Television digest and FM reports (Feb-Dec 1947)

HiUTia CDDEL’s AUTHORITATIVE NEWS SERVICE OF THE VISUAL BROADCASTING AND FREQUENCY MODULATION ARTS AND INDUSTRY rmiSHZO WEEKLY 3Y § RABID HEWS B8Se8,1i13 COMCTJCUT hit flW.. MiHSISM 6, B.S. TELEPHONE HICH1SAH 2029 • VOL 3, HO. 29 July 19, 1947 C8AXIAL TV BATES CALLED OF?: Those stiff AT&T rates for intercity TV via coaxial (Vol. 3, No. 23, 24) aren't going into effect Aug. 1 after all. Phone company is withdrawing tariff schedule filed with FCC, early next week will tell why. Deadline for protests is July 21. Col. William Roberts, for TBA, has prepared brief claiming rates too high, objecting to proposed AT&T control of radio relays, asserting rates for relays should relate to costs and not be same as for coaxial as proposed. Best guess is Bell executives were persuaded at recent hearings that time's too soon yet to calculate coaxial rate equitably, that TV is still too young and revenue-poor to stand the gaff (around $10,000 per month for Washington-New York hookup 8 hours daily) , that threats of competitive radio relay systems were too real to be ignored (Vol. 3, No. 28). On part of TVers, there's no inclination to get into dogfight with efficient and usually fair AT&T, rather a desire to work it out. IF HOT FM SITS, FM TUHERS: Perked up by possibility of early lifting of AM-FM duplication ban, FMers' spirits are getting an additional boost from mushrooming of tuners, converters, etc. — particularly since beginning of Pilot's current all-out effort on its $29.95 Pilotuner (Vol. 3, No. 26). Comes now Hazslt-ine with something that may open their eyes even wider — a circuit built into ordinary table AMs for "a f ew dollars'1 to provide FM reception. Hazeltine's circuit, being pushed by v.p. Jennings B. Dow, wartime head of Navy's Radio Division, Bureau of Ships, has been released to all of company's 140-some patent licensees. It's not a unit to be added to existing sets; it's part of the set as built. Commodore Dow tells us we can expect sets containing it on dealers' shelves in 30 days. He says it needs "somewhat higher” signal than straight FM set, but provides reception as good as AM set can handle. We don’t know yet, but circuit may be a relative of WIBW "blooper” (Vol. 3, No. 18), reported ready to go into production in Kansas City factory. There seems to be no question but that the Pilotuner does a good job, and very heavy promotion has stirred up more interest than anything we can recall since Zenith's $60 table FM-AM set. Who else is making units for converting AM sets? We've cornered the following: Electronics Inc. "Combinette” ($58 wholesale, $58.95 retail) on the market Aug. 1 (Vol. 3, No*. 20) ; Edwards ($52.50) ; Magnavox ($65) ; Packard-Bell ($69.96); Hallicrafter ($200); Browning ($215.75); Meissner ($245); Radio Tuning Devices' FMF2 & FMF3 (price unavailable). One dealer here is recommending Emerson's table FM-AM ($100) be used as tuner for expensive AMs; presumably, same can be done with similar sets. And we've just picked up a rumor that a Midwest manufacturer will build tuners for car radios. In comparing prices, remember some consitute complete FM-AM sets (or chassis) just short of last audio stages. RCA, WAFERS & THEATER TV: There's more than meets the eye in RCA's contract this week with Warner Bros. Pictures for joint program of research on large-screen or theater TV. It's the culmination of negotiations over long period between RCA's David Sarnoff and the brothers Harry and Jack Warner — a Gen. Sarnoff holding hands out to all the movie industry, but becoming impatient with its apparent recalcitrance when it comes to TV. The Warners, unlike most other movie producers (except Copyright 1947 by Radio News Bureau