CBS television celebrated its first birthday with most of the plaudits going to a gentleman named William Lodge.
He was not a performer. He was a young engineer who came up with something everyone takes for granted today. He figured out how to send a TV picture and the accompanying sound on the same wave length.
No more did fans of The Television Ghost and “Spaghett and Ravioli” have to tune in one frequency for the video and a different one for the audio. Lodge figured out how to combine them.
Other than that, the anniversary show, which marked W2AXB’s return to the air after some weeks of technical work, didn’t get much attention. There was a gimmick with a conductor successfully waving his baton a mile or so away from his orchestra. But the New York press, judging by available clippings, was still ignoring television.
There was an exception. The
New York Sun continued to publish one to two pages on television every Saturday, including a schedule of nearby stations. But much of the material involved technical matters, such as coordinating spinning discs, ghost images, explaining what a cathode ray tube is, schematic diagrams of tuners, etc., and little on programming.
August 1932 marked the beginning of
Billboard’s Television column by Benn Hinn. Much of it was regurgitated news from wire services and other media; eventually he started reviewing CBS shows. It also marked the return of test broadcasts by NBC's W2XBS, with no sound.
In Chicago, W9XAO seems to have had two short broadcasts a week.
What amounted to closed-circuit demonstrations of television continued to pop up in various places, including a number of fairs, the May Company in Los Angeles and as an adjunct to a Shrine convention in San Francisco. No stations were involved; the Sanabria people sent a signal to a large screen in an auditorium.
We’ve picked out non-speculation and opinion stories about TV and transcribe them below. The New York-Washington-Boston listings come from the
Sun, which is unavailable on-line for about five weeks starting in mid-August. It claims W2XCR was back on the air, eventually dropping to one day a week. We can only assume this is accurate. It also has both Washington stations on the air; none of the Washington newspapers mention any local television. The
Brooklyn Eagle published the W2AXB schedule for about two weeks in August, then inexplicably dropped any mention of television. We also have some Canadian TV news.
By the way, Lodge rose to become vice-president of engineering for the CBS television network and retired in 1971 after 40 years under Bill Paley. He died on January 5, 1993.
Saturday, July 2, 1932
W2XR, Radio Pictures, Long Island City, 180 meters
(Sound on W2XAR, 193 meters)
4:00—Experimental programs. 8:00—Films with sound. 9:00-10:00—Cartoons.
W2XCR, DeForest Radio, New York, 147 meters
(No sound)
6:00-8:00—Direct pickup.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Sketch.
W2XAP, Jenkins Television, Washington, 147 meters
(Sound on WMAL, 475 meters)
5:00-6:00, 8:00-9:00—Direct pick-up.
W3XK, Jenkins Laboratories, Wheaton, Md., 147 meters
(No sound)
9:00-11:00—Film presentations.
Alterations in equipment to make way for summer experiments with simultaneous sight and sound transmission on one frequency and certain improvements in its present transmitter will be made at television Station W2XAB in New York city, it was announced today. While these alterations are being made W2XAB will be off the air from July 4 to July 20.
On Thursday. July 21 the station will reopen and celebrate its first anniversary by transmitting a synchronized sight and sound program over WABC and W2XAB. Thereafter it is said it will maintain daily schedules of operation, utilizing for sound part of its regular sight channel.
"Although most of our regular television acts which have proved so popular with lookers-in will be continued," declared William Schudt Jr., television director of the station, "many new and novel presentations will be added. For the remainder of the summer we will be on the air daily, except Saturday and Sunday, from 8 to 10 P. M.
"We do not plan," he continued, "to change our sixty-line, twenty frames standard of visual broadcasting at the present time, although, should experiments prove that listeners and lookers-in are prepared to receive pictures projected at higher standards, we then will make the necessary changes." (New York Sun)
Sunday, July 3, 1932
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Monday, July 4, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Crosson Orchestra.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Tuesday, July 5, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:30—Minna Lee, soprano; Pauline Barry, pianist; Borie Davidoff, tenor.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Wednesday, July 6, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
5:45-6:00—Television programme.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Thursday, July 7, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs.
9:00-9:30—Eroica Trio.
9:30-9:45—Ruth Renwick, soprano.
9:45-10:00—Gertrude Hintlian, violinist.
10:00-10:15—Robert Campbell, tenor.
10:15-10:30—Inez Arzillo, cellist.
10:30-10:45—William Searle, bass.
10:45-11:00—Renwick and Campbell, songs.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Friday, July 8, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
Federal Radio Commission Decisions:
NEW, U. S. Radio & Television Corp., Marion, Ind., (Ex. Rep. 368)—Granted CP for experimental visual station and CP for special experimental sound track frequencies 43 to 46, 48.5 to 50.3, 60 to 80 megacycles, 1 kw., unlimited time, sustaining Examiner Pratt.
NEW, Radio Engineering Labs., Inc., Long Island N. Y. (Ex. Rep. 369)—Denied CP for visual broadcasting station, sustaining Examiner Pratt. (Broadcasting, July 15)
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Saturday, July 9, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Dramatic Sketch.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
SEVERAL television fans dropped into the office to complain that Don Lee’s television station, W6XAO, broadcasts on such ultra high frequencies (44,500 kilocycles), that it is almost impossible for the average fan to tune in.
However, Clarence Lubcke [sic], W6XAO’s builder, has this to say in defense of the station: “It is generally felt that the ultra high frequencies hold great promise for television perfection, by reason of the wide ether channels available in this region. There also is a remarkable lack of fading and interference when operating in this part of the air.
Although this region is only being exploited now, experience enables anyone to build and operate a receiver on 44,500 kilocycle as easily as on the regular commercial or short wave bands.”
Owners of W6XAO, moreover, hold a television permit for a new station, W6XS, on the lower 2100 to 2200 kilocycle band, near where most television stations operate. Although not yet in operation, W6XS is under construction.
In the meantime, W6XAO is broadcasting receivable pictures reproduced from motion picture film closeups of screen stars and action scenes—each night at 6 to 7, and has been since March of this year. (Los Angeles Daily News, July 9)
Sunday, July 10, 1932
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Monday, July 11, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Crosson Orchestra.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15—Vocalist, television programme.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Tuesday, July 12, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:30—Minna Lee, soprano; Pauline Barry, pianist; Borie Davidoff, tenor.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Washington, July 12. (Consolidated Press Association) — Experimental chain television—expected to be the forerunner of entire networks of stations broadcasting combined sight and sound—takes its second big stride when the Columbia Broadcasting System this month introduces “Talks of the Air.”
It was just a year ago that Columbia went on the air with an experimental station in New York to begin regularly scheduled transmission of television pictures. It was with an eye to the future, rather than on the theory that television had “arrived,” that it began these visual broadcasts. Now, embarking on the second phase of its experimental work, it is installing new equipment by which television pictures and voice will be transmitted simultaneously from the same transmitter for all within both listening and looking range of its New York local station, W2XAB.
