Forum for former BBC staff

Forum for former BBC staff
http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl >> History >> Unusual Emitron http://www.ex-bbc.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1539908529 Message started by Simon Vaughan- APTS Archivist on Oct 19^th, 2018, 12:23am

Title: Unusual Emitron
Post by Simon Vaughan- APTS Archivist on Oct 19^th, 2018, 12:23am

Can anyone help in the history of this unusual Emitron camera that was rescued from a basement car park at TVC in 2012.
Little is known about the camera, why and when was it developed, what was it's purpose? What were the pipes on the front for? it has sights on the top in-line with the Emitron tube.
I have traced it to Kingwood Warren in 1950. It featured in a BBC Newsreel "Improving the View", tx 23rd October 1950. But after that it's whereabouts is a mystery until it was discovered at TVC in 2012.
As can be seen from the screen grabs it appears to take a standard post-war Emitron tube.

[url]Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 00.58.52 by Alexandra Palace Television Society, on Flickr[/url]

[url]Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 00.58.35 by Alexandra Palace Television Society, on Flickr[/url]

[url]Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 21.07.13 by Alexandra Palace Television Society, on Flickr[/url]

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 20.59.24 by Alexandra Palace Television Society, on Flickr

[url]Emitron by Alexandra Palace Television Society, on Flickr[/url]

Hopefully someone knows something about this unusual Emitron design and what it was used for.

Title: Re: Unusual Emitron
Post by Roundabout on Oct 23^rd, 2018, 11:02pm

FASCINATING PICTURES! THE TWIN LENSES AT THE FRONT WERE USED ONE FOR THE TELEVISING THROUGH TO THE EMITRON TUBE BUT THE OTHER ON WAS AN OPTICAL VIEWFINDER WHICH PROJECTED ONTO A GROUND GLASS SCREEN FOR THE OPERATOR. I THINK IT WAS SO BASIC THAT THE IMAGE WAS ACTUALLY UPSIDE DOWN FOR THE CAMERAMAN. eLECTRONIC VIEWFINDERS APPEARED MUCH LATER.