Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1946)

to dig up building diagrams needed for remodeling. And Bamberger, after months of wrangling over its $45,000 Cathedral Heights site, ran into more difficulties this week when nearby homeowners took their case to Rep. McMillan, chairman of House District Committee, who promised to carry their fight to Congress. They object to danger of possible collapse of tower, and alleged loss of property values. rmST POSTWAR C?s for m: You can take the swiftness with which the FCC came out with its Washington FM decision V/ednesday — 5 days after the end of hearings — as an indication of its desire to get FM going. The 8 grantees (Supplement No. 55A) were the first to be heard at a consolidated hearing, also the first to get outright CPs since the war freeze. They got CPs instead of mere Engineering Approvals (the EAs described in these columns last week) because the cases they presented included the requisite program-promise data. Though there were 11 applicants for Washington’s 11 channels, 3 failed to get CPs. They were not turned dov/n, merely "passed over for further study." Reasons were not officially stated but are variously ascribed as (1) need for further study of applications; (2) Commissioner Durr’s desire to reserve some channels for future applicants, notably veterans. The 3 who were "passed over" were Mid-Coastal Broadcasting Co., half-owned by J. V. Cosman, of Federal Radio, who is also half owner with Donald Flamm of Vi/PAT, Paterson, N. J. ; Capital BroadI casting Co. (WWDC) ; Chesapeake Broadcasting Co. (For further data on these appliI cants as well as on the successful ones, see Supplements No. 14A to 14G) . Also announced this week v/ere 10 more conditional grants (Supplement No. 33A) , bringing total to date to 362. A new applicant this week for Dayton, Moraine Broadcasters Inc., was added to consolidated hearing scheduled there May 6. Designated for hearing, but date and place not yet fixed, were all applicants for Bridgeport-Danbury-Stamf ord. Conn. ' 'CPSRATIOH CEOSSHOABS' AHD T¥; When "that thing" goes off at Bikini this summer, television will enable Navy, scientific and press observers to view the results simultaneously from above and at eye level. A previev/ of what TV means militarily was afforded the press last Thursday v/hen the Navy and RCA revealed one of the war’s top secrets at a press demonstration at the Naval Air Station near Washington. The demonstration, using the same kind of receivers that soon will be marketed for the home, also had its civilian implications — showing how a "TV newsreel camera” can go aloft and telecast precisely v;hat its lens sees. The blackand-white images shov/n w^ere excellent, except for more flickers than are usual from stationary TV transmitters. Viewers in the Anacostia air station’s gymnasium saw pickups from 2 Navy planes and the RCA "flying laboratory" — one plane telecasting from over Baltimore and Annapolis, 40 miles away, and the two others telecasting Washington scenes. A bank of RCA 16x20 in. projection screens and 6x10 in. direct-viewing screens were utilized, transmissions from the planes being on 90, 274 and 300 me. Navy radio experts described how commanders could — and during the war did — use the system to view battle areas from command posts, getting their battle data via TV far better and faster than they could from recon photos or patrol reports. This method accounted in one Pacific battle for 3 Jap ships. And RCA’s president. Brig. Gen. Sarnoff, who earlier this week received the Medal of Merit for his war work, foresaw many civilian uses of the system, including airborne traffic control and possible "walkie lookies. " One TV cameraman, representing all 6 existing commercial telecasters, v/ill record "Operation Crossroads" (the atom bomb tests) for later showing to televiewers after the film has been cleared by Navy security. Video companies will also have available all film shot by official photographers. Plans call for near-the-scene robot-plane TV coverage of the Bikini tests, as well as the installation of 2 Navy ATK transmitters on shore only two-thirds of a mile from the blast. The experts and