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May 1962 Radio-Electronics
 [Table of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Radio-Electronics,
published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
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The early 1960s was a time
of big change in electronics as the industry transitioned from vacuum tubes to solid state devices, commercial broadcast radio moved from AM to FM,
and color television broadcasting was overtaking black and white. Airwaves were
quickly becoming crowded as engineers and scientists raced to expand operational
frequencies past the hundreds of megahertz. Spectrum needed to be protected
against indiscriminate use and abuse. The FCC (Federal Communications
Commission) expanded its imposition of licensing for users to help assure
effective coexistence. This 1962 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine's
"News Briefs" column reported on plans for new licensing. Also, the introduction
of higher numbers of women into engineering fields was abetted by highlighting
successful examples, like Miss Sylvia Welker at the White Sands Missile Range.
Amplifier noise figures below 1 dB were a rarity in the day, so a 0.9 dB
parametric amplifier made the editorial cut. "Discrete" Is Discreet" is a clever
play on the two homophones which a decade earlier would never been juxtaposed in
a headline. Discreet means careful or intentionally unobtrusive, whereas discrete means distinct or unconnected.
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News Briefs
FCC May Charge License Fees
The FCC proposes a charge for licenses and other regulatory functions.
Suggested rate schedule calls for $150 for new commercial broadcast stations or
major changes in existing AM and FM stations, and $250 for similar TV
applications. For TV translators and other broadcast applications, the fee would
be $30. Safety and special radio services would be charged $5 for amateur and
disaster services, and $20 for all other special radio services. Charges for
common-carrier applications would range from $10 to $150. A $20 fee is proposed
for experimental-service applications. The commission also suggests $2 to $5
fees for commercial radio operator exams and licenses.
Engineer Sylvia Welker, with the Signal Missile Support Agency at the
White Sands Missile Range, N. M., is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Mrs. Welker, 24, is the youngest of several women engineers at the Range. She holds
down a full-time work assignment in the Vulnerability Research and Development Branch
of Missile Electronic Welfare Division. In her spare time, she cares for her 14-month-old
daughter, works toward her Master's degree at New Mexico State University and studies
Russian at a night class.
Not All Recruiters Welcome Women Engineers
Despite the statement of Mildred Webber, placement official at the University
of Michigan (Radio-Electronics, April, 1962, page 12), who said that "women have
just as good a chance as men in any science field, and can earn comparable salaries,"
a survey of personnel recruiters from 30 of the nation's largest defense contractors
reveals that 20% are still reluctant to hire women engineers and scientists.
The survey was made by the Research Dept. of Careers Inc., national job information
clearing house for scientists and engineers. Since it consisted of interviews with
the actual recruiters of some of the nation's largest defense contractors, it may
perhaps reflect the facts more accurately than the "official" statements of corporation
spokesmen.
The question "Are you reluctant to hire women scientists or engineers?" was asked
recruiters representing 30 corporations. The answers were "No, not reluctant"-23,
"Yes, reluctant"-6.
"Discrete" Is Discreet
For secret communications, the University of Michigan announces the "discrete
frequency synthesizer" developed by its Cooley Electronics Laboratory under the
leadership of Thomas W. Butler, Jr. Ph.D.
Through a process known as "pseudo-random generation," both receiver and transmitter
jump from frequency to frequency, apparently at random, but actually following a
computer-designed pattern. Eavesdropping is rendered impossible.
The tuning mechanism consists of a diode that varies capacitance, allowing frequency
changes up to 500,000 times per second with a high degree of accuracy - 1 part in
100,000,000. Only a single crystal is required, as the diode generates a large number
of harmonics. The device is built of solid-state components and contains no moving
parts.
The "discrete frequency synthesizer," says Dr. Butler, should be particularly
useful in air navigation systems.
K. M. Eisele of Bell Labs makes final adjustment to new
low-noise parametric amplifier before it is sealed into it cavity and immersed
in liquid nitrogen.
Parametric Amplifier Features New Noise Figure
A microwave amplifier with a noise figure of about 0.9 db, the lowest noise ever
achieved by this type of amplifier, is reported by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
A new, hermetically sealed gallium arsenide diode is one of the factors contributing
to the improvement in this amplifier. Another contributor is a new cooling arrangement,
in which the amplifier is contained in a metal cavity, sealed by indium wire and
immersed in liquid nitrogen. This leads to more even cooling, and improves operating
stability. The nitrogen cannot leak into the device.
FM Sets New Record
Purchases of FM radio receivers exceeded 2,500,000 in 1961, surpassing 1960's
former record by 450,000 sets. FM stations have also increased, numbering 1,162
as of mid-February, 1962. A part of this increase represents a steady gain in FM
which was beginning in late 1958 and has continued to increase up to the present.
Accelerating factors are the entry into the field of FM stereo and the development
of FM automobile and portable radios, first imported from abroad and now being made
in the United States as well.
Doppler Navigators to Take Over in Air?
Aerial navigators on TWA's overseas jetliners may soon be replaced by Doppler
radar sets and analog computers.
The human navigator accomplished his task with radio aids, dead reckoning and
a periscopic sextant for celestial observation. Limitations of this method demanded
a longer and wider block of air space for each flight. The new system, far more
accurate, permits sharp reduction in ocean air-space assignments.
The TWA cockpit now contains a side-by-side pair of ground speed and drift indicators
(A and B), each preset to give guidance for the first two segments of the trip -
about 500 miles each. The pilot then sets A for the third segment, and the units
overtake each other in leapfrog fashion for the rest of the journey.
These computer-run units are adjusted by turning knobs to the preselected course
and mileages supplied to the pilot before flight time.
A vertical bar informs the pilot that he is on course or specifies the number
of miles off course. A drift-angle pointer indicates the amount of heading correction
necessary to compensate for crosswinds.
Barber-pole alarm flags in the indicator windows tell the pilot when the Doppler
system is not working due to microwave signals glancing off the ocean's surface.
Although TWA officials say the system is "fantastically accurate," the FAA requires
the use of ground-based radio aids to confirm positions, at least for the present.
Electric Power Station Will Use Atomic Energy
The Atomic Energy Commission has issued a permit for a 40,000-kw high-temperature,
gas-cooled nuclear power station at Peach Bottom in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The Peach Bottom plant will be built by Philadelphia Electric and 52 other electric
utility companies, organized as High Temperature Reactor Development Associates
Inc. The 53 companies generate 42% of all the electricity produced by the privately
owned power companies of the United States.
The plant is expected to be in operation by mid-1964, and will be operated by
Philadelphia Electric as a unit of its 3,500,000-kw power generating system. It
will represent the first commercial application of an advanced technique of nuclear
power generation known as the high-temperature, gas-cooled power reactor.
Posted May 29, 2024
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