The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 29

TUESDAY, JANUARY II, 1949 THE PITTSBURGH PRESS TELEVISION SECTION PAGE 29 0DD ft ofiy 1 LrD Inventor Adds to IfeSi i Pittsbu'rgh reseVch engi- ,1 t-v I k' neers, returned from the Dumont Station Links Coaxial Cable with East and Midwest Pittsburgh, Cradle of Broadcasting, Piles Up Honors in Video Research By SI SIEIMIAl'SER. Press Radio Editor Television cameras will grind in New York and Chi Awards SK rqUVW lr, Li 1 East, project test pattern HLi yfJ 1 In r-'-vV'S slide on the air at WDTV. tw JXJ Laid Television Foundation Here cago tonight and in less time than a pulse beat folks in 14 cities, Pittsburgh included, will see and hear people photographed. Radio sound, first broadcast here, thus Pittsburgh's Dr. Vladimir K.

Zworykin, inventor of the electronic scanner for television, received the Philadelphia Club of Advertising Men's Poor Richard gold medal of achievement on Jan. 7. The date Is Benjamin Franklin's natal day. Ceremonies took place becomes synchronized with sight and WDTV, the city's1 first video station, joins America's merged East-Midwest! television networks. Frank Conrad created KDKA and gave the world broadcasting in 1920.

Today Dr. Allen B. Dumont, follow- at Franklin Institute. ing the footsteps of his Illustrious Prior to 1934 telecasting was done i f'ti j'-fv itivi i ii i jrws, 'jir a i Wcstlngliouse forerunner, brings television to Pittsburgh. He like the with a complicated series of spinning discs.

Dr. Zworykin's electronic scanner transformed tele late Dr. Conrad worked at research vision from a laboratory toy Into a practical science. Last Nov. 15 Dr.

Zworykin was tk i 4 srji awarded the French Legion cf fWirr vC-7l MR- eight ball' Kay A i -s FC2i ixLrK Rogers. WDTV chief engi- 7 71 CiT beh'nd "E'9ht 2 benches in East Pittsburgh laboratories, where Dr. Conrad gave the world, not just radio but devised the first motion picture television projector. His idea of "motion pictures through the air without ires" adds live entertainment on the same principle. That in simple language, backed by electrical engineering at its finest.

Is television. Think of electrical engineering at its finest and another Pittsburgh genius steps into the picture. He fs Dr. Vladimir Zworykin, who like his contemporary, Dumont, followed the footsteps of Conrad. Zworykin Invented tne iconoscope, the electric eye of the all-electronic television camera.

lie revolutionized television, doing away with the early Honor. The date was the 25th anniversary of his invention of the iconoscope. French Consul General Ludovic Chancel made the presentation for his government. Dr. Zworykin's part in radio and television pioneering ln Pittsburgh is an Interesting story.

The year was 1929. "in East Pittsburgh, two men were discussing the possibilities of a new invention an electronic "eye" for 20 disc scanning system. Sow to Genius So with a low bow to Pittsburgh genius the city those of its citizens who have or can get near television sets will look upon what may well be considered a prodigal re turning home. Almost four thousand others will watch at Syria Mosque as an hour-long (8:30 to 9:30 program steps before WDTV television. For half an hour, one of them explained the device in great detail while the other intently.

Start Was Costly "TVs too good to be true," exclaimed David SarnofT, then Executive Vice President of Radio Corporation of America. "What will it cost to develop the idea?" "Maybe about $100,000," replied Dr. Zworykin. "All right," said Mr. Sarnofl.

"It's worth it!" With these words of encouragement, Dr. Zworykin shortly joined the research staff of RCA and began a series of technical developments which form the basis of today's rapidly expanding television Industry and service. Dr. Zworykin named his electronic eye the iconoscope, after the Greek words "eikon," meaning image, and "skopon," to watch. He first applied for a patent on the tube in 1923.

In 1929, he demonstrated a companion development, the kinescope, or television picture tube. These two tubes are cameras Just brought here from New York for tonight's premiere. Overflow crowds will see the telecast by means of Dumont's $75,000 mobile unit which arrived in Pittsburgh Saturday. It is the only one of its kind in America. Jackie Heller, with a long radio background, will headline the stage DR.

ALLEN DUMONT Buildrr of WDTV. Span Nation Dumont Idea WDTV Builder Looks Ahead show. Mary Martha Briney. who a Ma wr i 'iiiri-fliwriim the heart of the all-electronic tele grew from one station to network stature with her fine soprano voice, will grace the show with her singing of the "Star Spangled Banner." There also to be seen and heard on stage and air will be The Pittsburgh Savoyards, Announcer Ed Schaughency, the Television Kids, Polish Falcons, Homestead Steel Choir, Al Schacht. baseball "clown Ventriloquist Clifford Guest, Comedy Dancers Helene and vision system now in use.

