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THE GREAT MULLARD MAGIC BLOG — televisor

MAX FACTOR & TELEVISION LONG BEFORE THE AVON LADY

Posted by STEVE M on

MAX FACTOR & TELEVISION LONG BEFORE THE AVON LADY

So whats the story I hear you say? Well, during the 1930s, early tests showed  that conventional make-up techniques were not suitable for television for although superb in real life or still photography it looked truly appalling on black-and-white television. Just look at this photo showing what "slap" of the day looked like on a JLB televisor transmission: - No wonder then that Peter Eckersley, the BBC’s chief engineer until 1929, put it: It was “An insult to the public to put on such a poor service and encourage the idea that the broadcast pictures would improve”.  Further stating that  “If...

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GAS FILLED PHOTOCELLS IN SOUND-ON-FILM EQUIPMENT -

Posted by STEVE M on

GAS FILLED PHOTOCELLS IN SOUND-ON-FILM EQUIPMENT -

Today, we are going to talk about photocells  and in particular 'gas amplification,' an interesting phenomenon shown by gas filled photocells and  I was reminded of a hilarious occurrence when a vintage radio 'expert/forum gobs__t' proudly visited proclaiming that he had just 'stolen' a Baird Televisor lamp and on proudly producing it with a smug flourish, I was able to deflate his arch sense of triumph by regrettably informing him that in actuality he had 'stolen' a Mullard 56CG photocell. With photocells, although the manufacturing methodology is the same as for a standard thermionic valve,  a precise aliquot of a noble (inert) gas...

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