Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

Trade Personals: James Carmine, Philco executive v.p., and Mrs. Carmine sail Sept. 4 on the S.S. United. States for 6 weeks in Europe . . . Earl R. Smith, chief of home furnishings branch, OPS consumer durable goods div., onetime RCA executive in Camden and Japan, resigns Sept. 1 to join Philadelphia office of Small Defense Plants Administration as production specialist . . . Louis H. Niemann, Hytron div., CBS-Columbia, and Harry W. Robb, GE, awarded Certificates of Service by Commerce Secy. Sawyer for uncompensated service to defense production program at “great personal sacrifice”; both were consultants to NPA . . . Rear Adm. Stanley F. Patten (ret.), DuMont v.p., elected to board of directors . . . Robert C. Hamilton, asst, to adv. mgr., Sylvania TV-radio div., Buffalo, appointed mgr. of radio sales . . . George Karl, ex-KSD & KSD-TV, St. Louis, named Stewart-Warner research and market analysis mgr. . . . Harry E. Callaway, NAMM president, appoints to executive committee Ray S. Erlandson, San Antonio, board chairman; Russell B. Wells, Denver, v.p.; Ben F. Duvall, Chicago, secy.; Parker M. Harris, New Orleans, treas. . . . S. F. Zelinsky named industrial relations director, Raytheon, Chicago. . . . Elias Cohen, ex-Philco and Tele-tone, named chief development engineer, Video Products Corp., maker of Sheraton and private-label TVs; Patrick J. Scinto, ex-Philco, is chief TV engineer, and Bernard Gordon, ex-Starrett and Tele-tone, chief mechanical engineer . . . Sidney Steinberg, ex-Hearn’s TV-radioappliance buyer, named merchandising mgr., Friendly Frost chain in N. Y. GE’s Dr. W. R. G. Baker again heads RTMA’s TV committee, to which RTMA chairman A. D. Plamondon Jr. this week also appointed Benjamin Abrams, Emerson; Robert S. Alexander, Wells-Gardner; Max F. Balcom, Sylvania; H. C. Bonfig, Zenith; John W. Craig, Crosley; Allen B. DuMont; J. B. Elliott, RCA; E. K. Foster, Bendix Radio; Paul V. Galvin, Motorola; W. J. Halligan, Hallicrafters; Larry F. Hardy, Philco; W. A. McDonald, Hazeltine. Reappointed head of FM policy committee was Crosley’s John W. Craig, with these members: II. C. Bonfig, J. B. Elliott, Larry Hardy; H. L. Hoffman, Hoffman Radio; E. H. Vogel, GE; Dr. Baker and Mr. Plamondon, ex officio. Controversy over uhf strips vs. external converters vs. built-in tuners etc., is getting hotter — with attention now focused on Denver “proving ground” where vhf station is on air and uhf telecasts are scheduled to begin around Thanksgiving. Full-page Raytheon ad in Denver Post, captioned “Before You Buy Any TV Set Be Sure and Read These Facts,” pitches for sets with built-in tuners, mentions own brand only in passing. Ad calls turret tuner strips and most external converters “compromise solutions,” claims optimum reception can be furnished only by sets with continuous uhf tuners which are “completely independent of the vhf tuner and avoid the use of the tubes and circuits in the vhf portion of the receiver.” Ad is institutional in character, urges consumers to buy brand-name merchandise from reputable dealers, contains coupon for Raytheon booklet on uhf. Telecommunications Planning Committee to determine best use of nation’s communications in event of war was announced this week by Haraden Pratt, President Truman’s telecommunications adviser. Committee (names withheld) comprises representatives of FCC, CAA, State, Defense & Commerce Depts., Central Intelligence Agency. Copper and aluminum were taken off “critical list” by DPA this week. In eighth bi-monthly issue of its List of Basic Materials <£• Alternates, both metals are listed in section captioned “supplies in approximate balance with demand.” On other hand, steel plates have been moved to 9 Financial & Trade Notes: Hazeltine, which has just split stock 2-for-l, reports net profit of $1,116,074 for G months ended June 30, equal to $3.19 a share on 350,000 shares outstanding, after Federal income taxes of $2,534,885 and reserve of $82,300 for patent infringement and replacement of govt.-furnished equipment. No comparison with same 1951 period is available, but for whole of 1951 Hazeltine reported net profit of $1,610,789 ($4.17 a share) on gross income of $6,957,344 (Vol. 8:12). International Resistance Co., which recently cut quarterly dividend from 10 to 5<f, felt sharp decline in both sales and earnings first half of this year because of “overproduction of TV sets in 1951 coupled with heavy forward buying of resistors,” according to president Earnest Searing, as quoted in Aug. 29 Wall Street Journal. But final 6 months, traditionally best for sales, plus cost reduction program and introduction of new boron-carbon resistor and selenium rectifier, are expected to improve balance sheet. From Jan. 1 to June 22, 1952 sales fell to $5,200,304 from $7,208,838 year before, net income to $193,285 (15 4 a share) from $492,215 (4.9(f). Dividends: Admiral, 25<* payable Sept. 30 to stockholders of record Sept. 19; Hazeltine, 25 <f Sept. 15 to holders Sept. 2; Sprague Electric, 50d Sept. 15 to holders Aug. 29; Avco, 15d Sept. 20 to holders Aug. 29; Bendix Aviation, 75i f Sept. 30 to holders Sept. 10; Warner Bros., 25(* Oct. 4 to holders Sept. 5; Sylvania, 50<i Oct. 1 to holders Sept. 15; Stromberg-Carlson, 25^ Oct. 1 to holders Sept. 10. LaPointe-Plascomold Corp. (TV antennas) has completed offering of 92,194 shares of common stock, reports president J. E. Respess. Present shareholders took 39,076, investment houses 50,000. Q Fair weather stories about color TV in this week’s newspapers, developed by some ambitious reporter or editor, created something of a furore in the trade. Stories got prominent display via press associations and in metropolitan press, though they turned out to have nothing new in them. They merely recapitulated history of color controversy, related fact that NTSC is continuing successful tests of compatible color and will go to FCC for approval of system when experiments are completed. NTSC chairman Dr. W. R. G. Baker was quoted saying he thinks tests may be finished early next year. Even some of the trade press got excited about story, repeated it. Skiatron president Arthur Levey, planning new stock issue to finance its system of pay-as-you-look TV (Vol. 8:33), faces suit in N. Y. Supreme Court on charges by John A. Stephen, Otto Augstein and Hans Kraft that he stripped old Scophony Corp. of America of patents and inventions for his own benefit. They claim that as stockholders they advanced large sums to finance Scophony. Hearing on RCA motion to quash or modify Federal grand jury summons in anti-trust probe of RTMA and 18 or more TV-radio-electronics firms for alleged conspiracies relating to color, FM and patents (Vol. 8:34) has been postponed from Sept. 2 to next day because of crowded New York Federal court docket following Labor Day. Williamsport (Pa.) community antenna situation has devolved into dog-eat-dog competition with entrance of Whitney-backed organization into field (Vol. 8:34). Two existing companies in town and the new one prefer to fight it out, sometimes using same poles to string lines, rather than join forces. Community antenna system appeared more promising than uhf TV station to Susquehanna Valley TV Corp., Lock Haven, Pa. Company told FCC it was withdrawing application for Channel 32 to concentrate on expansion of its community system.