Prewar Camera Tubes

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 early electronic camera gallery.

Early Television

Philips Iconoscope (mid 1930s)

Used in Philips 1930s camera

Early Television

Farnsworth Image Dissector (1931)

Early Television

RCA Spherical Iconoscope (ca 1934)

Early Television

Philco Iconoscope (1934)

Early Television

Safar Telepantoscope (1935)

Early Television

Emitron (1936). Used in Alexandra Palace television transmission

Early Television

Telefunken Ladungsspeicher-Röhre”

iconoscope (1936)

Early Television

Farnsworth Image Dissector (1936)

Used in Farnsworth 1936 camera

Early Television

Philco  Iconoscope (1936)

Used in Philco 1936 camera

Early Television

RCA 1850 Iconoscope (1938)

Early Television

Telefunken small iconoscope

(late 30s)

Early Television

Telefunken large iconoscope (late 30s)

RCA Orthiconoscope (1939)

Early Television

RCA 1848 Iconoscope (1939). Used in RCA prewar field cameras.

Early Television

Farnsworth Image Dissector

 (1940)

Early Television

RCA 1847 Amateur Iconoscope (1940)

Early Television

RCA 1846 Iconoscope

(1941)

Early Television

German miniature "Super Iconoscope" (early-mid 40s)

RCA Orthicon (1943)

Monoscopes

The Monoscope on the Reverse Time Page website

Early Television

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.

Early Television

RCA 1698 "Pattern" Monoscope (1939).

This tube has numbers and geometric shapes in it.

Early Television

DuMont Phasmajector (1938)

Early Television

RCA 1846 Iconoscope with 
monosocope pattern (1942)

Early Television

Experimental RCA Monoscope (ca 1938)

Early Television

National Union Monotron 
(1938)

Early Television

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.

Here is a lesson from United Television Laboratories about this tube.

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