the aircraft on radar patrol. These parasite planes, equipped with radar and radio would send back to the nearest group of defensive fighter planes a con- tinuous flow of signals giving the position, speed and direction of flight of the enemy plane or missile. Sup- plied with this information, the fighter planes, taking off from land base or carrier, would be able to set their course accurately to intercept their target. "As a peacetime service, the disclosed system would apply also to a similar chain of spaced planes extend- ji'.iim iliiliUll This model RCA Air Conditioner is suitable for rooms up to 485 square feet. nation-wide organization offering efficient, direct-to-the- consumer sers'ice. "With the facilities of the RCA Service Company to draw upon, and with its thousands of highly skilled technicians stationed throughout the country, ready to install and service air-conditioners, RCA is in a very favorable position to expand the distribution of air- conditioners and assume an important role in the field." ing from shore to shore which could be utilized to relay television programs to and from Europe and other for- eign countries. Such a relay system, according to tlie patent specification could also carry high speed ultrafax communications. "Because of the proposed use of lightweight, low- power microwave relay apparatus, General SarnotT's plan could be adopted for both military and non- military pur- poses without materially affecting the freight and pas- senger carrying capacity of the planes." In 1948, General Sarnoff was awarded Patent No. 2,455.443, which he also assigned to the RCA. It covered a secret signalling system by which ordinary messages are convened to a succession of arbitrary sym- bols and transmitted by facsimile or television to a re- ceiving and decoding terminal. RADIO AGE 25 m^