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July 1969 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.
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"New & Timely" was a
monthly news feature Radio-Electronics magazine published. Other titles
were used over the years, but the type of content was the same. The July 1969
issue reported on a phased array radar antenna being developed by Hughes. That
same photo appeared in the December 1971 edition of Popular Electronics
magazine in a story entitled, "Giant
Billboard Antennas for Space-Age Radars." RCA (Radio Corporation of America)
and the U.S. government invested millions into inner-city training programs for
minorities. Trillion$$$ have been spent since then on such programs, paid for by
taxpayers, investors, and consumers. Quite interesting, and very relevant at the
time since Apollo 11 astronauts would land on the moon in July 1969 (the issue's
date), is that the color camera used for the missions is of the field-sequential
type. The first color TV broadcast in 1940 was a
field-sequential system (CBS Labs, using color filters on a spinning disk
passing in front of the picture tube), but ultimately lost out to RCA's dot-sequential system.
Because of its simplicity, the special Apollo TV field-sequential camera
required 1/3 as many components as a standard color camera. ...and more...
New & Timely
 Powerful Phased-Array Radar
Engineer Ray Lanctot adjusts one of the many energy feeds.
One of the hundreds of energy-fed elements forming this one-tenth-scale radar
prototype is adjusted by engineer Ray Lanctot. The system, under construction for
the Air Force by Hughes Aircraft Co., uses a phased array, which sweeps the radar
beam electronically instead of with a mechanical antenna.
RCA is Training 400 as TV Service Techs
Newark, N. J. - Four hundred men, formerly of the urban hard-core unemployed,
are attending regular classes and laboratory sessions at four RCA training centers
preparing for careers as TV service technicians.
The training is part of the "Four Cities" program, operated by the RCA Service
Co. under a $2.5 million contract with the Department of Labor, to train 400 of
the nation's jobless as TV repairmen. RCA is contributing more than $1 million above
the Government's cost.
Newark, with 80 trainees, is one of four cities with RCA centers participating
in the 18-month program that includes courses in basic education and social development,
in addition to intensive vocational instruction. Graduates of the program will be
placed with RCA service branches or other companies. The other centers are in Camden,
N. J., also with 80 trainees, and Chicago and Los Angeles with 120 each.
The Newark trainees range in age from 18 to 50 with an average of 24 years. Before
entering the program, 75% were unemployed. Of the total students 82% are black.
15% Spanish American and 3% white. About 28% have served in the armed forces and
14% have some previous electronics background. All become RCA employees upon entering
the program and earn $2 per hour for the duration of their respective training periods
of from 6 to 18 months, depending on the Trainee's individual rate of progress.
In the photo, instructor Archie Banks (right) demonstrates a color dot-bar generator
during a laboratory class at the RCA Newark Training Center. The training is geared
toward developing highly competent color TV technicians. R-E
Solid-State Diode Can Cut TV X-Rays
Cleveland Ohio - A solid-state replacement for high-voltage regulator tubes in
color TV sets has been introduced as a cure for harmful x-ray radiation.
According to the developer, the instrument division of Victoreen Leece Neville,
Inc., one major set manufacturer has already incorporated the new diode into its
1970 models. Kits will be made available to modify various makes of sets already
in homes.
Prime function of the diode is to limit high voltages in color sets to below
25 kV. Regulation of the diode is 1 kV from 0.1 to 1.2 mA at 25 kV. Maximum operating
current is 3 mA. Excessive or misadjusted high voltage is a leading cause of x-rays.
Since the diode cannot emit radiation, its substitution for potentially hazardous
vacuum-tube regulators eliminates an x-ray source. Also, since the diode permanently
sets the h-v level, controls that can be misadjusted during servicing are no longer
needed.
Should the diode fail, Victoreen points out, the voltage on the picture tube
would be lowered instead of increasing, as with conventional regulator failure.
The cathode body of the device is clamped to chassis ground, while the anode
is tied to a single lead wire.
A recent disclosure of excessive radiation from color sets has prompted demands
for tighter standards.
Apollo to Use Sequential TV
New York - Color TV broadcasts expected from space this summer by Apollo astronauts
will originate from a tiny field-sequential camera similar to the one used for the
first color TV broadcast in 1940.
The field-sequential system, developed by Dr. Peter Goldmark of CBS Labs, was
rejected by the FCC in favor of RCA's dot-sequential system.
Because of its simplicity, the special Apollo TV camera requires one-third as
many components as a standard color camera. Color information is transmitted as
color filters on a spinning disk pass in front of a CRT. Earth-based stations will
pick up the sequential red, blue and green signals and convert them for transmission
around the world.
The CBS system, which relies on the human eye's persistence of vision to complete
a color picture, is still being used in medicine and industry. A miniature 20-pound
unit (photo), similar to the one used on Apollo flights, has been developed by CBS
Labs to probe the interior of the human body to detect cancer and other disorders.
The spinning disk is enclosed under the camera hood.
Looking Ahead
By David Lachenbruch
Contributing Editor
Doubtful X-Ray Testers
Another type of "X-ray detector" is being frowned upon by public health officials.
This is the do-it-yourself kind offered to the public in drugstores and supermarkets.
Sold in a variety of forms under several brand names, these testers usually are
designed to be taped or attached to the TV set, left there for a specified period,
then sent back to the tester's manufacturer or agent for analysis. The consumer
eventually receives in the mail a notification of whether his set is emitting rays.
Although most of these gadgets contain materials which can adequately reflect
the presence of X-rays, and even measure them, none is large enough to measure more
than a tiny portion of the TV set (generally the center of the screen). Since X-ray
emission is more likely to occur at the sides, top or bottom of the set than at
the picture-tube face, these detectors just don't do the job, according to many
public health officials. Their sale in New York City, in fact, has been banned.
Posted July 25, 2023
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