NBC TRANSMITTER VOL. 4 JANUARY, 1938 NO. 1 NEW MOBILE TELEVISION TOSCANINI 400 CHILDREN ATTEND UNIT COMES TO NBC XMAS PARTY RADIO CITY So far as scores of children of the NBC The first mobile television station in family circle are concerned, the biggest America rolled into Radio City December show of 1937 in Radio City was the NBC 12 and, in historic ceremonies heard by Christmas Party held in Studio 8-H on listeners to the Magic Key of RCA pro- Friday morning, December 24 last. gram, was presented to engineers of the Assisted by Madge Tucker’s juvenile National Broadcasting Company by the actors, Santa Claus, in the appropriately RCA Manufacturing Company. large person of “Jolly” Bill Steinke, pre- The new unit, consisting of two modern sented a short Xmas play which delighted motor vans containing television control about 400 children and almost as many apparatus and a micro-wave transmitter, grown-ups. Following the show, Santa will soon be used in experimental tele- Claus descended from the stage and pre- vision pick-ups of outdoor news events. sented each youngster with a present. NBC engineers will operate the unit in Many of the little boys and girls could connection with the present NBC tele- not wait to get home to open their pack- vision transmitter atop the Empire State ages; hardly had some of them Tower. received their presents when stickers and wrapping Televise News Events paper were torn hastily to see what NBC’s Delivery of the RCA Telemobile unit “The presentation of Signor Toscanini and Santa Claus had brought them. As a re- presages the most intensive activity in a superlative orchestra as its contribution to sult, the eighth floor was turned into a the history of American television. NBC the world on Christmas night was a high pinnacle for radio, and the National Broad- pretty sight of litters of brightly Colored contemplates the experimental televising casting Company is entitled to handsome wrappings and boxes, and jubilant chil- of outdoor sports, parades, scheduled appreciation for it. dren playing with their new toys. news events and other subjects. After be- “Musically, it was an event of the most ing relayed by micro-wave to the Empire obvious importance. The department special- ill State transmitter, the televised events will ists are appraising its technical merits and magnitudes in extra terms. But it also was a Have you any baby pictures? Send them to the be broadcast throughout the Metropolitan NBC Transmitter before January 22 milestone in the radio’s social development, and you might area to receivers in the hands of win an album of Toscanini Victor records. NBC because here a broadcasting network seized built engineers and those by radio ama- upon the thing it could do best and proceeded teurs. to do it in the finest and most dignified and most useful way.” The new mobile unit consists of two —Editorial in the N. Y. World-Telegram motor vans, each the size of a large bus, to be operated by a crew of ten engineers. One van contains complete pick-up appa- ratus, including cameras, for both picture and accompanying sound. A picture, or “video,” transmitter to operate on a fre- quency of 177,000 kilocycles is mounted in the other. A special directional antenna, to be raised on the scene of operations, is used in connection with the mobile unit. In the Metropolitan area, where the steel framework of many skyscrapers impedes ultra-high frequency transmission, the normal working range of the new unit is expected to be about twenty-five miles. Pick-Up Equipment The van containing the pick-up equip- ment is the mobile equivalent of a com- plete television studio. Apparatus in the NBC Pholo by Hausslcr van, all mounted in racks extending down America’s first mobile television station, to be used by NBC engineers in experimental pick-ups the center of the vehicle, include the syn- of outdoor news events, as they appeared December 12 on delivery to the National Broadcasting Company at Radio City. two large chronizing generators and rectifiers for The motor vans, latest development in RCA television, are connected by coaxial cable when in operation, and contain complete apparatus for picture supplying Iconoscope beam voltages, am- pick-up and transmission with accompanying sound. One, mounting the pick-up apparatus, pro- plifiers for blanking and deflecting poten- vides operating positions on the roof for Iconoscope cameras and special parabolic microphones. tials and line amplifiers. The principal The other, the transmitter, has a special “trolley” antenna which will be used to relay the ( Continued on Page 8) broadcasts to the experimental television transmitter atop the Empire State tower, New York City. 2 NBC TRANSMITTER WORLD'S SMALLEST STATION