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

®K£U)Si brisk Happy Birthday An RCA broadcast tube tecently celebrated its fourteenth birthday with a normal day's work at radio station KPOJ in Portland, Oregon. The ven- erable tube, of the type known as a forced-air-cooled triode, was installed in KPOJ's'modulator circuit in March, 1940, and is showing no signs of its advanced age, according to the station's chief engineer. Experts of the RCA Tube Division believe this is the long- est life recorded yet for a large power tube, with more than 91,000 operating hours—the equivalent of 25 months of continuous operation. Electronic Allergy fM A phototube described by its mak- ers as "allergic" to spots before its "eyes" has been added to its commer- cial line by the RCA Tube Division for a wide range of industrial applica- tions, including production-line inspec- tion of soft drinks, medical solutions and similar translucent liquids. The tube, previously produced only on a custom-order basis, reacts only to pulses of light caused by particles in motion, so the bottled liquids to be inspected are rotated swiftly and sud- denly stopped, causing the contents to swirl around in the bottle as they pass before the electronic "eye." Transpar- ent bits of foreign matter that may have been bottled inadvertently cause the phototube to react sufficiently to trigger an electronic reject system. High Eye The television camera has now been moved up to the ceiling to cover NBC's "Home" show from the end of a telescoping arm. Operated by remote control, the camera can be moved easily and quickly to any point on the circular set—the most elaborate and advanced yet constructed for a tele- vision program. The camera itself is mounted at the end of its boom by means of a so-called "cradle and yoke," converted from the device that holds the gun turrets of a B-29 bomber. The arrangement was conceived and its construction supervised by Sol Corn- berg, NBC's supervisor of plant facili- ties and development, who also de- signed the "Home" set itself. It Still Marches On The March of Time Film Library, considered by the trade to be the out- standing source of news and special events films unduplicated anywhere else, was taken over on May 1 for sales and distribution by the NBC Film Di- vision in the largest transaction for film footage in television history. The transaction swelled to over 30 million feet the amount of footage contained in the NBC Film Library, which al- ready ranked as the world's largest collection of stock footage shot exclu- sively for T"V. Addition of the March of Time film extends the historical range of the film library's inventory back to 1934. More ]uice The swing toward 12-volt auto- mobile batteries has encouraged RCA engineers to work up new two-way mobile radio equipment that can be converted easily to operate on either the larger battery or the 6-volt variety. The new RCA "Fleetfone"units, shown for the first time recently at the Dallas convention and show of the Petroleum Industry Electrical Association and the Petroleum Electrical Supply Associa- tion, can be ordered for either voltage and for use in adjacent channels with either 20 or 40 kilocycle separation. Whichever is specified, the equipment can be readily converted at any time these requirements change. Awards Department Honors descending upon the Na- tional Broadcasting Company during the second quarter of the year included top honors in the George Foster Pea- body Awards competition for 1953, and plaques and citations from "Vari- ety" for a number of NBC programs, divisions and affiliates. The Peabody awards went to the NBC Television Opera Theatre in the television music category; to the "Television Playhouse" and its producer, Fred Coe, as top tele- vision entertainment; to Imogene Coca, star of "Show of Shows," in entertain- ment, and to "Mr. Wizard" in the cate- gory of television programs for chil- dren and youth. Among the "Variety" awards were a special citation to the NBC Television Opera Theater and a "Variety" TV Film Award to the NBC Film Division for "sparking a drive that pumped life into the floundering economics of the TV-film industry." 32 RADIO AGE