Dr. Zworykin, now vice president and technical consultant of RCA Laboratories in Princeton. N. has not confined his activities to tele PUTTINC IT WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT fames L. Caddigan.

left, former Howard and Homestead's fast step Phillips, center, is director of the Dumont Television network, Donald Stewart, right, is general manager of WDTV, whose test pattern is pictured beside him. Main controls just above, WDTV tower left. ping Four Evans. Maurice SpitalnyT newsreel cameraman, is now program and production chief for Dumont Lawrence will be in charge of music. television, ne win proauce runignr iciecabT ut jyria iviobque.

Stop, Look and Learn To After playing a vital part in linking the East with the Midwest in a television network. Dr. Allen B. DuMont hopes to span the rest of this country and then extend his operations world-wide. This was revealed here today as Donald Stuart, General Manager of PitlburKh'a Pioneer Television Station, WDTV, completed plans for the cCicial opening of WDTV tonight.

The DuMont Television Network includes twenty stations of which thre are owned outright the key outlet 'or WABD New York, Washington Pioneer Station WTTG and Pittsburgh's Pioneer Station WDTV, Along with these are seventeen affiliated stations in New Haven, Boston, Baltimore. Phila-delpiuX Utica, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago. Milwaukee, New Orleans, Atlanta, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The story of Dr. DuMont Is a typical American success story.

He started as an electrical engineering student" at Rensselear Polytechnic InsHtut-e. Alter graduation, he became an Ohy Doctor! Dental Surgeons Use Television Be Network Project vision. In addition to his outstanding accomplishments in that field, he and his associates" riave-. introduced numerous advances" In electronics and electron opW One of these developments the electron miscroscope, which Is capable of magnifications of 200,000 times has opened vast new areas of scientific studies in the realm of physics, chemistry, biology and other important fields. Helps War Victory Dr.

Zworykin's scientific Investigations contributed greatly to the war effort. Five years before the start of World War II, this -research engineer had formulated plans for an airborne television system to serve in guiding radio Whiteman Says Television Is Challenge to Musician Network Music Director Says Great Thirds Ahead for Real Artists By PAUL WHITEMAN Many persons are wondering whether television will be effective In Networks Mcrjc At 9:30 five networks will merge facilities to entertain not just WDTV's audience but people in thirteen other cities as far west as St. Louis. Most of the cities will be linked by the coaxial cable, but six will be reached by radio relay. This is a means of communication in which radio signals are beamed across country from tower to tower.

Radio relay differs from ordinary radio in that it uses superhigh frequencies called micro-waves, which First Television Educational Idea To Be Launched by NBC Network NEW YORK, Jan. 11 Organization of the first major television network enterprise In the field of daily education for children was an nounced here by officials of the National Education Association, the popularizing music or prove a stumbling block in that once listeners 'see" the name and singers, much of the illusion that has been Boards of Education of New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore, controlled flying torpedoes and the National Broadcasting Company. built up about them will be destroyed. are about the length of a cigaret. The signal beam can be focused like a searchlight and a clear line In the course of his war work.

As a veteran in music and show business, I believe that since is another form of showman- The most comprehensive program series or telecasts yet devised for children of pre-high school age Dr. Zworykin directed research resulting ln the development of aircraft fire control, infra-red Image ship, it will help singers, band lead- forming for a new and ever-in- creasing audience. Two dental operations were televised Dec. 1 by KSTP-TV Minne-apolis-St. Paul for the benefit of dentists attending the Minneapolis District Dental Society's annual clinic.

In the first a patient received a new set of upper teeth, and in the second a tooth was cut to size to take a plastic or porcelain jacket crown. Watching the operations on a battery of television screens in the ballroom of Minneapolis' Nicollet Hotel were some 500 dentists. Operations took place at Fairview Hospital, Minneapolis, and a microwave relay beamed them from the hospital roof to a receiving antenna on the roof of the Nicollet. The ordinary home television receiver was unable to pick up the telecast, KSTP-TV engineers assured several members of the tubes for the famed sniperscope and snooperscopes, television guid ed missiles, storage tubes and Improvement of radar systems. He also performed distinguished service ers and composers in becoming more popular more speedily.

