Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

12 ceding week and 173,663 week ended Oct. 16. It was year's 43rd week and brought October production to about 680,000 and for year to about 6,200,000. Production for all of 1952 was 6,096,279. Radio production totaled 261,614, down from 273,882 week ended Oct. 23 but up from 234,705 week before. It brought Oct. production to about 1,200,000 and for year to date to about 11,350,000. NO COLOR ACTION from FCC this week, and possibility of a meeting on it next week is uncertain. From here on out, it's a week-to-week affair, with approval of compatible system coming almost any time, but our own current guess is last week of this month or first week in Dec. And chances are Commission will make “effective date” of action, meaning commercial go-ahead, come the customary 30 days after publication in Federal Register. Thus, it seems that ail wraps should be off around end of year. This schedule ought to hearten NARDA, whose govt, relations committee chairman Mort Farr wrote Commission and frankly stated hope color approval will come no sooner than Christmas. This request and pressures from exactly opposite direction appear to cut little ice with Commission, whose members tell us they’re studying matter individually until they’re satisfied. Excerpts from Farr’s letter: i “With the advent of color TV almost upon us, we have that good expectant feeling of an already-great service expanding in its scope and effectiveness, and we look forward to it with interest and enthusiasm and the determination to do an even better job with its introduction than we did with black-&-white TV . . . “It seems that production of color TV will be most moderate during 1954, with the industry probably not producing more than one color TV receiver for each of the 105,000 TV dealers in the country that year. This, in units, would be only around l/24th of the present number of TV receivers in dealers’, distributors’ and manufacturers’ inventories. “The day your decision is made and published by the newspapers, we can expect a marked decline in demand for black-&-white sets in many, if not most, of our principal markets, no matter how ably we present facts about higher cost, smaller images, limited availability and few programs. The effect could mean a sharp decline in employment and serious economic problems. Traditionally, we sell 36% of the year’s volume during the fourth quarter of the year. “If your decision were announced around Dec. 24, unemployment in our industry based on the advent of color would be minimized, the economic penalty of the announcement from (probably) the manufacturers’ and distributors’, and certainly from dealers’ viewpoint would be minimized, and the start of color would in no way be delayed.” * * * * Meanwhile, industry is boiling with color activity in addition to RCA-NBC’s powerful drive (see p. 1). Items: (1) Crosley this week became first picture tube maker to take license from Chromatic TV Labs to manufacture Lawrence “Chromatron” color tube. Announcing action, Crosley’s TV-radio gen. mgr. Leonard Cramer said : “The Chromatron is recognized as the only color tube at this time which permits large picture size, rectangular in shape, to which the public has become accustomed ... It can be more readily mass-produced, and its design allows it to be manufactured [in] such sizes as 21 & 24-in. or even larger.” Tube will be made in Batavia, 111. plant purchased last year from Sarkes Tarzian (Vol. 8:43) where, Cramer said, pilot line has been in operation for some time. How ever, echoing other manufacturers, he added that “color broadcasting as a widely-used household realty is a long time away." Chromatic Labs’ pres. Richard Hodgson said that Crosley is concentrating on one-gun tube, though others prefer 3-gun. Asked about “excessive radiation” bugaboo of tube, referred to by proponents of competing color tubes, Hodgson said radiation is now below FCC specifications — 50 uv/m at 100 ft. for Ch. 2-6, 150 uv/m for Ch. 7-13. Furthermore, he said, company is working on new grid structure which will vastly improve situation. Present radiation, he added, is produced by frame which holds grid; aluminized face-plate blocks grid radiation. A glass frame is in the works. Purpose of new grid, he stated, is to produce more usable picture area. Hodgson expects more tube makers to take licenses shox-tly. He didn’t disclose royalty rate. Another excited convert to color is Glen Swanson, pres, of Standard Coil Products, major manufacturer of TV tuners. After seeing RCA-NBC’s New York-Los Angeles closed-circuit demonstration this week, he told us: “I’m sure it’s going to sell and I want to be right in thex-e.” He sees color catching on like wuldfix’e, bringing tremendous new demand for parts and components. He says Standard is giving “serious thought” to putting on market a color decoder, selling it to set makers as it does tuners— saving small manufacturers expensive and difficult job of setting up own facilities. Trade Miscellany: Westinghouse electric appliance div. will spend more than $4,000,000 in next year as first step in large-scale expansion of plant at Springfield, Mass., reports plant mgr. J. R. Weaver, with entire sum to be spent for x-etooling and reai-ranging of facilities to incx-ease production of appliances currently made there (kitchen items) and “additional products and components that were formerly bought from other companies because of a lack of production space.” To make x-oorn for new items, refrigerator manufacture will be transferred to Columbus, O. plant, starting late next summer . . . Tips for servicemen ax-e contained in new7 monthly magazine, Motorola Service Neivs, sent free to 19,000 service contiactors and distributor servicemen, edited by Russell C. Hansen, Motorola sex-vice contract mgr. . . . Western Furniture Mart. San Fx-ancisco, sets annual mai'ket Jan. 31-Feb. 10 . . . Emerson delays until next spx-ing px-ojected fall move into new headquarters at 524 West 23rd St., N. Y. . . . Thias Research Div., newly formed reseax-ch branch of Standard Coil Px-oducts Co. (Vol. 9:42), Dec. 15 occupies new Los Angeles plant now beiixg x-ushed to completion . . . Aerovox dedicates new $500,000 plant at Myrtle Beac-h, S. C., housing Hi-Q div. (condensers). Parts for color tube guns are now available in production quantities, accox-ding to John Volkert Metal Stampings Inc., Queens Village, L. I., N. Y., which says it has made about 35% of all xnetal parts for black-&-white tubes. Emerson Radio enjoyed higher sales in fiscal year ended Oct. 31 than in any previous year in its history, announced pres. Benjamin Abrams, adding current capacity production is planned well into first quarter next year.