W2XAB was closed down July 4 so that the new apparatus could be installed. It will remain off the air until July 21, its first anniversary. This inaugural program will be transmitted over the entire Columbia network. Only the voice entertainment, of course, will be picked up by the regular listener. Those advanced radio-enthusiasts possessing television receivers and residing in and around New York, however, will be treated to the sight and sound.
Fresh Additions
Meanwhile, television experimentation goes forward within the laboratory and on the air by the 30-odd licensed experimenters. Almost monthly a new company joins the ranks of television pioneers through authorization to build a station from the radio commission. Standards of transmission gradually are being raised, mainly through experimentation of the ultra-high frequencies recently discovered to be well suited for visual transmission. These waves have line-of-sight characteristics, which means that they can be received only over small localized areas from the transmitting station.
Meanwhile, National Broadcasting Company, competitor of Columbia in chain broadcasting, is working quietly on its television plans. Neither NBC nor its associated company, RCA-Victor, has ventured regularly scheduled television transmission, although they have three stations operating sporadically.
NBC is putting the finishing touches on its new ultra-high frequency television station atop the Empire State Building, the world’s tallest edifice. This lofty location was selected because of the line-of-sight characteristics of the waves, so that the station figuratively can look down on all of New York without being obstructed and its signals received without interference. Studies for the Empire State Building station are planned in the new $350,000,000 radio city project, in the heart of New York.
Wednesday, July 13, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
5:45-6:00—Television programme.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
NEW YORK, July 13—(AP)—Harold Stern plans to conduct his orchestra via television. Standing in the studios of W2XAB-CBS, New York. Stern will wave his baton, and his musicians, in a hotel a mile away, will watch him on the screen of several televisors and play as he directs via radio light.
This feat is to feature the station’s first anniversary program a week from Thursday night, also marking the first attempt to broadcast sight and sound together through the same transmitter on a wavelength of 107 meters.
Fifteen minutes of the anniversary program also will be broad cast by the CBS chain. Reviews on television will be given by E. J. Cohan, technical director, and William A. Schudt Jr., director of television. (C.E. Butterfield column)
Des Moines, Iowa, July 13 Special: A huge modern television show, in which State Fair visitors will see and hear the actual sending and receiving of songs, speeches, playlets, and other features by means of the latest type of high powered apparatus, will be brought to the 1932 State Fair as the result of negotiations now being completed by exposition executives. Officials say that this will be the first television equipment ever operated in the state.
The equipment will be of the same type as that used at the national show in Madison Square Garden last fall where over 45,000 people thronged daily to sec this newest marvel of radio.
In the plan for operation at the Iowa State Fair two special studios will be constructed. In one the public will see the artists broadcasting before the microphones, and in the other the reproduction room, they will see the image reproduced just as a few years hence, they can see the World Series and similar events reproduced in their own radio sets.
Aside from the actual visual demonstrations of the operation of television, visitors will also be allowed to inspect the apparatus by means of which the broadcasting is carried out. An expert technician will be on duty each day to lecture and explain the science of operation.
The demonstration equipment will be exactly the same as that being used now by the largest television stations throughout the country which are already broadcasting experimentally under federal license.
In announcing plans for the television exhibit, fair officials stated that provisions will be made to handle huge crowds each day as a result of the experience of other expositions throughout the country where audiences have in many cases exceeded all expectations. (Terril [Iowa], Record, July 14)
Thursday, July 14, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs.
9:00-9:30—Eroica Trio.
9:30-9:45—Ruth Renwick, soprano.
9:45-10:00—Gertrude Hintlian, violinist.
10:00-10:15—Robert Campbell, tenor.
10:15-10:30—Inez Arzillo, cellist.
10:30-10:45—William Searle, bass.
10:45-11:00—Renwick and Campbell, songs.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Friday, July 15, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP as above.
SYNCHRONIZED sight and sound will be broadcast by W2XAB, CBS experimental television station, beginning with its first anniversary on July 21, according to William A. Schudt, Jr., director of CBS visual broadcasting. The station went off the air July 4 to permit alterations in equipment for the synchronized "talkies." The anniversary program will be broadcast over the entire network, through WABC. Thereafter W2XAB will transmit sight and sound programs daily except Saturday and Sunday, 8 to 10 p. m., EDST.
Experimental work for this double transmission has been under the guidance of William B. Lodge, CBS development engineer and member of the well –known Massachusetts family of Lodges.
"Double modulation," Mr. Lodge said in explaining the new method, "is the term which best describes the principle upon which the system depends.
"The first step in the new system is to modulate a carrier of 45 kilocycles with the signal picked up by a microphone in the television studio.
"This produces a complex wave, from which the original sound could be obtained by a receiver tuned to 45 kilocycles. Actually, the signal is not radiated at 45 kilocycles.
"The television signal such as will be emitted by Columbia's W2XAB transmitter consists of frequencies up to 40,000 cycles per second or 40 kilocycles. In the operation of the sound and picture broadcast, the television signal, up to 40 kilocycles, and the modulated 45 kilocycles carrier are combined and both transmitted over the one station.
"At the receiving station the set is tuned to the frequency of the transmitting station, and then detects and reproduces the above signal. Frequencies up to 40 kilocycles are applied to the terminals of a neon tube and reproduce the television picture. As previously stated the 45 kilocycles modulated carrier wave contains the sound signal, and a receiver tuned to that frequency can be used to obtain the original sound.
"In the television receiver, therefore, it is only necessary to insert a simple filter at the terminals of the neon tube to prevent the 45 kilocycle voice carrier from interfering with the picture, and to add a second detector with a circuit tuned to 45 kilocycles to obtain the audio signal.
"It may be interesting to note that the sound program may also be detected by a conventional selective receiver tuned to a frequency 45 kilocycles either higher or lower than that of the transmitting station's carrier, or in the case of W2XAB either 2755 or 2845 kc." (Broadcasting, July 15)
Saturday, July 16, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Dramatic Sketch.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Television may still be in the laboratory—but it goes A. W. O. L. every once in a while. On such occasions the ultra-short waves on which it is broadcast frequently reach unexpected places.
Recently NBC engineers found their best-behaved microphones acting in a strange manner. Being wise in such matters, the technical men immediately suspected the interference was caused by broadcasts from its experimental television studio. A check-up proved that the engineers were right, and that the slender metal rod which supports the microphone formed a perfect antenna for the television waves. (New York Sun, July 16)
Application of the Columbia Broadcasting System for a block of ultra-high frequencies to continue its experiments in television, following close upon the reported development by Columbia engineers of a transmitter that can send television pictures and voice simultaneously on the same wave length, is focusing attention anew on the possibilities that reside in the extremely short waves for the future of the visual art.
C. B. S. asked for channels between 43,000 and 80,000 kilocycles (about 7 to 3.75 meters) at about the same time the Federal Radio Commission granted United States Radio and Television Corporation of Marion, Ind., authority to erect a thousand watt television station to operate on four bands of similar ultra-short waves. At the recent hearing before Examiner Pratt, J.H. Pressley chief, engineer of the Indiana concern and former civilian chief engineer of the Army Signal Corps radio laboratories at Fort Monmouth, N. J., declared that he had no faith whatever in the intermediate frequencies now allocated to television.