To me, it is an old story with new ramifications. When radio became a household necessity, the cry went up that it would kill off the movies, eliminate the old-fashioned weekly dances and "kill" new songs by reiteration. Movies Use Radio The answer to this is evident as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board to the Commanding General of the United States Army Something New It requires no stretch of the imagination to think of Vallee when he picked up a megaphone and softly crooned into it. This was something new; dance music is as old as rhythm Itself; singers with dance bands have long been a requirement. But Vallee added something new for the audience to see as well as hear.

subject matters. Programs will be produced by the NBC Television Department under the over-all supervision of Norman Blackburn, national program director. The series has been planned for after-school hours in order to tie together student, teacher and parent activities. Sterling Fisher, manager of NBC Public Affairs and Education Department, will serve as over-all supervisor of the educational operations on "Stop-Look-and-Learn." Titles of the programs to be seen under the proposed plan are: (1) Little Theater a series of will be seen Mondays through Fridays at 5 p. EST, over the NBC Television network starting early in 1940, it was reported today by Carleton D.

Smith, director of Television Operations for NBC. The program series, under the over-all title, "Stop-Look-and Learn," will encompass a wide range of subjects, including geography, history, government, science, literature and music, with emphasis on the entertainment features of each. Plans for the series were announced after a meeting of the organizing committee here. of sight must exist between the relay towers in the system. These towers, which have directional antennas, are situated about twenty-five miles apart.

The first half hour will be taken up by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company filing about the coaxial cable, with a movie to illustrate the history-making event. Actually the cable was linked at 9:30 this morning and tests begun in preparation for tonight's program. There will be talks by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Wayne Coy; Leroy Wilson, president of Nilcs Tram-mell. head of the National Broadcasting Frank Stanton of Columbia, Mark Woods of the Amer Air Forces, the Ordnance Advisory engineer for Wrestinghouse and developed" a high-speed aging and testing lube. Joins De Forest That under his belt, he Joined Dr.

Lee DeForest, inventor of the three-element vacuum tube which opened a new era in radio, the fallowing year. Together they built electronic ttibes and pioneered in television after- taking over the company of Charles F. Jenkins. But the depression dealt the DeForest firm a cead'y blow and Dr. DuMont had to start from scratch once again.

in savings and a $500 loaivlrom a neighbor, the 30-year old Inventor set up a workshop in the basement of his Upper Mont-cTatr; N. home in 1931. He Committee on Guided Missiles and three important subcommittees of the National Defense Committee. Awarded Honor In recognition of his pioneering Crosby's crooning brought show dental society who felt the public would not appreciate the sight of a gaping mouth full of dentist tools. manship that made the people stand out.

Of course others have today. The motion picture field makes ue or radio to a great degree in popularizing the "hit" tunes of new pictures often before they are released. People whistle and sing them and then go to the work in television, Dr. Zworykin received the Morris Licbmann Memorial prize in 1934 from the Institute of Radio Engineers. He was followed, but following a style is children's lays adapted from the finest works of children's literature.

easier than creating one. Television Is Half Greek, Half Latin (2) Explorers Club devoted to the study of geography and history presented with the Overseas Award from the British Institute of Elec ican Broadcasting, Frank Flynn of New York's WPIX, and finally of motion picture cathedrals to see their favorites. Another answer, it through the co-operation of leading trical Engineers In 1937 for a paper explorers. It will present some of seems to me, to those who feel the on the Iconoscope. In 1938 he was Television is a manufactured word of impure ancestry.

It is half Oreek and half Iitin in derivation. Reverse the order of the two languages and you get something like the Immense collection of films prepared by explorers relating to awarded the honorary rifRrce of Doctor of Science from the Brook studies of geography and history Official endorsement and approval of the series has been given by Baltimore Superintendent of Schools William Lammel, and Philadelphia School Superintendent Hoyer. All programs will be extended to station cities as the NBC network expands across the country. As the programs come to these cities, the NEA and co-operating boards of education will set up viewing experiments with teachers and students utilizing the programs as a basis of stimulating interest in the So television will make new demands upon performers. It will present a challenge to bands "Telegenic," conductors and singers will be in great demand, just as in the early days of motion pictures.

As sound and color affected the motion picture field, so will television bring about a vast change in radio. It will be a new test, and with a more discriminating public than ever before, performers literally will have to be "ou their toes." (3) Your Uncle Sam a series lyn Polytechnic Institute. His other recognitions include the Modern Pioneer Award ln 1940, the "remotohorao." Words of pure an cestry would be something like "re motovision" or "telehorao." explaining the work and activities of leading government departments. new medium will not be helpful, is evident in the size of studio audiences who want to see Bing Crosby, when he is in town for a broadcast. Admittedly the potential audience for a name band is limited to the size of the hotel, restaurant or other place where it is performing.

Now, it will be possible to bring Many of the activities to be in Dr. Allan Dumont. Stars to Perform Entertainment will follow in fifteen-minute segments from each network. Dumont will have Ted Steele, his orchestra and acts; ABC will offer Pittsburgh Playwright Marc Connelly in a mystery drama from Chicago; WPIX will j.how Benny Goodman and his orchestra from the Paramount stage in New York; NBC will have the Milton Berle and guest acts, and Columbia Arthur Godfrey w'ith a group of stars. Rumford Medal in 1941 and the Howard N.

