Television digest and FM reports (Sept-Dec 1945)

DOLL^HS AHD CENTS; FCC Chairman Paul Porter tossed out some significant statistij respecting radio expenditures to guests at NAB's inaugural dinner for President Justin Miller the other night. He foresaw total spending of $5 billion on communications during the next' fev/ years. FM alone, with 2-3,000 new stations in sight, v;ill represent $250 million in new capital expenditure. And if only half of America's 55 million AM sets are replaced v;ith FM, there's another §1J^ billion. • As for TV, harder to appraise fiscally. Porter said he expects 157 key cities to be covered within 5 years; didn't estimate capital costs but, on the bas of 2% million video set sales per year, he quoted one manufacturer as estimating the public will spend $1 billion on TV sets within 5 years. Even AM outlays aren't over, for there are about 250 applications pending v/ith FCC for as many new stations, and 147 existing stations seek authority to make wavelength, power etc. changes that will cost money. The rest of that $5 billion will be spent, presumably, on facsimile, police, aeronautical, navigational, relay and various other phases of radio communications — plus one item alone of $56 million already earmarked by AT&T in its $100 million coaxial cable program. FOB TV: ^ elevision viewing device, resembling a lorgnette and held ii hand, has been built and tested successfully by Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith, the consulting engineer, to transform monochrome reception of a color television transmission on a black-and-white receiver back into color. Device is intended to instill confidence of consumers in buying monochrome receivers so that, v/hen color video machines are eventually developed, black-and-white set owners v/ill be able to see color as well. Inside lorgnette there is a spinning color disk driven by’ a tiny motor at such a speed that it matches color the incoming pictures should have and supplies that color. Lorgnette weighs only a fev/ ounces, is plugged into a little amplifie connected to a receiver. , ' Like many of Dr. Goldsmith's inventions, this one will probably be bought by RCA. Thought up more than 5 years ago, patent was filed November, 1941. ASCA? ACTS m TV; ASCAP has sent its members contract covering television dated Oct. 1, granting TV same rights as in radio v/ith certain limitations including; (1) Any member with interest in a work may restrict performance of production number or any other number; (2) Any number other than production may be restricted if it becomes part of stage show or is used in film, unless such use is merely background or incidental. NEWS AND VIEWS: Lt. Col. Jack DeWitt. veteran consultant and chief engineer of V/SM, Nashville, now CO of Signal Corps' Evans Lab at Belmar, N. J. , v/ill be out of Army by Nov. 15 and may go into consulting practice. .. .ABC has engaged Clure H. Owen, ex-FCC broadcast engineer, as specialist on FM, TV, transmitters, antennas etc. . . .Col.' E. C. Page's engineering staff at MBS now includes J. Wesley Koch, exSignal Corps propagation expert and former KFEQ chief, and Pete Johnson, ex-FCC, recently doing civilian research with Signal Corps. .. .Operational uncertainties ir TV field have led TBA to decide upon sometime next March or April, not this wintei as expected, for its annual convention, coincident with which may be an equipment manufacturers trade show — that is, if equipment is available by then.... Said to bring the cost of FM receivers down to that of comparable AM sets is new RCA ratic detector circuit, announced by company Oct. 3. . .