A BRIEF HISTORY OFKINESCOPE-MAKING IN BRAZIL

Carlos Alberto Fazano, PU2KFZ, fazanoquantun@yahoo.com.br / www.fazano.pro.br

For purposes of historical reference,television was introduced in Brazil onSeptember 18, 1950, with the inaugurationof “TV-Tupy”, call PRF-3, which wasowned and operated by Brazil's largest rad-io network, Emissoras Associadas, usingRCA equipment with the U. S. televisionstandards of 525 lines, 60 fields, and as-signed as Channel 3.

The PRF-3 three-bay super-turnstyleantenna was installed atop the StateBank Building, the highest edifice inSão Paulo city, in the early Fifties.

Dr. Francisco de Assis ChateaubriandBandeira de Mello, Director General ofEmissoras Associadas, presenting the

RCA equipment used at PRF-3.

The investment and installation of theRCA equipment were the responsibility ofDr. Francisco de Assis ChateaubriandBandeira de Mello, Director General ofEmissoras Associadas through RCA Vic-tor Radio S/A, the RCA subsidiary inBrazil. The new medium was received

enthusiastically by São Paulo residents,and soon the TV station started operationon a four-hour daily schedule. Beforeeach "broadcast day," the station sent atest pattern, originally developed by RCA,to let set owners to adjust their receivercontrols for best reception. Telecastersoon developed their own test patterns tomeet local technical and marketing re-quirements.

ORIGIN OF PRF-3 TEST PATTERNIn the early days of B&W television,

every station, prior to the scheduled pro-gramming, sent a test pattern to let setowners adjust their receiver controls for

optimum reception. It had been developedoriginally by RCA in 1939, assumingmany forms, among them the American"Indian head." The test pattern was pro-duced by the “Monoscope” tube, type2F21, from a plate built into it. With the

station sending the test pattern, the“Monoscope” supplies the complete signalin place of the “Iconoscope” or cameratube. With the aid of the patterns the TVserviceman could check and adjust severalparameters concerning a television re-

ceiver - linearity, bandwidth, etc..Such a pattern was used by many televi-

sion stations all over the world, as well the“TV Tupy” network in Brazil.

Test pattern developed by RCA in1939, showing several image ele-

ments for adjusting receiver controls.

RCA 2F21 monoscope,part of TK-1A system.

Considering that the “PRF-3” patternwas kept on the air for many hours, it ledto a boring situation for the tele-spectator.To reduce this annoyance, the cartoonist incharge of “PRF-3” station vignette pro-duction, Mario Fanucchi, created an alter-native to the stern-faced American Indianthrough a stylized, more likable nationalcounterpart, soon christened as little In-dian – “Tupiniquim.”

The new cartoon in childlike style dis-played its feather with antennas arising amore pleasant look mainly for the youngaudience besides giving a new marketingidentity to the station, already known asresponsible for bringing TV technology toBrazil.

Test pattern as customized by PRF-3,displaying the Indian "Tupiniquim."

Brazil was the first country in SouthAmerica and the fourth in the world com-munity to have a television station withdaily broadcasts. An RCA ad in its maga-zine Broadcast News, circa 1952, showsthe growth of television stations in LatinAmerica. In just one year the numberjumped from 5 to 9 TV transmitters all of

them RCA-equipped; among them twolocated in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro,Brazil. [RCA was not alone in the LatinAmerican TV market. The Feb. 1951 issueof the Du Mont Raster celebrated the out-fitting of CMQ-TV in Havana, and a sec-ond station there, with camera chains andother gear. The Dec. 1951 issue reportedthe sale of "Telecruiser" remote-pickupbuses to a station in São Paulo and to TVBelgrano in Buenos Aires. - Ed]

RCA "Latin America" ad

In early Fifties, Brazilian television wasstill a formative activity, considering thelack of technicians trained in this newmedia technology as well as on the artisticside. Telecasting was still live-broadcast.

Since at the beginning of television thetransmitting and receiving equipment werestill imported, consequently increasing thereceiver costs and certainly restricting thepurchase to few ones only.

Therefore even considering those handi-caps around mid-Fifties television enteredin the Brazilian homes pressing the indus-try to launch in the market the first localproduced television receivers, figuringcirca 305,000 units sold in 1963.

