Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

20 MAY 16, 1960 Stereo Field Tests: Actual testing of the 8 FM stereo broadcast systems listed by FCC last week in its proposed rule-making (Vol. 16:19 p6) is due to begin the week of June 5, El A exec, vp James D. Secrest announced last week. The tests will be conducted by the field-test panel of EIA’s National Stereo Radio Committee (panel 5) headed by NAB engineering mgr. A. Prose Walker. Last March, the Commission requested NSRC to compete its stereo FM field tests by July 29 — same date it set last week as deadline for comments on system proposals — in the hope of establishing standards in time for stereo broadcasting to begin at year’s end. Selected as one test site — previously announced — is Westinghouse Bcstg. Co.’s KDKA-FM Pittsburgh. NSRC has tentatively selected 2 more test stations — WCRB-FM and Westinghouse’s WBZ-TV, both in Boston. Transmitter & receiver manufacturers will be asked to supply equipment for the system tests, which will be evaluated by comparing a tape recording of the originally broadcast stereo program material with a tape made directly from the test receivers at various sites. Since all proposed systems are classified as “compatible,” owners of conventional FM sets should be able to hear a full monaural reproduction of the test programs on their own receivers. Supervising the tests will be A. C. Goodnow, Westinghouse Bcstg., chmn. of transmitting & receiving facilities subcommittee; W. J. Wintringham, Bell Labs, chmn of subcommittee on specifications & measurements; Ralph N. Harmon, Westinghouse Bcstg., and Daniel Recklinhausen, H. H. Scott Co. Dr. M. R. Schroeder, Bell Labs, is charged with preparing the test tape. ■ Tinier & tinier is the trend in components for military & commercial use — to be reflected later in consumer goods — as evidenced by these announcements this week: (1) Philco & Sylvania announced new transistor packages far smaller than previous ones. Sylvania’s “Pancake” housing reduces transistor size & weight to one-tenth that of conventional ones, measuers .25-in. in diameter, .05-in. high. Philco’s oval-shaped micro-miniature enclosure is .125-in. wide, .18-in. wide, .06-in. high, permits component densities on the order of one million per square foot. (2) Sylvania announced a new technique for packaging tiny components on a series of stacked wafers smaller than a postage stamp, said it will show a one-inch high shortrange broadcast-band transmitter later this month as a “dynamic demonstration.” (3) GE announced that its “TIMM” (thermionic integrated micro-module) circuits now under development, paired with its ceramic receiving tubes, already in production, can now offer such possibilities as a 100-tube computer the size of a cigarette pack. Commerce Dept, has penalized Liberty Electronics Inc. for allegedly misrepresenting license applications for exports of electronic tubes in 1956 & 1957. All export privileges are denied for 2 months to the N.Y. concern, its Pres. Mendel Aviv and vp Arie Abramovich. The company & 2 executives also were placed on probation for an additional 10 months. Aluminum TV antenna manufacture in New Zealand, where TV was introduced last year, is proposed by Dominion Light Alloys Ltd., Puriri St., New Lynn, Auckland, under a licensing arrangement with a U.S. firm. Reporting the New Zealand company’s plan, the Commerce Dept.’s Foreign Commerce Weekly pointed out such a license would give a U.S. manufacturer an alternative means of marketing in the face of restrictive import quotas. Trade Personals: Martin F. (Marty) Bennett, ex-distribution vp, is advanced to distributor & commercial relations vp in RCA realignment of its regional sales structure. Reporting to him are 3 RCA sales veterans named to new posts of staff vps: Carl V. Bradford (for eastern area), Harold A. Renholm (central), Harold R. (Hal) Maag (western). They will coordinate all RCA commercial activities within their areas . . . Jose R. Bejarano, ex-managing dir. of Brasmotor, big Brazilian automotive & appliance combine, elected pres, of RCA International Ltd. (Montreal), which will direct the recently-announced $25 million RCA-Italian govt, project to establish an electronics manufacturing complex in southern Italy (Vol. 16:17 pl5). J. Philip Reichmann Jr., who served in the public relations dept, from 1954 to 1958, rejoins Motorola as asst, to consumer products distribution mgr. David H. Kutner . , . Everett M. Patterson resigns as pres, of Bulova Research & Development Labs to become pres, of Lionel Corp.’s new industrial electronics div. . . . John H. Fooks named engineering mgr., Westinghouse TV-radio div., succeeding N. J. Kometz, resigned . . . A. C. Werner Jr. named General sales mgr., Hoffman semiconductor div.; Jan Black appointed transistor product marketing mgr. . . .Edward T. Clare, ex-Convair, named marketing vp. Kin Tel div., Cohu Electronics (closed-circuit TV, etc.) . . . William H. Wright, ex-mfg. mgr. of RCA semiconductor plant in Somerville, N.J., named plant mgr. of new transistor & rectifier facility being constructed in Mountaintop, Pa. Kenneth W. Shearer, ex-chief accountant, named controller, P. R. Mallory & Co. . . . Oden F. Jester appointed gen. sales mgr.. Merit Coil & Transformer . . . James L. von Harz, ex-mfg. vp, named operations exec, vp. Oak Mfg. Co.; David H. Rosendahl promoted to dir. of plant operations . . . Ira Molay promoted to product mgr., audio components, CBS Electronics . . . Don Kirkendall promoted to ad mgr., Electro-Voice . . . Edward Shafer, ex-market research mgr., named mgr. of Blonder-Tongue’s consumer products div.; Joseph Gibbs promoted from asst, sales mgr. to mgr., industrial products div. . . . Russell E. Cramer Jr. named pres.. Radio Condenser Co. Ltd., Toronto, succeeding Russell E. Cramer Sr., who continues as dir. The new pres, is also operations vp-secy.. Radio Condenser Co. (U.S.) . . . J. F. (Jack) O’Brien promoted from RCA Northeastern regional mgr. to mktg. vp, RCA Victor Distributing Corp. Brazil has awarded RCA group exec, vp W. Walter (Wally) Watts the Cruzeiro do Sol (Order of the Southern Cross) for completing a cross-country microwave telecommunications system in time for the dedication of the new capital city of Brasilia. “It really was a race against time for our engineers & the Brazilian crews on the job,” Watts explained. “They got a late start, through no fault of their own, and they were faced with the task of getting 26 microwave relay stations constructed — some of them deep in the jungle — to carry 120 telephone-telegraph , channels over the 820 miles between Rio & Brasilia. And the system had to be working by April 21. ... We put the system into service the night before the ceremonies.” EIA’s new Electronics Industry Fact Book, expanded to 63 pages, contains a wealth of statistical & descriptive data on all phases of the electronics industry. A new section outlines important historical, technological & market developments in the history of the industry. Copies are available at 75^ each from EIA, 1721 De Sales St. N.W., Washington 6.