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

©KftJDSut Cloth-Saver A new type of electronic metal detectot, sensitive enough to teact to a metallic speck smallet than the period on a typewriter, has been developed by RCA for the continuous inspection af textile fabrics in production. The new machine can keep a careful watch on materials moving along as rapidly as 1,000 feet a minute and is expected to relieve a "tramp" metal problem that costs the textile industry hundreds of thousands of yards of fabrics and damage to machines each year. A product of RCA's Theatre and Indus- trial Equipment Department, the ma- chine is expected to have important applications also in the plastics field, where materials are processed in sheet form. Small Package A four-ounce battery less than 2 inches long and one inch in diameter, and a larger brother weighing l 1 /^ pounds have been developed by RCA's Tube Division for transistor applica- tions — including use in the new transistorized portable radios now in production by RCA. The smaller model was described by D. Y. Smith, Vice-President, RCA Tube Division, as a 9-volt unit with snap fasteners for connections to the battery termi- nals, engineered for pocket-size radios. The larger type is equipped with a four-hole socket mounted flush with the battery case so that voltages of 3, 6 and 9 volts may be obtained. Both batteries have a suggested list price of $1.35. Color and More Color Six more television stations have decided to go in for original color telecasts with the help of RCA broad- cast equipment, including the latest studio cameras for "live" color pickup, and the 3-Vidicon film system for telecasting color films and slides. Ac- cording to A. R. Hopkins, Manager, RCA Broadcast Equipment Marketing Department, the new studio cameras are going to KMTV, Omaha; WJBK, Detroit, and WTAR, Norfolk, V*., while the 3-Vidicon film cameras have been ordered by the Omaha and Nor- folk stations, as well as WTLP, Wash- ington; KPRC, Houston, Tex., and WSLS, Roanoke, Va. Stretching the Season Barring blizzards, your local drive-in theatre may be able to entertain you farther into the winter, thanks to a new in-car heater announced by RCA. The new unit, called the RCA Dyna- Heat, is a small and compact affair featuring calrod heating elements and heat-radiating aluminum fins. It can be installed and suspended by a hanger on the theatre's individual in-car speaker post — and it even has a two- tone finish to match the motif of othet RCA drive-in equipment. Musical "Oscar" The Boston Symphony's RCA Victor recording of Berlioz's "Romeo and Juliet" has drawn a special round of applause from France. The "Grand Prix du Disque," of the Academie du Disc Francais, was voted to the record- ing, and the award was presented to conductor Charles Munch by French Ambassador M. Couve de Murville in a ceremony at Carnegie Hall following the Boston Symphony's first New York concert of the season. The award was signed by French Premier Edgar Faure and composer Arthur Honegger, Presi- dent of the Academie. Sharing the Gains Technical details on RCA's circuit engineering developments in black- and-white and color television were given to engineers representing most of the nation's TV set manufacturers in a recent symposium at the David Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton. The symposium, sponsored by the In- dustry Service Laboratory, RCA Lab- oratories, was one of a number held by RCA in the past few years to shate on an industry-wide basis the innova- tions and improvements resulting from RCA research and engineering in television. 32 RADIO AGE