1932 Rawls console TV on ETF

[decojoe67]

http://www.earlytelevision.org/rawls.html
Imagine a family gathered around this set during an early broadcast. It must have really amazed people. The golden age of radio hadn't even begun yet!

[David Roper]

I too was surprised, pleased and shocked to see this very elusive set turn up. Previously its existence was unknown beyond some promotional materials, and even those only appeared for the first time on the ETF site maybe ten years ago.

I doubt there was ever much "gathering 'round the set" in the style of early postwar viewing due to the poor picture quality under even the very best conditions...and a lack of programming which was watchable for reasons other than having a recognizable image.

[Olorin67]

It was a pretty fringe hobby back then. and a lot of broadcasts were probable image only, crude test pattern type stuff.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by David Roper

I too was surprised, pleased and shocked to see this very elusive set turn up. Previously its existence was unknown beyond some promotional materials, and even those only appeared for the first time on the ETF site maybe ten years ago.

I doubt there was ever much "gathering 'round the set" in the style of early postwar viewing due to the poor picture quality under even the very best conditions...and a lack of programming which was watchable for reasons other than having a recognizable image.

Yes, I'd love to hear the whole story of how and where it was found. I dreamed of finding something like that when I used to go to estate sales in old affluent areas here on Long Island.
I know it was long way off for families to gather around the TV set at this time, but can you imagine the excitement in a darkened room just seeing any image appear on the screen? Practicality aside, the ingenuity of mechanical television amazes me.

[vts1134]

Originally Posted by Olorin67

It was a pretty fringe hobby back then. and a lot of broadcasts were probable image only, crude test pattern type stuff.

This receiver was one of the very few that had an audio section built in. The Rawls TV-185 was the "complete package" when it came to television in the early 1930s. The only other examples of mechanical television receivers with built in audio that I know of are very early Western Visionette receivers before they were built in the table top cabinet that we all know.

Does any one else know of any mechanical televisions with built a in audio section?

[rld-tv01]

I believe some inventors like Jenkins who used the term radio vision versus television thought of television broadcast as a public device to be used in movie theaters vesus home entertainment. Jenkins envisioned up to date news broadcast between the movie reels. Sound in motion picture theaters just started in Oct 1927 and was still in its infancy in the early 1930s. Television broadcast over the air was only a couple days a week for a few hours each broadcast. Most people who bought a mechanical television receiver were people who already had shortwave receivers and radios so didn't need audio built in. I think since Western Television Corp was also pushing the video phone with mechanical TV technology in the 1930s that audio would seem natural to them? Their video phone system was demoed in public places like department stores and not meant for the home.

[rld-tv01]

Originally Posted by vts1134

Does any one else know of any mechanical televisions with built a in audio section?

Not a mechanical set but early CRT home made television with audio from 1937. Does anyone know if this set still exists?

[compucat]

I think I actually saw this set in person. If it is the one I am thinking of, it was on display in the radio room at Cain Electronics in Norfolk. The owner collected antique radios and some tv sets, the best of which were on display in the small room. The rest were kept in the warehouse with the store inventory. I believe the store is closed now, a consequence of the owner passing away and the internet eating away at local parts shops.

[Steve McVoy]

There were a bunch of mechanical sets with a separate radio built in for audio. Here are two we have at the museum:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/hollis_baird_globe.html

ww.earlytelevision.org/western_empire.html

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by Olorin67

It was a pretty fringe hobby back then. and a lot of broadcasts were probable image only, crude test pattern type stuff.

The economy being in the toilet didn't help either...

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Olorin67

It was a pretty fringe hobby back then. and a lot of broadcasts were probable image only, crude test pattern type stuff.

You'd be surprised how many video and sound broadcasts were made back then....Pick up some early to mid 30's Radio News magazines, and you can find broadcast schedules of experimental TV stations.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

You'd be surprised how many video and sound broadcasts were made back then....Pick up some early to mid 30's Radio News magazines, and you can find broadcast schedules of experimental TV stations.

Where they able to broadcast a motion picture back then?

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Where they able to broadcast a motion picture back then?

see this page for an example:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/rca_scanning_disk.html

[rld-tv01]

List of television broadcast stations in 1932.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by rld-tv01

List of television broadcast stations in 1932.

It's interesting that if someone had a scanning-disk television in 1928, they had a solid 5+ years of viewing broadcasts on it. That's quite a lot! It would've been great to have a documented eye-witness account of one of those TV pioneers and hear their experiences. What did they watch and when? Where did they place the receiver and how well did their set receive the broadcasts both audio and video? What was the most memorable broadcast for them? It's an interesting part of broadcasting history yet one that seems lost in time.