TV Technicians

My goal from an early age was to work in TV, either in a technical area or even perhaps in front of the camera.
Throughout my high school years during the early 1960s, I had gathered quite a library of written material from a variety of TV sources, near and far.

Most items were related to my fascination with the technical side:
-- catalogues of studio and control room equipment (Marconi, RCA, G-E);
-- detailed yearbooks (from BBC, WGN, Chicago, and CJIC, Sault-Ste-Marie, Ontario);
-- with even a running subscription to the monthly 'Canadian Broadcaster' magazine, full of news from around the country!
I could watch a bit of U-S TV, especially duruing the summer, when the stratosphere would bounce TV signals from all along the Atlantic seaboard, especially on channels 2 to 6, to the Maritimes.
These would knock the channel 4 signal from Sydney off the 'watchable' set, but provided a variety of shows.
I can recall such stations as:
-- 'Channel 2,' in Greensboro, North Carolina;
-- WTVJ, channel 4 in Miami, Florida;
-- Channel 6, in New Bedford, Mass. (whose IDs displayed a clock), and
-- stations in New York City, and from as far westward as Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Chicago.
I got to see the legendary news anchors in action, from Walter Cronkite ('And, that's the way it is ...') on CBS, and Chet Huntley and David Brinkley ('Goodnight, Chet.' / 'Goodnight, David.'), on NBC.
Later, there would be extensive NBC / CBS coverage relayed here of the 1960 cliffhanger U-S election, spaceshots, and of man walking on the moon.
I was fascinated -- and still am fascinated -- by the presentation, especially on the technical side.
One night, I witnessed history: ALL U-S stations (but none in Canada) were carrying the inaugural transmission relayed by one of the early 'Telstar' satellites, which was available for capture in Maine only for a few minutes during each orbit.
Of course, it was all presented -- LIVE!
Videotape by Ampex had been introduced by 1958, and many non-news shows were taped.
By the way, I had a sample of the tape, and was amazed at how thin and flimsy it was.
The BIG STORY in the early 1960s began on Friday, November 22, 1963, with the assassination of President John Kennedy, in Dallas, Texas.
(It's one of those stories that you remember where you were when you first heard about it; I had just alighted from a bus and arrived home to be greeted by my Mom to the grim news.)
The story rolled 24/7 all weekend, including the assassination on TV of the alleged shooter in turn, on Sunday afternoon.
The funeral march on Monday, from the Capitol building, through the streets of Washington, to Mass, and then to Arlington Cemetery (with the eternal flame), is so vivid that I can still hear the incessant beat of those drums.
It also presented a massive technical feat; it was said that on that day, U-S TV news coverage came of age.
Many TV cameras were needed at all ceremony venues, as well as all along the SEVERAL MILES of the march route.
All networks would contribute ambient pictures and sounds to a central 'pool' system. They used all the gear they had available, borrowing facilities from stations as much as 100 miles away.
All day, camera crews would arrive at a location, set up their gear, catch video and audio of the procession marching by, tear down the gear, pack it and leapfrog a few miles ahead, where the process would be repeated.
Often, they didn't have much time to set up, as they could hear sounds of the drums approaching as they were preparing to flip the switch.
Remember, this event was taking place in an age of pre-minaturization and pre-transtitors; for example, each camera weighed upwards of 80 pounds, and contained arrays of tubes.
At the final location, the Cemetery, the TV director later claimed that they barely had time to aim their microwave dish on the roof of their truck -- they needed line-of-sight -- in the general direction of the receiving tower ... and cross their fingers.
Adding to the challenges facing that TV crew ... the late November sun had set, and the available light was fading rapidly.
But, somehow, they made it work.
So, the next time you see a TV 'live hit,' from an event, or in front of a familiar backdrop, please check if it's marked 'LIVE.'
That's in tribute to all the technicians who have laboured to set up and keep that signal available.
Proper thing!