The RCA Portable Television Pickup Equipment

Spot news, athletic events, parades, etc., form an important source of television program material. In the spring of 1938, field experiments were started in New York City with mobile tekvision pickup equipment. Two telemobile units were used each of which was about the size and shape of a 25-passenger bus and weighed 10 tons. The limitations of these telemobile units are discussed. Lightweight television pickup equipment has recently been developed. The new equipment includes a small iconoscope camera, camera auxiliary, camera-control, and synchronizing-generator units, and an ultra-high-frequency relay transmitter and receiver. Most of the units are about the size of a large suitcase and weigh between 40 and 70 pounds. Each of the units is described and some of the practical applications of the equipment are indicated.