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Camera Tubes

Prewar Camera Tubes

For an excellent discussion of the difference between the first two television camera tubes, the iconoscope and the image dissector, please see this article by James O'Neal. Here is the pre-1945 camera gallery.

 

Emitron (1936). Used in Alexandra Palace television transmission

 

1850 Iconoscope (1938) 

 

 

1848 Iconoscope. Used in RCA prewar field cameras

Specification Sheet (Courtesy of Troy Walters)

 

 

1847 Amateur Iconoscope (1940)

 

 

1846 Iconoscope (1941)

 
 

German "Super Iconoscope" (1936)

This camera tube was used to televise the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. It was developed by Dr. Heimann of the Post Office Ministry in Berlin. The cathode had a life of only a few hours. Every night after use, the electron gun (in diagonal tube) was removed and a new one inserted. The tube was then evacuated for use the next day.

Courtesy of Jochen Gittel
 

Farnsworth Image Dissector (early 40s)

 

Philco 1937 Iconoscope

  

 

 

Safar Telepantoscope (1938)

 

 

Patented by Arturo Castellani and similar to the iconoscope, but the vertical scanning is mechanical.

 

Courtesy of Giacomo Pruzzo and Gino Brizioli

 

RCA Orthicon (1943)

 

Monoscopes

 

 

  

 

Monoscope tube made by American Television Institute students (late 30s - early 40s). Usually there is a pattern of some sort on the target (right). This tube has a slotted disk instead. Here is the schematic diagram of the transmitter and receiver used with this tube.

 

RCA 1698 "Pattern" Monoscope (1939). This tube has numbers and geometric shapes in it.

 

DuMont Phasmajector (1938)

 

National Union Monotron

 

Experimental RCA Monoscope

 

1846 Iconoscope with monosocope pattern (1942)

 

 

RCA 1699 Monoscope (1939). This tube was custom made with the TV station's test pattern and call sign

. The museum has a pattern generator using this tube.