Says Ultra Shorts Are Best.
Mr. Pressley argued and the consensus of television experimenters now seems to be-that only on the wider bands well below 10 meter will the future television art develop. His company proposes to introduce a new television receiver that will automatically tune the television “sound track” of 1,550 kilocycles (193.4 meters) at the same time it dials the visual signals.
The new Columbia development, which is to be applied to the revamped W2XAB which that network operates in New York and which is due to go back on the air the evening of July 21, may lead to the perfection of a single self-contained receiving set that will tune to wave lengths carrying both sight and sound at the same time, “Double modulation” is the term describing the principle involved used by William B. Lodge, Columbia development engineer, a recent honor graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has been working out the new system under the direction of Edwin K. Cohan, chief technician of C. B. S.
Awaits New Grants.
The C. B. S. visual system will, until the ultra-high frequencies are granted by the commission, continue to use the intermediate band of 2,750-2,850 kilocycles (109-105.2 meters)—one of the four 100-kilocycle wide bands now allocated by the Federal authorities to television, which more and more visual experimenters seem to be deserting in favor of the ultra-short waves. The Columbia picture broadcasts from W2XAB after July 21 will be on a daily, except Saturday and Sunday, schedule from 8 to 10 P. M., Eastern daylight saving time, with William A. Schudt Jr. directing the programs.
The same intermediate band that C. B. S. uses was recently assigned also to the Philadelphia Storage Battery Company, makers of Philco, where Philo T. Farnsworth Is developing his visual system. However, that concern is concentrating primarily on uItra-high frequency transmissions, for which it has also been licensed.
Still pinning its faith in intermediate frequencies, the Sparks-Withington Company, Jackson, Mich., makers of Sparton radios, recently asked the commission for the 2,000-2,100, 2,100-2,200 and 2,750-2,850 kilocycle bands of intermediate channels, and the grant is expected momentarily from the commission. Dr. Albert Ahronhelm of Germany is working at that plant on a cathode ray system which he claims can narrow the path of transmission down to one-eighth its present width. This company has not yet asked for ultra-short waves.
Rejects Western Application.
Sustaining Examiner Pratt, the commission recently rejected the application of Ray-O-Vision Corporation of America of Los Angeles for a 500-watt television station to operate on 2,800 kilocycles, the examiner holding that “in view of the present well known tendency of experimenters in the visual broadcasting field to consider the higher frequencies, i. e., above 30,000 kilocycles (10 meters) as being more suitable for visual broadcasting than the lower frequencies, it does not appear that there is any unusual development in the progress of the applicant’s laboratory experiment as would warrant the expenditures of large sums of money acquired through the sale of stock for the further exploration of the frequency band requested, 2,750-2,850 kilocycles.”
The commission, however, did grant to First National Television Corporation of Kansas City authority to erect a 500-watt television station to operate on a set of intermediate frequencies. This station will operate In connection with KMBC. Kansas City. Financially interested in the project is Sam Pickard, former Radio Commissioner, and now vice-president of the Columbia Broadcasting System. (New York Sun)
Sunday, July 17, 1932
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Monday, July 18, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Crosson Orchestra.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15—Vocalist, television programme.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Tuesday, July 19, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:30—Minna Lee, soprano; Pauline Barry, pianist; Borie Davidoff, tenor.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Television became an accomplished fact last night [19] in the studio of CKAC. It was good entertainment, with very good definition of performers’ heads and shoulders, and undoubtedly marked a step forward in the technique and scope of radio broadcasting. The show was given to a select group or spectators by the Canadian Television Ltd., and was the first representation of living performers in Montreal, apart from various experimental tests.
Old days of the “animated pictures” were recalled by the images, which, while being perfectly clear, allowed full recognition of the performer, were marked by a horizontal flicker. But to the old-time pictures was added the modern art of the talkies, so that when Sydney Nesbitt, humorist and ukelele player, cracked a joke he was able to use the right gesture and facial expression to drive it home.
Mariette Mineau, violinist, accompanied at the piano by her sister, Francoise, added the vision of a charming smile and nimble fingers to her playing, and the effect was something more than could have been achieved by old methods. Miss Violet Gridley, soprano, sang, accompanied by Douglas Reid. Ed. Picard did some black-and-white cartoon work, and Joseph Arbour, announcer, was a very genial and visible master of ceremonies.
Television, as was explained by L. Spencer, chief engineer of radio station CKAC, brings an entirely new technique into broadcasting. Where formerly the artist had only a. radio “ear’ to contend with, he now has to work in the light of a radio “eye.” The eye flickers to the extent of 20 “frames” a second, and the image, picked up by a battery of 10 photo-electric cells, are reproduced at the receiving end. So quickly do the images succeed one another that no interruption is visible to the human eye.
The spectators last night included Hon. P. R. DuTremblay and Mde. DuTremblay, members of the press, and representatives of many leading Montreal departmental stores.
Douglas L. West, president of the Canadian Television, Ltd., superintended operations. (Montreal Gazette)
Wednesday, July 20, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
5:45-6:00—Television programme.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Thursday, July 21, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Experimental program.
9:00—Anniversary program.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs.
9:00-9:30—Eroica Trio.
9:30-9:45—Ruth Renwick, soprano.
9:45-10:00—Gertrude Hintlian, violinist.
10:00-10:15—Robert Campbell, tenor.
10:15-10:30—Inez Arzillo, cellist.
10:30-10:45—William Searle, bass.
10:45-11:00—Renwick and Campbell, songs.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Another milestone in the development of television was passed Thursday night (July 21), when a program of synchronized sight and sound was transmitted over W2XAB.
The program marked the first anniversary of Columbia's entrance into the field of television, and also inaugurated the regular broadcasting of simultaneous sight and sound on one wave-length.
The program included an innovation when Harold Stern's dance orchestra broadcast their musk; from the roof garden of the St. Moritz Hotel, while their leader talked to them and directed them from W2XAR's studio nine blocks away. Receivers set up in front of the band enabled the musicians to follow Stein's baton and hear his instructions as he faced the flying spot.
New System Explained.
In a brief address to the listening audience, Edwin K. Cohan, technical director of Columbia, gave an explanation of the now synchronization method and pointed out its significance.
"The frequency band, or ether channel, occupied by W2XAB," Cohan said in his talk, "extends from 2,750 kilocycles to 2,850 kilocycles. Thus we have a channel 100 kilocycles or 100,000 cycles wide. (The regular broadcasting facilities are ten kilocycles or 100,000 cycles wide.) We transmit a picture composed of 4,320 picture elements and we transmit twenty complete pictures per second in order to obtain a satisfactory illusion of motion. This requires approximately 86 per cent of the 100,000 cycle channel just mentioned, leaving 14 per cent, or about 14,000 cycles, unused. Since the next progressive step in picture detail and definition under present methods would require a channel wider than 100,000 cycles, 86 per cent of the band has been the highest efficiency thus far. Instead of wasting the remaining 14 per cent, as has been the practice heretofore, tonight's program inaugurates the usage of nearly all this 'waste space' for the accompanying voice or music.
