Television’s First Camera Pedestal…November 1936
Designed by Alda V Bedford and Knut J Magnusson, the patent assignment went to RCA which I think was their employer. It was a surprise to me that the lifting column is powered by an electric motor located in the base, and the up and down action is controlled in the left panhandle of the camera.
Another interesting feature is the internalization of the camera cable which as you can see in the drawing on the right, fits inside the column and is threaded to the bottom center of the camera, passing through the pan head. Unlike today’s peds, there is no steering ring. The ring you see is for pushing and pulling only. If you look closely at the schematic on the right (17) you can see a lever on top of the ring…that is what sets the wheel direction.
This ped has crab steering only and the foot pedal on the base is for a forth castor wheel that comes down so the pedestal can pivot to change the base position under the camera. The Fearless TD 1 pedestal developed in 1949 had this castor wheel also but added the steering ring and a manual up and down column. That comes tomorrow.
That concept lasted for a really long time!
I had dreams about vinten pedestals last night, then I see this article.
Very interesting pictures, this camera was equipped with Iconoscope tubes?
What was the first TV station in the USA, and whem it began to work?
How many of those old cameras still exit in collections?
For the best views, click on the images to enlarge them. The left and right drawings are from the patent application and the center photo is the best actual example of this pedestal that I know of.