News Briefs
September 1968 Radio-Electronics

September 1968 Radio-Electronics [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

The Sperry Univac 1219 computer was one of the first transistorized mainframe computers. The 18-bit computer was used by the military for defense radars. As was the TPX-42 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) synthetic radar I worked on in the USAF, the Univac 1219 consisted of chassis filled with plug-in printed and wire-wrapped circuit boards containing thousands of integrated circuits in DIP (dual inline package) format. It also used magnetic core memory which handled up to 288, 18-bit words. As reported in this 1968 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine, two Univac 1219's powered the airport radar system which used a 9' x 12' composite array of CRT (cathode ray tube) displays to project air traffic. It also highlighted a new form of laser, computer-based training, a Ham who assembled weather observation equipment using second-hand components, and electronics technician certificates. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) issued a policy prohibiting companies from inflating the performance of transistorized products. 

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News Briefs

Instant Aircraft Display - a new control system operating at New York's JFK airport. It is an important step toward nationwide computer control of dense air traffic at terminals. The system's two UNIVAC 1219 computers "watch" instrument aircraft traffic at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports. One computer processes radar or beacon tracking data from aircraft, while the other generates information to constantly update large- and small-screen displays in a centralized control room. The displays, like the 9 x 12 ft screen in the composite picture above, show radar blips indicating aircraft location and letter-number blocks that provide identity and altitude. Up to 250 aircraft can be handled simultaneously. Photo (right) shows flight progress panel with flight plans for controllers, teletype and programming equipment.

Radar Penetrates Cloud Cover

Panama's Darien Province, one of several regions in the world poorly mapped or unmapped because of perpetual cloud cover, has been photographed by the US Army using Westinghouse-developed side-looking radar. Radar image composite is a mosaic made from continuous strips produced during several passes over the area. North is at top of picture.

Circulating-Liquid Laser

An experimental laser system developed by General Telephone & Electronics may be a significant step toward continuously operating liquid lasers for future communications and optical display systems. The device can produce at least 2 pulses per second because the liquid is circulated continuously through cooling equipment that carries off the heat. Stationary liquids used in earlier lasers were affected by the intense heat from the bright "pumping" lamps that stimulated the fluids into producing light. The heat altered the liquids' "index of refraction" and caused the laser light pulses to stray from their designated paths, making it difficult to aim and focus the beam reliably.

Electronic Technician Certificates

A 75% grade on a multiple-choice test, proof of 4 years electronics schooling and/or experience and a $5 fee can earn certification as an electronic technician from National Electronic Assns., Inc. Chairman of the NEA certification committee is Howard L. Bonar, 108 N. Center St., Marshalltown, Iowa 50158.

Looking Ahead

The Transistor That "Isn't There"

When is a transistor not a transistor? When it's not "improving performance capabilities," says the Federal Trade Commission in a new rule aimed at ending inflated transistor-content claims for radios and walkie-talkies. Effective next Dec. 10, the FTC makes it an unfair trade practice to include in advertising and on radio cases and boxes such identification as "15 transistors," when this count includes transistors which don't aid in "detection, amplification and reception of radio signals."

Designed as a clampdown on the use of "dummy" transistors, or transistors used as diodes, to inflate the transistor content of a radio, the ruling actually goes a little further - perhaps further than the FTC really intended. It also is construed as banning the counting of transistors wired in parallel or cascade if they don't improve performance. In addition, it may exclude from the count transistors used in FM multiplex or afc circuits, since, strictly speaking, these may not have "detection, amplification or reception" functions.

Posted August 6, 2024