Potts Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1947. plugged away on the idea that the answer to major television problems lay in developing a long-life, high vacuum cathode-ray tube. This i the picture tube, the heart or viewing screen of a television receiver. By 1935, the DuMont Laboratories, were firmly established in the electronics field as the only company carrying on large-scale manufacture of the cathode-ray tube. Rents Pickle Plant Another fortunate DuMont invention, the Cathode-ray radio tuning Indicator known as the "magic eye" was sold to the Radio Corporation of America.

This pro- eluded will be presented in the form of direct pickups from Mich Let's not worry, though. There Is another well-known word in our language that has unwed antecedents That is: Automobile. Dr. Zworykin is the author and places as the White House, State Joint author of several books and Department, Supreme Court and these bands directly into the home, to see them perform as well as hear papers on photocells, television, electron optics and electron Congress. It will cover the Federal scene as well as the village, cities, them.

Audiences can see their favorite counties and state governments.5 leaders at work; glamour girl sing- 4) Science in Your Life) This series will present material per a pnrase oiten neara tele- ers will have to be even more vision is "Uncertainty of glamorous as their audiences in-WDTV engineers have been taking crease in size, for they will be per- taining to the knowledge of various fields of science including chemis' Tided, enough money to rent and ine "Dugs" out ot their transmitter try, biology, astronomy, health. (5) Folkway in Music In co operation with the NBC Music Department, will combine folk music and folk dancing of the United equip a oeiunci picwe piani, i and 500-foot antenna on the Passaic. N. J. i Brashear Reservoir slope just off From there, the DuMont enter- perrysville Avenue for months.

The prises expanded rapidly. He was erected by Blaw-Knox oped a direct-indicating gun lo-on what Js said to be the hjghest eator for spotting, a Cathode-ray spot ln Allegheny County, compass, for penetrating tech-1 Engineering theories are that only niques and a device for detecting persons living in a straight line ships by infra-red radiations fromifrom the transmitter will enjoy their funnels. good reception. Actual experiences States and many, other lands. Television Tips For Camera Fans A lot of camera fans have taken up a new hobby taking pictures off their television screens.

Here's help from Sid Desfor, NBC's Press Department's photo Fd Like to See Popular Show ur. uuiioni aiso narrowly missea have already disproved these theo- ries. In widespread areas, radio re-! editor who has been taking such Judging from requests received by NBC's "I'd Like to See" television pictures for years: lay stations are set up to "bend" the "unbending" television rays to reach valley and other low-lying homes equipped with television. There are no relay stations near i -A I rZ-sr J-r I fcrl QVW 1 (I-J I sPS shqw, Americans are more interested in America than anything else. The show televises movie films on almost any subject requested by viewers.

So far the most requests fox a single subject ask for pictures of various places- in the U. with Hollywood, Miami, Washington and Sun Valley in the lead. Other favorite topics are FDR's speech announcing the declaration of war Dec. 8. 1941, Al Jolson in the 1920's, the Blizzard of '88 (on movies!) the It LlTC possible fortune of munons oi dollars in radar.

In April, 1933, he applied for a patent covering many of the basic principles of radar. But at the request of the War Department, he withheld filing the application for military security reasons. Six years later, a French patent covering the same principles was filed -and he was out in the cold. However, fellow scientists give him much of the basic credit for this marvel of World War II. During the war, DuMont production of electronic equipment including radar won Army-Navy awards.

Today, Dr. DuMont has three plants in New- Jersey grinding out transmitters, cameras, and all sorts of electronic equipment. Use a lens aperture of at least f4.5, shutter speed no faster than 125 of a second, orthochromatic or panchromatic film. Camera should preferably be on a tripod, should preferably have a ground glass focusing screen (though not necessarily, as long as it can be focused). Turn the brightness of the television set up higher than normal, make the contrast a little greyer than normal.

Develop the film approximately 50 per cent longer. All these are variable, of course, but they give a good starting point from which the average camera fan can w-ork out own modifications. here but folks living in valleys pick up television, to confound the "experts." The WDTV tower weighs 100 tons, is made of 2700 pieces of steel, is 60 feet square at the base and feet at the top. A 50-foot television extension rests atop the tower. About Programs The only uncertainty in Pittsburgh's television future is programing.

Continued on Page 34, CoL S. FIRST NICHT STARS Mary Martha Briney will open Pittsburgh's first television broadcast tonight by singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Maurice Spitalny, center, will conduct. Jackie Heller, right, will make his second network debut in song, this time he'll be seen and heard. 4 Keystone Kops and the Dempsey-Tunney fight. One request was received for movies of a two-headed (at.

I VA. VLADIMIR ZWORYKIN I.