Search RFCafe.com                           
      More Than 18,000 Unique Pages
Please support my efforts by ADVERTISING!
Serving a Pleasant Blend of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow™
Vintage Magazines
Electronics World
Popular Electronics
Radio & TV News
QST | Pop Science
Popular Mechanics
Radio-Craft
Radio-Electronics
Short Wave Craft
Electronics | OFA
Saturday Eve Post
Please Support My Advertisers!
 
  Formulas & Data
Electronics | RF
Mathematics
Mechanics | Physics
 About | Sitemap
Homepage Archive
        Resources
Articles, Forums Calculators, Radar
Magazines, Museum
Radio Service Data
Software, Videos
     Entertainment
Crosswords, Humor Cogitations, Podcast
Quotes, Quizzes
   Parts & Services
1000s of Listings
Software: RF Cascade Workbook | Espresso Engineering Workbook
RF Stencils for Visio | RF Symbols for Visio
RF Symbols for Office | Cafe Press
Aegis Power | Alliance Test | Centric RF | Empower RF | ISOTEC | Reactel | RFCT | San Fran Circuits
withwave microwave devices - RF Cafe

Exodus Advanced Communications Best in Class RF Amplifier SSPAs

Innovative Power Products Cool Chip Thermal Dissipation - RF Cafe

Please Support RF Cafe by purchasing my  ridiculously low-priced products, all of which I created.

RF Cascade Workbook for Excel

RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio

RF & Electronics Symbols for Office

RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio

RF Workbench

T-Shirts, Mugs, Cups, Ball Caps, Mouse Pads

These Are Available for Free

Espresso Engineering Workbook™

Smith Chart™ for Excel

Windfreak Technologies SynthHD PRO - RF Cafe

First Over-the-Horizon TV Bridge
November 1957 Radio & TV News

November 1957 Radio & TV News

November 1957 Radio & TV News Cover - RF Cafe[Table of Contents]

Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

Telstar I: world's first television broadcast satellite - RF CafeIn the days before satellite communications (Telstar I, c1962), long-range television broadcasts relied on an extensive (and expensive) series of line-of-sight microwave towers. Each site had land ownership and maintenance expenses, so there was an incentive to streamline operations. Development of an over-the-horizon relay system enabled a reduction in sites and streamlining of operations - at least in theory. History shows that these installations must not have provided the improvement needed to implement them on a larger scale than that reported here. Nowadays, the proliferation of cellphone towers for ubiquitous coverage of wireless telecommunications has proven that huge numbers of individual sites can be profitable given a large enough customer base. You can scarcely go anywhere anymore without being able to spy a cell tower sticking out over the landscape.

First Over-Horizon TV Bridge

New 785-mile TV-telephone link set up between Florida and Cuba employs scatter.

First Over-the-Horizon TV Bridge, November 1957 Radio & TV News - RF Cafe

One of four 60·foot "big screen" Blaw-Knox antennas used in new microwave scatter link.

Scientists and engineers at Federal Telecommunication Laboratories have developed the world's first microwave radio system capable of carrying television and more than 100 telephone channels for a distance of almost 200 miles. Over-the-horizon microwave equipment, employing scatter techniques, provides an electronic bridge between Florida City, Florida and Guanabo, Cuba - a distance of 185 miles. High-power transmitters and high-gain antennas are used in the new link. The system differs from others constructed or under construction in that it incorporates a frequency band broad enough to accommodate television and more than 100 telephone conversations at the same time. The conventional "O/H" system is narrowband and is capable of carrying only a limited number of voice or telegraph channels. Overland links from the O/H terminals to the main offices in Miami and Havana were installed by the American Telephone and Telegraph Co.

In order to achieve the utmost in system reliability, broadband transmitters and receivers are used in a suitable dual and quadruple diversity system. The equipment, which is basically FM, operates in the 692-880 mc. band. A transmitter power level of 10 kw. is used.

Besides this Florida-Cuba link, International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. is installing five major O/H links. One joins the 240-miles-apart Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Minorca, providing direct telephone service between Spain and Italy.

President Kennedy addressing the launch of the Telstar satellite

 

 

Posted November 10, 2021
(updated from original post on 10/31/2014)

Windfreak Technologies SynthHD PRO - RF Cafe
TotalTemp Technologies (Thermal Platforms) - RF Cafe

Temwell Filters

Axiom Test Equipment - RF Cafe