"This more efficient use of the channel," concluded Cohan, "coupled to the greater economy effected through the elimination of a large amount of equipment duplication, both at the transmitter and receiver, practically assures the future universal adoption of this basic idea, regardless of specific methods or channels used."
In another short address. William A. Schudt Jr., television director, outlined the accomplishments of its visual broadcasting activity after one year of experimentation, laying particular stress on the great advances made in television as an artistic medium of entertainment.
Continues Its Experiments.
"When the history of television is written," he said, "we will be credited with having presented boxing bouts on a large scale, as well as wrestling and a play-board vision of football games. We likewise projected by television an authentic art exhibition; classic dancing; miniature musical comedies; sketching before the scanner; dancing and piano lessons, and programs in connection with news events of the day.
"Station W2XAB is the first television station to be synchronized in sound with a coast-to-coast radio network," he continued. "For those who do not have the opportunity to become familiar with present-day visual broadcasting, let me add that there is a fair television audience. We have received a good deal of fan mail from distances up to a 2,000-mile radius of New York. It is conservatively estimated that there are close to 9,000 television lookers-in within the metropolitan area. I feel reasonably certain that there are thousands more who see our programs, although we have no figures on them. Let us say then, that there are 9,000 television receiving sets in operation tonight, watching me as I stand before this scanning equipment Do you realize that you could not crowd 9,000 people into any but the few largest theaters in the country.
"For the coming year we will continue to experiment and develop studio technique and mechanical facilities There will be hundreds of artists and performers facing these ‘eyes' during the coming months. They will be working for the sake of television; working so that you may have perfected television in your homes within a short time." (New York Sun, July 23)
Baby Adele Kendler, who has headlined WABC, W2XAB, WMCA, and WOR, not to mention a dozen or two other stations and is one of the best of the younger group, is entertaining at Lakeside Inn, Ferndale, N. Y., for the summer season. This chubby youngster seems tireless and has a future that is far ahead of most of the children of her age. (David Bratton, Jr., Brooklyn Times-Union, July 21)
Friday, July 22, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00-10:00—Experimental program.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP as above.
Saturday, July 23, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Sketch.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
New program set-ups and changes in the performers' make-up are to be utilized in an effort to promote better sight and sound programs from W2XAB since that station now transmits sight and sound on the same wave length of 107 meters.
Outstanding among the presentations is a new feature to be known as "The Tele-Talkies," presented similar to the talking motion pictures but in real life. The series which will begin at 8:30 P. M. Thursday, July 28. will be under the personal direction of John O'Hewitt and will include more than twelve regular players each week.
Comedies to Be Seen.
The element of mystery is added to the new program schedule by the inclusion of a fifteen-minute show a week by the Television Ghost, a character who will graphically illustrate and tell the stories of murders as seen by the ghost of the murdered. The part of the ghost will be played by Artells Dickson and the show will be on every Monday at 8 P. M. beginning Monday.
Television comedies to be seen and heard include the return of the popular Italian dialect team, "Spaghett and Ravioli," in a new series of adventures concerning their plight with the Fresh Ice Company; a series entitled "Just the Two of Us," featuring Holly Smith and Johnny McAllister, who will appear before the flying spot every Friday at 8 P. M.
Tashamira, leading exponent of the modern German dance in this country, will begin a new series accompanied by Florence Kyte, pianist. Tuesday, July 26, at 9:45 P. M. (New York Sun)
Sunday, July 24, 1932
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Monday, July 25, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—The Television Ghost, mystery story.
8:15—Beauty contest.
8:45—Scanning baseball scores and correct time.
8:50—George Washington Bicentennial program.
9:15—“Clarence,” a television comic strip drawn by Frank Fogarty.
9:30—Muriel Asche and her Kingsway Kiddies Revue.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Crosson Orchestra.
W2XCR, DeForest Radio, New York, 147 meters
(No sound)
6:00-8:00—Direct pickup.
Note: this station in the
Sun's listings until the following Monday.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15-7:30—Vocalist, television programme.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
A Baltimore girl making her bow tonight [25] in television is Ann R. Shearer, of Ashburton. She's representing the honey blonde type of beauty in a revue scheduled at 8 over W2XAB, Columbia's television outlet. The show also exhibits a platinum blonde, a copper blonde, a red head and a brunette. (Baltimore Sun)
Tuesday, July 26, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Summer and Fall Fashion Review, conducted by Gladys Kahn.
8:15—Baby Ruth Parkin, juvenile performer, dance and song act.
8:25—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
8:30—Television boxing bouts featuring Dick Madeo, lightweight from Trinity Club A. C., and others. Blow by blow description by Bill Schudt, Jr., on sound side of sight band.
9:00—One man jazz band, featuring Vincent “Blue” Mondi.
9:30—Kay Reed, pianist.
9:45—Tashamira, dancer; Florence Kyte, piano accompaniest.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:30—Minna Lee, soprano; Pauline Barry, pianist; Borie Davidoff, tenor.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
NEW YORK, July 26. (AP)— A single transmitter for a sight and sound program, already proved in the laboratory, has been employed under actual broadcasting conditions by station W2XAB, New York, 107 meters.
Economy Is Stimulus
The station had been using W2XE for its sound channel, but as a move toward economy this transmitter was discontinued.
That left W2XAB without a voice and handicapped it to a certain extent as picture broadcasting without sound doesn’t permit much flexibility in studio technique.
So William Lodge, 25-year-old engineer, was put to work by E. K. Cohen, technical director, to solve the problem from the practical standpoint.
100 Kilocycle Channel
With the use of the single transmitter and a channel 100 kilocycles wide, the microphone is connected to an amplifier which feeds a modulator circuit hooked onto the transmitter. The picture signal follows a similar path, except that it has its own amplifier and modulator.
It is after the separate signals leave their individual modulators that they combine in the transmitter to go out on the air almost as one, but not so mixed up that they cannot be separated at the receiver.
Television occupies the center of the band with the sound on either side, so that when tuning across the channel sound will be heard, then the picture and then sound again.
Choice of Receivers
For reception purposes, two receivers may be used, one for sound and the other for sight, although it is possible to design a set that will bring in both together under one control.
This is done through the use of a single tuning section feeding two detectors. One detector takes care of the picture, while the other weeds out the sound. After each detector is an individual audio amplifier.
To reduce possible voice interference, which puts wavy lines in the picture, a filter is required at the neon lamp. (C.E. Butterfield column)
Wednesday, July 27, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
5:00—“Going to Press” with Bill Schudt, Jr., synchronized with WABC.
8:00—Television makeup tests, conducted by Harry Sears.
8:15—Baseball scores and correct time.
8:20—Georgia Simmons, palmistic.
Society hair fashions, demonstrated by Ferdinand Graf, noted coiffeur.
9:00—George Britton, songs.
9:15—Marks of Beauty.
9:30—Dramatic pantomimes, featuring Lillian Crossman.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
5:45-6:00—Television programme.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Thursday, July 28, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Harry Fries and his musical saw.
