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Each month Radio &
TV News magazine contained a section entitled, "What's New in Radio," which
reported on some of the latest happenings in the fields of commercial, military,
space, transportation, broadcast, and all other forms of wireless communications.
This 1958 issue show the world's first volume production airborne digital computer,
designed by Hughes
Aircraft Company, installed in the nose of a U.S. Air Force
F-102A Delta
Dagger fighter jet (built by Convair). The 456th Fighter Interceptor Squadron
website has a lot of information about the
Hughes MA-1 Digitair computer and its integration with airborne radar to create
a flight control system that could guide aircraft to a target for ordinance (bombs,
missiles) deployment. Other topics included a wideband oscilloscope from
Electronic Industries (EIC) that handled a whopping 5 MHz. It came in kit form
for hobbyists and low budget commercial shops. RCA announced a new pair of pnp
and npn transistors with gains into the shortwave bands.
What's New in Radio
 Digital Airborne Computer
Shown here is the prototype test model of the first airborne digital computer
in actual production. The unit, called the Digitair, was announced recently by Hughes
Aircraft Co. It is shown installed in an F-102A Air Force all-weather interceptor.
The computer is small enough to fit into a 21-inch table model television cabinet.
 Wide-Band Oscilloscope
Electronic Industries, State Road, Patterson, N. Y., one of the newest firms
in the rapidly expanding kit field, has recently introduced a wide-band, high-sensitivity
5-inch oscilloscope kit which has been especially designed for' laboratory and television
servicing applications. The Model 535 has a 10 mv r.m.s./ cm. sensitivity from d.c.
to 5 mc., an electronically regulated power supply, and push-pull circuitry throughout.
Built-in continuously variable calibrating voltages of 100, 10, 1, and 0.1 volt peak-to-peak
at an accuracy of 3% are provided. The scope is housed in a blue
hammertone finished cabinet
with a photo-etched anodized panel. The unit measures 12"x16"x18½" and weighs slightly
less than 40 pounds. It will operate on 105 to 125 volts, 50/60 cycle a.c. It draws
150 watts.
New Oblique Plier
 Mathias Klein & Sons, 7200 McCormick
Road, Chicago 45, Ill., has announced the availability of a new shear-cutting oblique
plier, No. 207-5C. The new instrument, on which a patent is pending, is 5½"
long and the shear-cutting blade will cut dead soft or extremely hard wire. Blades
may be replaced, hence the plier never needs sharpening. Regular cutting knives
in the nose add to the usefulness and a coil spring keeps the jaws apart for instant
use.
High Frequency Transistors
The Semiconductor Division of Radio Corporation of America, Somerville, N. J.,
has introduced a new germanium p-n-p alloy-type transistor (2N274) embodying the
"drift" principle and a junction transistor of the germanium p-n-p alloy type, the
2N404.
The compact design of the 2N274 opens new applications in military and commercial
equipment where space is limited. It operates at frequencies extending from the
standard AM band well up into the short-wave bands.
The 2N404 is designed for use in switching circuits of compact, medium-speed
military and industrial electronic computers. It has flexible leads and is hermetically
sealed in a metal case which is 0.360" in diameter with a body length of 0.25".
Leads are spaced to con-form to EIA (formerly RETMA) standards for automation requirements.
Posted January 28, 2020
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