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

®K0WSi brisk Has Eight Arms and Flies NBC recently instigated the first coast-to-coast flight by an octopus. Ar- lene, a 40-pound specimen from San Francisco's Steinhardt Aquarium, flew east for a guest appearance on the March 9 "Home" program, accommo- dated in a specially-designed oxygen- sealed container contrived to prevent her from suffering discomfort on the way. On her arrival at New York's Idlewild Airport, she was met by a truck bearing a tank of special sea water scooped up by members of the "Home" staff, who went 25 miles offshore to get it. Six kinds of rare and steady-nerved tropical fish travelled in the container with Arlene. New Transistor A new metal-encased transistor, no bigger than a pencil eraser, is being produced by the RCA Tube Division for low-power audio applications in communications and other types of electronic equipment. The tiny device, which measures only !4 inch in diam- eter and 11/16 inch in length, incor- porates exceptional stability and uni- formity of characteristics, together with a number of design features that per- mit its use in most low-level audio- frequency applications, the Division said. The insulated metal envelope is hermetically sealed for maximum moisture protection. Hall-Size TV Television for the auditorium is the latest word from the RCA Tube Divi- sion, which has announced a new 5- inch projection kinescope capable of producing black-and-white TV pictures measuring up to 8 X 6 feet when it is used with a suitable reflective optical system. The new kinescope is ex- pected to find wide use in closed-cir- cuit types of large-screen TV projectors used for demonstration, training and educational purposes. Among its fea- tures are an aluminized white fluores- cent screen with high stability under varying conditions of screen current, and an operating maximum voltage of 40,000 volts — unusually high for a tube of this type. Musical Travel People who can't make it to see the current Cinerama show in New York will at least be able to hear the music, thanks to the RCA Victor Recotd Division's new recording of Morton Gould's musical score for "Cinerama Holiday." Chosen by Woman's Home Companion as "The Record of the Month" for March, 1955, the new re- lease is conducted by the composer and includes the musical presentation of a trip through the American South- west, to Paris, on a mountain ski run, and on other adventures presented in the film. Microwave for Texas A 478-mile RCA microwave radio system linking key compressot stations of the El Paso Natural Gas Company, El Paso, Tex., has just been completed by the RCA Engineering Products Division. This installation, the second RCA microwave system installed for the El Paso Company's expanding gas transmission system, hops the tugged, mountainous tetrain of the Texas-New Mexico border area between El Paso and Farmington, N. M. It employs standard RCA microwave equipment to provide both teletype and voice circuits. The Eye Again Two more banks in the Southwest are now using RCA's "TV Eye" closed circuit television system to speed cus- tomer service and ease clerical tasks. The Central State Bank, Oklahoma City, has put a "TV Eye" camera on the bank floor, with the receiver in the bookkeeping department, fot rapid checking of signature and balance. The Irving State Bank, Irving, Tex., is using its "TV Eye" to connect two drive-in windows with the bookkeeping depart- ment, 300 feet away, providing in- stantaneous vetification of signatutes and confirmation of balances. Prices Down. Sales Up A preliminary report on the effect of the RCA Victor Record Division's price cuts of up to 40 per cent on Jan. 3 showed a 100 percent increase in the sale of RCA Victor classical long- playing records during the first month following the reduction. And in dollar volume, sales of records in this cate- gory ran 32 per cent ahead of those for the same period in 1954, according to Emanuel Sacks, Vice-President and Genetal Manager, RCA Victor Record Division. 32 RADIO AGE