8:25—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
8:30—“The Tele-Talkies,” sketch with the John Hewitt Players.
9:15—Chalk Chats, with Lou Hanlon.
9:30—Burnett sisters, songs.
9:45—Piano lesson, G. Aldo Randegger.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs.
9:00-9:30—Eroica Trio.
9:30-9:45—Ruth Renwick, soprano.
9:45-10:00—Gertrude Hintlian, violinist.
10:00-10:15—Robert Campbell, tenor.
10:15-10:30—Inez Arzillo, cellist.
10:30-10:45—William Searle, bass.
10:45-11:00—Renwick and Campbell, songs.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Friday, July 29, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Holly Smith and Johnny McAllister, “Just the Two of Us,” comedy sketch.
8:15—Wendy Marshall, songs.
8:30—Cartooning, George Kelling.
8:45—“Spaghett and Ravioli,” Italian comedy team.
9:00—Gladys Kahn, songs.
9:15—Television makeup tests.
9:45—German night life, Fritzie Frank.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W2XR, W2XAP as above.
A new television scanning wheel measuring only six inches in diameter and projecting a picture approximately 3 1/2 by 4 feet in a lighted room was demonstrated last night [29] to a small group atop the Hotel St. Moritz in New York city.
The disk, developed by William H. Peck, is said to be suitable for both transmission as well as reception.
When used at a broadcasting station the disk is used to project a moving image at the photoelectric cell. Thus the light reflected from the various parts of the subject is used to actuate the cell. The signal generated in the cell is then amplified in the usual way and used to modulate the carrier wave.
The new disk. it is claimed, will pick up from four to five times as much light as the ordinary lens type of scanning disk.
At the receiving end the disk makes a difference. Heretofore, using an ordinary lens disk, it has been necessary to project an image over a distance of two to three feet in order to get it one foot wide on the With this new system, according to Mr Peck, a picture one foot wide is had in one foot of projection, affording a great economy of space and enabling the manufacturer to house both sight and sound receivers in the same cabinet.
The smaller disk employed makes the use of a powerful driving motor unnecessary. Motors as small as 1.60 horse power can be used, greatly reducing current consumption and almost entirely eliminating noise. The scanner in operation is even less audible than a good electric fan.
Lenses in the disk, he says, are arranged in a perfect circle instead of one turn of a spiral. This means that the spot of light projected from the neon crater tube can he concentrated so that all of it is utilized all the time. (New York Sun)
Saturday, July 30, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Sketch.
W2XR, W2XCR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Reports from many points indicate the complete success of the improved sight and sound television station W2XAB in New York, which began operation on one wavelength a week ago last Thursday, according to engineers of the Columbia Broadcasting system.
Dining the last week they said many listeners and lookers in have written W2XAB about the new programs it transmits.
A host of novelties are included in the next week's program schedule for sight and sound tuners. Among the television broadcasts to be viewed and listened to from this station are included a special broadcast dedicated to the New York City George Washington Bicentennial Celebration, a three round boxing match and many musical programs.
Joe Annin will direct the George Washington bicentennial program which will be projected through Monday, August 1, at 8:50 P. M. The program will include showing of relics from the Mount Vernon hills; photographs of the interior of the home, and other illustrations in connection with George Washington and Mount Vernon.
Children will have their innings on television when on Monday from 9:30 to 10 p, M. Muriel Asche will present her Kingsway Kiddies. This entire program will be projected full length. Juvenile stars will perform dances and acrobatics for the scanners. Vincent (Blue) Mondi will present another program by his One Man Band on Tuesday, August 2, at 9 P. M.
Two barytones will make their television debuts over W2XAB this week. They are Sam Gottman and George Britton and will be heard Tuesday at 8:45 P. M. and Wednesday at 9 P. M.
Constance O'Neill, talented young composer and pianist, will begin a series of light programs Thursday. August 4, at 9:45 P. M., entitled “Out of the Song Shop." (New York Sun)
Sunday, July 31, 1932
W2XAP, W3XK, as above. All other stations are off the air.
Brooklyn is perhaps the first city in the country to provide children for a television show. Muriel Asche and her pupils perform before the Columbia flying spot up at W2XAB every Monday from 9:30 to 10 p.m. The children like television because performing in the dark always seems less troublesome and less nerveracking than under the bright lights. Adults realize this, too, and often give superior performances over the television air. (Bill Schudt, Jr., column, Eagle, July 31)
Monday, August 1, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—The Television Ghost, mystery story.
8:15—Beauty contest.
8:45—Scanning baseball scores and correct time.
8:50—George Washington Bicentennial program.
9:15—“Clarence,” a television comic strip drawn by Frank Fogarty.
9:30—Muriel Asche and her Kingsway Kiddies Revue.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Crosson Orchestra.
W2XCR, DeForest Radio, New York, 147 meters
(No sound)
6:00-8:00—Direct pickup. (station operates Mondays only)
W2XR, Radio Pictures/Hogan, Long Island City.
5:00—Experimental programs. 7:00—Cartoons. 8:00—Film with sound. 9:00-10:00—Cartoons.
W2XAP (Jenkins Television), Washington
5:00-6:00, 8:00-9:00—Direct pickup.
W3XK (Jenkins Laboratories), Washington, 147 meters (No sound)< br>
9:00-11:00—Film presentation.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15-7:30—Vocalist, television programme.
Tuesday, Aug. 2, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Summer and Fall Fashion Review, conducted by Gladys Kahn.
8:15—Baby Ruth Parkin, juvenile performer, dance and song act.
8:25—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
8:30—Television boxing bouts featuring Dick Madeo, lightweight from Trinity Club A. C., and others. Blow by blow description by Bill Schudt, Jr., on sound side of sight band.
9:00—One man jazz band, featuring Vincent “Blue” Mondi.
9:30—Kay Reed, pianist.
9:45—Tashamira, dancer; Florence Kyte, piano accompaniest.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:30—Minna Lee, soprano; Pauline Barry, pianist; Borie Davidoff, tenor.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Wednesday, Aug. 3, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
5:00—“Going to Press” with Bill Schudt, Jr., synchronized with WABC.
8:00—Constance O’Neill, songs.
8:20—Baseball scores and correct time.
8:30—Society hair fashions, demonstrated by Ferdinand Graf, noted coiffeur.
9:00—George Britton, songs.
9:15—Marks of Beauty.
9:30—Dramatic pantomimes, featuring Lillian Crossman.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
5:45-6:00—Television programme.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Thursday, Aug. 4, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Harry Fries and his musical saw.
8:25—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
8:30—“The Tele-Talkies,” sketch with the John Hewitt Players.
9:15—Chalk Chats, with Lou Hanlon.
9:30—Burnett sisters, songs.
9:45—Piano lesson, G. Aldo Randegger.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs.
9:00-9:30—Eroica Trio.
9:30-9:45—Ruth Renwick, soprano.
9:45-10:00—Gertrude Hintlian, violinist.
10:00-10:15—Robert Campbell, tenor.
10:15-10:30—Inez Arzillo, cellist.
10:30-10:45—William Searle, bass.
