SPRINGFIELD, VA. Broadcast Engineering magazine was a long-time favorite of mine, with articles that challenged me to learn more about video technology, and advertising that was often as educational as the articles. I probably saw my first copy in 1980, by which time it was recognizably BE, in a version that looked fairly modern by today's standards. The same can't be said for the two copies of BE that TV Technology's James O'Neal handed me the other day. Dated August 1962 and April 1963, these two issues provide a fascinating window into the state of television and broadcasting art in the early 1960s.
Starting with the August 1962 issue, the table of contents states that it is Volume 4, Number 8. That means that this was the fourth year of publication, which means that Volume 1 would have been in 1959. Number 8 indicates the eighth month, since BE is a monthly by this point. I do not know if the magazine started out as a monthly, but publishing has a long history of starting out as bi-monthly, then shifting to monthly publication as interest warrants.
The cover on the August 1962 issue trumpets a new series on transistor audio amplifier circuits, which was on page 18. The article, written by Donald K. Haahr from the engineering department at Collins Radio, shows a schematic for a four-transistor push-pull audio amplifier that uses transformers for both the input and output of the final (push-pull) output stage.
Keep in mind that the transistor was still pretty new and something of an oddity in 1962 it had been invented in 1949 and Haahr mentions this right at the top of the article.
Bell Laboratories began exposing it 12 or 13 years ago and transistors have been in quantity production for the past seven or eight years, he wrote.
The circuit discussed in the article has its performance shown in a graph that is formatted oddly by today's standards: The frequency is plotted vertically and the gain (called dB response ) is plotted horizontally. Those two would be reversed in a modern frequency response chart.
Haahr said that he wrote the article to demystify transistors, saying that they were not well understood for two reasons:
1. Many engineers feel the job can be done with vacuum tubes, so why waste time on anything else, and;
2. Lack of understanding makes almost anything complicated.
NAB wrap-up article text for the Television Zoomar 10x lens
Haahr attacked the status-quo of point one directly, pointing out that his employer makes both tube and transistor products that target different broadcast applications.
For instance, the Collins 12Z2 Remote Amplifier weighs 45 pounds and the transistorized 212Z-1 Remote Amplifier weighs 21 pounds, he wrote. The latest model, the transistorized Collins 212H-1 Remote Amplifier, weighs 11 pounds and operates on flashlight batteries at a cost of less than one cent per hour.
Elsewhere in the August 1962 issue were articles on a new 20 kW FM transmitter from RCA, a news teletype automatic Conelrad alarm, a discussion of proper audio studio maintenance (mostly cleaning techniques), and phase concerns with stereo phonograph records and how that affects stereo broadcasting.
FOCUSED ON RADIO
Nearly all the editorial content in the August 1962 issue of BE is audio-related or focused on radio broadcasting. There is lots of advertising but just a couple (including a full-page ad for Conrac monitors) are for television products. Of course, by the time BE printed its last issue in Oct. 2013, it was virtually all about television.
By the time the April 1963 issue of BE rolled around, there was more television content at least from an advertising standpoint. In fact, one of the ads was a two-page spread for the Ampex VR-1100 quad video recorder, which the company trumpeted as costing only $35,000. In the ad, the company also said that the recorder's maintenance costs are low, so companies back then could still promote their products with a wink and a smile!
The highlight of the April 1963 issue was BE's NAB wrap-up article, which covered three pages. There are definitely some television products on these pages, including a 10x zoom lens for image orthicon cameras. Manufactured by Television Zoomar, the lens was designed by Pierre Angenieux, with an assist from Dr. Frank G. Back of Zoomar.
Other television products in the NAB wrap-up article include a Sony miniature television tape recorder that featured the ability to stop and display a single frame. Both GE and EMI/US had film chain systems for television broadcasting, and Mitchell Vinton had on display a wide variety of film and television-camera mounting equipment.
On the floor of NAB 1963
The NAB wrap-up article and the magazine in general has a good sprinkling of photographs, although the NAB article is really a standout in regard to photography. The technical articles in the issue don't have nearly as many photographs.
The April 1963's cover shows a crowd shot at NAB 1963, and it's notable for two things. First, there are no women in the photo not one woman among the more than 50 men in the shot. Second, all the men are wearing suits and ties. I guess there was no attending the NAB in a t-shirt, cargo shorts and flip-flops, and exhibitors didn't have their staffs wearing color-coordinated polo shirts.
There is lots more that could be said about this trip down Broadcast Engineering's memory lane, but I hope you found this interesting.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
SPRINGFIELD, VA. Broadcast Engineering magazine was a long-time favorite of mine, with articles that challenged me to learn more about video technology, and advertising that was often as educational as the articles. I probably saw my first copy in 1980, by which time it was recognizably BE, in a version that looked fairly modern by today's standards. The same can't be said for the two copies of BE that TV Technology's James O'Neal handed me the other day. Dated August 1962 and April 1963, these two issues provide a fascinating window into the state of television and broadcasting art in the early 1960s.