CHANGES HANDS WGY SCHENECTADY The famous “coat- by Bob Wilbur pocket” transmitter, The “Parrot Audition” is taking its toll developed by NBC of patience on all sides at this station. engineers, has been Everyone has had something or other to added to the greatest do with catering to the feathered vocalists, collection of minia- and what was supposed to be a simple job ture objects in the has turned out to be more or less a prob- world. The transmit- lem. One parrot used up the entire after- ter has been pre- noon saying nothing, although just be- sented by 0. B. Han- fore his audition he would have given son, vice president Winchell a run for his money. Those who and chief engineer of take a hand at making Polly give, resort NBC, to Jules Char- to almost anything screeching, hair pull- bneau, owner of the — ing, and making faces. Up to date there museum of the world’s seems to be no way of making a parrot tiniest in everything talk if it doesn’t want to. you can imagine. NBC’s “coat-pocket” transmitter becomes a part of the greatest ill This midget micro- collection of miniature objects as O. B. Ilanson (left), NBC wave transmitter, Vice-President and Chief Engineer, presents the tiniest radio Christmas has come and gone, and the station in the world to Jules Charbneau, whose entire museum housed in a three-inch New Year now stands to be taken care of. of nearly 26,000 miniature objects can be carried in a trunk weighing special programs spon- cube and and a traveling bag. Seven Christmas less than a pound, sored by merchants in and out of the Capi- propagates a wave of one meter’s length, his collection at the Paris Exposition in tal district were placed on WGY. The or a frequency of 300,000,000 cycles. It 1900 and constantly tours the world ex- longest was a one-hour variety program, uses a tiny “acorn” tube developed by hibiting his priceless objects. The entire with the International Correspondence RCA and has a special dipole antenna. collection can be carried in a trunk and a Schools footing the bill. Gordie Randall The forerunner of NBC’s famous “beer traveling bag. and his Orchestra headlined the affair mug” transmitter, now frequently used in with John Sheehan MC-eeing. Jack Chap- the field, this midget has a power output man, baritone and John Sheehan, who of 1/10 watt, about 1/500 of an ordinary sings tenor, starred in the vocal end of electric lamp’s rating. things. NBC Encourages High i 1 i The transmitter, incidentally the largest On Thursday afternoon, December 30, item in Charbneau’s collection, was built School Radio Talent Bill Meenam’s Scissors and Paste brought by NBC’s engineers in their exploration to the microphone all the members of the of the possibilities of ultra high fre- Continuing its work toward encourag- WGY staff, to wish the audience a Happy quencies for radio relays of outside pro- ing creative efforts already accomplished New Year. The roster started with Mana- grams. In tests made in New York City, in the fields of symphonic and chamber ger Kolin Hager and included the engi- the transmitter was successful in sending music and children’s dramatic programs, neering, announcing, sales and auditing over a radius of about four miles. NBC is sponsoring jointly with Scholastic, staffs. Bill Meenam acted as master of the American high school weekly, the first The micro-wave unit was developed in ceremonies. nation-wide contest for the best fifteen- NBC’s research for a small transmitter 1 i i minute all-high-school-student produced that would enable foot-loose announcers The new studios are beginning to and planned broadcast. Teachers and really to wander at will among large assem- look like studios. In fact so progress radio or dramatic coaches may plan and much blages, such as political conventions, and has been made that workmen are put- direct the broadcasts, but only students now pick up parts of a program at different ting on the roof. All of the staff members may actually take part in the presentation. points without necessity of extending have been anxiously watching out of the Beginning with local eliminations, the microphone lines. It may be used in con- windows to note how much work is accom- winning school will be selected in each of nection with either a relay to shunt the plished each day. The construction has the four Time Zones (Eastern, Central, been pushed right along, so that workmen program on to the network or to feed a Mountain and Pacific Time). First place will have shelter from the snow and chill- public address system. winners in each of the four time zones will ing winds that are most certainly due dur- The tiny station is now part of a collec- participate in the grand national finals ing some part of the winter.