10:45-11:00—Renwick and Campbell, songs.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Friday, Aug. 5, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Holly Smith and Johnny McAllister, “Just the Two of Us,” comedy sketch.
8:15—Constance O’Neill, songs.
8:30—Cartooning, George Kelting.
8:45—“Spaghett and Ravioli,” Italian comedy team.
9:00—Gladys Kahn, songs.
9:15—Television makeup tests.
9:45—German night life, Fritzie Frank.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W2XR, W2XAP as above (W3XK off).
Saturday, August 6, 1932
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Sketch.
W2XBS, NBC, New York (No sound)
2:00-5:00—Experimental programs.
W2XAP, W3XK, as above. W2XAB, W2XR are off.
A gradual but steady improvement in the extent and character of the program material now being broadcast by television stations is being generally recognized by fortunate possessors of television apparatus. More direct pickups of studio personalities are prophesied for the immediate future.
During last week’s broadcasts another high spot was reached with the televising of a fashion show and boxing bout which came over W2XAB with sound accompaniment.
During the coming week Dr. J. Howard Crum will give an illustrated talk on beauty on Wednesday at 9:15 P. M. On Tuesday at 8:30 P. M., on W2XAB, Billy McMahon, welterweight, will box three rounds with Dick Madeo.
Capt. Murphy, known as Jerry Sullivan, will retell some interesting stories of John L. Sullivan and will illustrate his talk by exhibiting old photographs and tintypes of the famous fighter when he faces the scanner of W2XAB on Thursday at 8 P.M.
Musical comedy sketches will be the title of a new series of musical programs featuring Helen Haynes, musical comedy star, which will be projected Thursday it 9:45 P. M.
Television lookers-in will have an opportunity to see a one-man jazz band in action on the air when Vincent ‘Blue’ Mondi plays a quarter hour program over the facilities of W2XAB, Tuesday, August 10, at 9 P. M.
Phil and her Uke will make her debut over W2XAB on Friday at 8 P. M. Her novelty programs will be heard and seen every Friday at the same hour.
Tashamira, modern dancer, will be seen in four specially adapted television dances from the Columbia station, Tuesday at 9:45 P. M. She will be accompanied at the piano by Florence Kyte.
A television hat show will be exhibited by Gladys Kahn over the facilities of W2XAB, Tuesday, August 9, at 8 P. M. Late styles in hats and coats will be shown during the fifteen-minute period.
Columbia’s experiments in television make-up will he continued on Friday, August 12, at 9:15 P. M., when Harry Spears, television engineer, tests out different shades of powder and various tints of lipstick and rouge on a number of television artists who will act as models for the broadcast. (New York Sun)
Sunday, Aug. 7, 1932
W2XAP, W3XK, as above. All other stations off.
TELEVISION stations are beginning to receive fan mail. In the early days of broadcasting letters gave the first indication that public interest was captured. Announcers pleaded with listeners to report on distance and clarity of reception. Now the television impresarios and engineers are studying letters to find out how far the images travel and if an object or person can be identified after a flight through space:
Those who have no television in the home today probably wonder what they might pluck from the air if they did look in on the passing waves. The letters received by W2XAB, operated by the Columbia Broadcasting System, New York, unfold an interesting story on television in 1932.
“I picked up your station very clear and held it for about twenty-five minutes,” said an observer at Raleigh N. C.
That is 425 miles from Manhattan Island, where the images leaped into the air from aerial wires atop 485 Madison Avenue.
And from Bristol, Tenn., an ethereal spectator reports, “I am able to see the eyes, eyebrows, teeth, and notice the changes in expression. Often when some one is playing a violin more than once I have noticed a ring on the violinist’s finger. I have been looking in on your station for six months or more.”
Seen in Wisconsin.
THESE television images seem to have no difficulty in jumping over New York skyscrapers for a long-distance hop. It was thought for a while that the tall steel structures might block or snatch them from the air before they could fly across the Hudson. But such is not the case. For example, from Stevens Point, Wis., this report was received:
“Imagine my amazement when I received your television program on Friday night from 9 to 11 o’clock. It was wonderful and more than 1,000 miles distant! Your singers, the violinist and the announcer together with the station identification card were perfect. Do you transmit sound in synchronism with the pictures and, if so, on what channel does the sound travel?”
An observer at Waterbury, Conn., said: “We have been receiving” the W2XAB television broadcasts with fair success.”
Some of the spectator3 are handicapped in reception of the pictures because they have no definite copy or program of the television schedule. They have to hunt around on the dial for the faces, which in their current state are somewhat elusive. Then they write to the transmitter for verification as n the early days of broadcasting.
“While experimenting with a television set last night we are quite sure that we intercepted some of your pictures from New York,” said an observer in Montreal. “We saw several pictures between 10:15 and 10:45 P. M. The first was a man and two others were women. They seemed to be different persons.”
Congratulations From Vermont.
The same images that dance through the air to Dixie are seen in New England. They travel in all directions in much the same way as musical broadcasts.
“Congratulations on the excellent visual programs we are receiving from your station,” said a spectator in Middlebury, Vt., in writing to W2XAB. “Reception is very dependable and the signal strength is quite sufficient for good quality; In fact, of the six television stations I receive regularly, yours gives the greatest detail. I have especially enjoyed seeing the dancer and the boxing bouts. For reception at this distance I find that it is much better to have the actress dressed in white or light clothes for far-from-television vision.
“The background should be given attention. Passing shadows of persons not in the field of vision are extremely annoying and confusing. May I suggest that your announcements be made by visual card as far as possible? Interruption of the regular signal throws off the automatic synchronization in most cases, and this is annoying.”
The Images seem to have sufficient power in their wings to lift them across the Mississippi toward the Kansas wheat fields. An observer at Manhattan, Kan., reports: “Station W2XAB comes in very clear and strong, I receive all the evening programs regularly. I enjoyed the recent fight broadcast and would like to see more of that type of performance.”
Cartoons Seen In the South.
Cartoons drawn in front of the electrical eyes in New York have been picked out of the air at Fairmont, W. Va., according to the following report: “I received the pictures broadcast by W2XAB. The cartoons were very clear. The plate of my neon tube seems to be divided into four parts, because I see four images of the same person or picture. I cannot understand why this condition exists instead of one large picture.”
A spectator at Adrian, Mich., asserts that he is an interested looker in on the W2XAB evening entertainment. Occasionally the pictures are very clear by the time they arrive in Michigan, but some difficulty is experienced in fading. He reports that more power is needed to send the faces from New York into that area with good signal strength in the daytime. The sunlight curtails the images that travel on certain wave lengths in much the same way that it shortens the range of broadcasting stations.
“Last night I succeeded in bringing in the picture of a partially bald-headed man on my television machine,” said an observer at West Point, Neb. “The image was quite clear, but I could not hold it long. There was some fading. The man moved his head quite often. The lips could be seen to move. I did not hear the sound. This is the only station I have succeeded in framing and I hope you can verify reception of this partially bald-headed person.”
“TELEVISION has its problems,” said William Schudt, director of W2XAB. “Television also has its limitations, and plenty of them. For example, we are limited in pictorial presentations to three people. We cannot show full-length pictures with sufficient signal power to register properly in the borne receiver.
“We plan programs for the limits of present television. Boxing is presented in a miniature ring. Contestants are cautioned to stay in focus of the flying spot lest they disappear off to an unseen corner of the television screen. Dick Madeo, who has presented many of the fistic exhibitions, has learned to box in circles always within the focus of the light ray. The engineers likewise have adjusted their scanning apparatus so that it may be adjusted rapidly to follow the fighters In a limited space around the ring.”
Scenic Background Is Used.
Scenic backdrops ere now used with the result that lookers-in obtain the illusion of a full stage. These had to be designed with care. Heavy outlines of simple designs in black and white show up the best. Ordinary scenery with its delicate shadings is useless with television in its present state, but adaptation of black and white designs made out of proportion give amazing results. So perfectly did one scene come through that it caused considerable comment among observers when it was put on the air for the first time.
It was a skyline view of New York, showing the buildings silhouetted in black against a white sky. Immediately following the test seven telephone callers inquired if W2XAB was actually scanning from the roof of the building, which incidentally, overlooks a similar skyline. The illusion naturally produced by television often makes the simplest things appear strikingly lifelike despite the fact that they are mere pieces of cardboard on which rough sketches have been made. (Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr., New York Times)
Monday, August 8, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—The Television Ghost, mystery story.
8:15—Silhouettes.
8:30—Beauty contest.
8:45—Scanning baseball scores and correct time.
8:50—George Washington Bicentennial program.
9:15—“Clarence,” a television comic strip drawn by Frank Fogarty.
9:30—Muriel Asche and her Kingsway Kiddies Revue.
W2XBS (NBC), New York (No sound)
7:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W2XCR, DeForest Radio, New York, 147 meters
(No sound)
6:00-8:00—Direct pickup. (station operates Mondays only)
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:00—Crosson Orchestra.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15-7:30—Vocalist, television programme.
Tuesday, Aug. 9, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Summer and Fall Fashion Review, conducted by Gladys Kahn.
8:15—Baby Ruth Parkin, juvenile performer, dance and song act.
8:25—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
8:30—Television boxing bouts featuring Dick Madeo, lightweight from Trinity Club A. C., and others. Blow by blow description by Bill Schudt, Jr., on sound side of sight band.
8:45—Jerry Sullivan recalls.
9:00—One man jazz band, featuring Vincent “Blue” Mondi.
9:30—Kay Reed, pianist.
9:45—Tashamira, dancer; Florence Kyte, piano accompanist.
W2XBS (NBC), New York (No Sound)
2:00-5:00—Experimental program.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs. 9:00-10:30—Minna Lee, soprano; Pauline Barry, pianist; Borie Davidoff, tenor.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Los Angeles, Aug. 8. Television was given its initial working demonstration in southern California, last week, with a five hour department store showing, drawing talent from screen and stage for the Inaugural. John Boles, Sid Grauman and Marion Schilling participated in the opening 10-minute program, working in a studio in a street level window, being registered and recorded in the store auditorium five floors up. Chicago did the same thing but minus the personalities.
Demonstration successful from a commercial stndpoint, 22 free programs, running around 10-minutes each, being given, every one capacity. Most of the entertainment after the first programs consisted of sales talks and make-up demonstration.
Apparatus used was from the Sanabria Giant Television Co., Chicago. (Variety, Aug. 9)
Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
5:00—“Going to Press” with Bill Schudt, Jr., synchronized with WABC.
8:00—Constance O’Neill, songs.
8:15—Baseball scores and correct time.
8:20—Georgia Simmons, palmistry.
8:30—Society hair fashions, demonstrated by Ferdinand Graf, noted coiffeur.
9:00—George Britton, songs.
9:15—“Marks of Beauty,” Dr. J. Howard Crum.
9:30—Dramatic pantomimes, featuring Lillian Crossman.
9:45—Instrumental soloists.
W2XBS (NBC), New York (No Sound)
7:00-10:00—Experimental program.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
5:45-6:00—Television programme.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
Thursday, Aug. 11, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Harry Fries and his musical saw.
8:15—Strange People, Henrietta Dunlap.
8:30—“The Tele-Talkies,” sketch with the John Hewitt Players.
9:05—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
9:15—Chalk Chats, with Lou Hanlon.
9:30—Burnett sisters, songs.
9:45—Harmonica Antics, George Kelting.
W2XBS (NBC), New York (No Sound)
2:00-5:00—Experimental program.
W1XAV, Boston, 179 meters
(Sound on W1XAU, 193 meters)
8:00-9:00—Experimental programs.
9:00-9:30—Eroica Trio.
9:30-9:45—Ruth Renwick, soprano.
9:45-10:00—Gertrude Hintlian, violinist.
10:00-10:15—Robert Campbell, tenor.
10:15-10:30—Inez Arzillo, cellist.
10:30-10:45—William Searle, bass.
10:45-11:00—Renwick and Campbell, songs.
W2XR, W2XAP, W3XK, as above.
The North Shore Revue, a group of Lynn radio entertainers, will present a special program on their initial round-the-world broadcast tonight [12] from 9.30 to 10.30 o’clock from the short wave and television station W1XAY and W1XAU of Boston. The Boston stations will be on a world-wide hookup with the international short wave station W1XAL. Transmitting powers to broadcast the program will require 20 kilowatts which is 20 times more powerful than other broadcasting stations.
This Lynn group of radio artists have the distinction of being the local group of entertainer to participate in a world-wide hookup.
They are a regular weekly feature on the radio and television lanes of radio broadcast and present program[s] every Tuesday and Friday evenings from 9.30 to 10.30 o’clock. Billy Miron of this city is director of the local revue.
Heading the entertainers is the North Shore Ramblers, composing 14 musicians. Other features include “Pop” Collette and sons, known as the “Down Easters”, who provide old-time music; a harmonica bend, of eight young men and Eleanor Milliard, whistling soloist.
Soloists are: Agnes Whelan, Rose Hartwett, blue singer; Marion LaLonde and Billy Miron. Lester Russell is the pianist. Other entertainers include the Three North Shoremen, a vocal trio, comprising Wilfred Collette, Lester Russell and Bill Miron. The North Shore Dreamers, Chet Levine, Clyde Langley and Wilfred Collette, provide the music for the theme song of the revue with their guitar music.
Lynn audiences may hear the entertainers by tuning in about 1550 kilocycles. (Lynn Daily Item)
Friday, Aug. 12, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
8:00—Phil and her uke.
8:15—Comedy Crayons, George Kelting.
8:45—Constance O’Neill, songs.
8:45—“Spaghett and Ravioli,” Italian comedy team.
9:00—Gladys Kahn, songs.
9:15—Television makeup tests.
9:45—Gosslin Sisters, songs.
W2XBS (NBC), New York
7:00-10:00—Experimental programs.
W2XR (Hogan, Radio Pictures), Long Island City as above.
W1XAV, Boston
8:00-10:00—Experimental program.
W2XAP (Jenkins Television), Washington
5:00-6:00—Experimental program.
8:00-9:00—Direct pickup.
Shadows of human beings were projected through space last night [12] from station and the screen renderings, accompanied as usual by broadcast sounds and voices, were pronounced very acceptable.
In the station itself, where a select circle of spectators gathered, it was agreed that the art of television is emerging more and more from the experimental stage. Patsy Marazza, accordion player, titillated the ear with his number from his repertory, and Mrs. Arnold Becker sang. As each performer was shown separately on the screen, appeared just that amount of flicker which marked motion pictures in the intermediary stage of their development. Once again the fact was demonstrated that, unquestionably television is an advance in the broadcasting art, permitting of effects unattainable by ordinary voice and sound transmission. (Montreal Gazette, Aug. 13)
A visitor came to the Columbia Broadcasting System television studios the other night and after looking carefully at the massive apparatus took a look into the monitor receiver.
He jumped back amazed. “Why I know that girl,” he said.
The girl was Gladys Kahn, a television crooner.
They had been school chums and hadn’t seen one another for five years. This is the first time on record that two school chums have been brought together by television. (Bill Schudt, Jr., Brooklyn Eagle, Aug. 14)
Saturday, Aug. 13, 1932
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
4:45-5:00—Television Program.
5:15-5:30—Television Program.
Monday, August 15, 1932
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15-7:30—Vocalist, television programme.
Clark Lonie, formerly assigned to the television staff of WMAQ, Chicago, has been transferred to the transmitter, and Willard Aldrich, remote control operator, has moved over to the television staff. WMAQ and W9XAP, Chicago, will enter the third year of television operation August 25. Western Television Corporation equipment has been used. (Broadcasting, Aug. 15)
Wednesday, Aug. 17, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters or 2500 kcs.
5:00—“Going to Press” with Bill Schudt, Jr. with Elias E. Sugerman, “The Outlook of the Show Business,” synchronized with WABC.
8:00—Constance O’Neill, songs.
8:15—Baseball scores and correct time.
8:20—Georgia Simmons, palmistry.
8:30—Society hair fashions, demonstrated by Ferdinand Graf, noted coiffeur.
9:00—George Britton, baritone.
9:15—“Marks of Beauty,” Dr. J. Howard Crum.
9:30—Dramatic pantomimes, featuring Lillian Crossman.
9:45—Musical Pastels.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
5:45-6:00—Television programme.
Thursday, Aug. 18, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters, 2800 kcs.
8:00—Harry Fries and his musical saw.
8:15—Illustrated Talk.
8:30—“The Tele-Talkies,” sketch with the John Hewitt Players.
9:00—Mortimer Miller, pianist.
9:14—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
9:15—Chalk Chats, with Lou Hanlon.
9:30—Burnett sisters, songs.
9:45—Helen Haynes, songs.
Friday, Aug. 19, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters, 2800 kcs.
8:00—Phil and her uke.
8:15—Comedy Crayons, George Kelting.
8:45—Constance O’Neill, songs.
8:45—“Spaghett and Ravioli,” Italian comedy team.
9:00—Gladys Kahn, songs.
9:15—Television makeup tests.
9:45—Gosslin Sisters, songs.
VE9EC (La Presse), Montreal
(Sound on CKAC, 730 kc.)
9:30-10:00—Studio programme and television demonstration by pilot Swanee Taylor at CKAC studio to mark “Aviation Week.”
Monday, August 22, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters, 2800 kcs.
8:00—The Television Ghost, mystery story.
8:15—Caricatures.
8:30—Jack Peterson.
8:45—Jack Fleming Revue.
9:15—“Clarence,” a television comic strip drawn by Frank Fogarty.
9:30—Muriel Asche and her Kingsway Kiddies Revue.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15-7:30—Vocalist, television programme.
Tuesday, Aug. 23, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters, 2800 kcs.
8:00—Summer and Fall Fashion Review, conducted by Gladys Kahn.
8:15—Baby Ruth Parkin, juvenile performer, dance and song act.
8:25—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
8:30—Television boxing bouts featuring Dick Madeo, lightweight from Trinity Club A. C., and others. Blow by blow description by Bill Schudt, Jr., on sound side of sight band.
8:45—Pantomime Show.
9:00—One man jazz band, featuring Vincent “Blue” Mondi.
9:15—Sam Brent, baritone.
9:30—“Piano Antics,” with Kay Reed.
9:45—Tashamira Dance Recital.
Wednesday, Aug. 24, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters or 2500 kcs.
5:00—“Going to Press” with Bill Schudt, Jr. with Ed Fisher, “The Evolution of the Radio Editor,” synchronized with WABC.
8:00—Television Magic.
8:15—Baseball scores and correct time.
8:20—Georgia Simmons, palmistry.
8:30—Society hair fashions.
9:00—Gladys Kahn, songs.
9:15—“Marks of Beauty,” talk.
9:30—Dramatic pantomimes, featuring Lillian Crossman.
9:45—Musical Pastels.
Thursday, Aug. 25, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters, 2800 kcs.
8:00—Harry Fries and his musical saw.
8:15—Connie O’Neill, songs.
8:30—“The Tele-Talkies,” sketch with the John Hewitt Players.
9:00—Mortimer Miller, pianist.
9:14—Scanning the baseball scores and correct time.
9:15—Chalk Chats, with Lou Hanlon.
9:30—Burnett sisters, songs.
9:45—Helen Haynes, songs.
Friday, Aug. 26, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters, 2800 kcs.
8:00—Phil and Her Uke.
8:15—Comedy Crayons, George Kelting.
8:45—Smith and McAllister, songs.
8:45—“Spaghett and Ravioli,” Italian comedy team.
9:00—George Britton, baritone.
9:15—Television makeup tests.
9:45—Gosselin Sisters, harmony.
VE9EC (La Presse), Montreal
(Sound on CKAC, 730 kc.)
9:30-10:00—Studio programme, Miss May Joyce.
Monday, Aug. 29, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters or 2500 kcs.
8:00-10:00—Television programming.
W9XAO (Western Television) Chicago
(Sound on WIBO, 560 kcs.)
6:15-7:30—Vocalist, television programme.
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters or 2500 kcs.
8:00-10:00—Television programming.
Wednesday, Aug. 31, 1932
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters or 2500 kcs.
5:00—“Going to Press” with Bill Schudt, Jr. with Martin Codel, editor of Broadcasting Magazine, “This Business of Broadcasting,” synchronized with WABC.
8:00-10:00—Television programming.
Below are the
Billboard television columns for August 6, 13, 20 and 27, 1932. Click to enlarge.
W2XAB (CBS), New York, 107 meters
FOLLOWING is the Radio Commission’s appraisal of the status of television, as contained in its annual report to Congress covering the fiscal year 1932, which ended June 30:
Los Angeles, Dec. 23 (A.P.).—Completion of one of the most powerful television transmitters in the United States was announced today by Harry R. Lubcke, pioneer television engineer and director of the Don Lee Broadcasting System Television network.