Television enters Brazilian homes inthe mid-'50s. despite technical and

economic handicaps.

A WORD ON TRADE-MARKS ANDTECHNICAL LEXICON

At the beginning of the electronic age,the perennial force of competition pressedinventors and innovators in the role of pat-ents and monopoly, as happened in thetransition from the mechanical to electron-ic television technology. The original ex-ploration of the field of television tookplace in Europe. However, American in-ventors were primarily responsible fortranslating this early work into commerc-ial electronic TV through the developmentof the "electronic eye" or camera tube andthe electronic scanning device or picturetube, both deriving from Dr. Zworykin'sresearches at RCA Laboratories. [Televi-sion historians also recognize the role of theinventor Philo Farnsworth, plus developersin Britain,France,and Germany - Ed.]

Reception honoring a pioneer of elec-tronic television. The photo shows

members of “TELECOM” – Brazilian

Electronic Industry Association: fromleft to right, Dr. Antonio Portella Neto;Captain-engineer Chaves Lameirão;Dr. Vladimir K. Zworykin, the father ofthe iconocope and kinescope; General

Amaro Bittencourt; Gilberto AfonsoPenna, manager of Antenna; Perry F.Hadlock, president of RCA-Brazil and,

in the right corner, Dr. Jose BarrosSantos, founder of “SNE” – SociedadeNacional de Eletrônica responsible for

making communication equipmentunder RCA license. In the visit to Bra-zil in November 1950 under the aus-pices of the University of São Pauloand sponsored by “TELECOM,” Dr.

Zworykin lectured on the state-of-the-art inTV technology by commenting onthe latest innovations and trends, such

as the image orticon, vidicon”, newkinds of TV cameras, industrial and

color television, and so forth.

Considering the state-of-mind protectionmood on inventions and innovation inelectronics at the time, certainly such sorelevant researching work led RCA to fileapplications for the trademarks: “Icono-scope” and “Kinescope” as registerednames for the camera tube and the picturetube respectively.

Since the picture tube was made andsold in Brazil as “Cinescópio,” the Portu-guese lexicon for the original trademarkterm, it has been kept as a matter of his-torical terminology only, bearing in mindthat around 1950 RCA surrendered rightsto several of its registered product names.

Three of television best known trade-marks and famous miniature tube isbeing voluntarily surrendered to thepublic domain by Radio Corporation ofAmerica, Frank M. Folson, President,announced on August 17.

Mr. Folsom said that the U.S. PatentOffice has been requested by RCA tocancel its registration of these register-ed Trade Names: Iconoscope, firstelectronic “eye” of the television cam-era; Kinescope, picture tube of televi-sion home receivers; Orthicon, improv-

ed television pick-up tube; and Acorn,tiny radio now a common place in port-able sets [sic].

“Now that television has become est-ablished, “Mr. Folsom declared, RCAfinds gratification in the fact that indus-try uses these names in a generic anddescriptive manner. In relinquishingour registrations of the benefits of theindustry, we are following RCA, tradi-tion policy of stimulating progress inradio and electronic fields.” The threetelevision trade-marks are of Greekderivation. “Kinescope,” registered by“RCA” in 1932, stems from “kineo,”meaning “to move,” and “scope” signi-fying "observation.” “Iconoscope,” reg-istered in 1935, incorporates the Greek“icon,” meaning “image”: “Orthicon,”registered in 1940, derives from “direct”.

In Brazil, the term “kinescope” wastranslated as: “Cinescópio,” as cited ina local RCA advertisment. Conven-tional style and new style kinescopes

at left and right respectively.

Celebration of the conversionto rectangular CRTs

Trademarks, tradenames, coined techni-cal terms, patents numbering are issues ofgreat importance in the history of technol-ogy. The excerpt from “RCA” above wascollected from the RCA magazine Radio

Age, October, 1950, page 21. In Brazil,the term “Kinescope” was translated as“Cinescópio.”

KINESCOPE-MAKING IN BRAZILStandard Electrica S/A – SESA – the

Brazilian industrial branch of the ITTgroup in the USA, started making tubes inthe early Forties. However, it reached ahigh production level only in 1956,through investments made by Philips andRCA, which consequently led to the originof the locally made kinescope. Philips,through its subsidiary IBRAPE – “Indúst-ria Brasileira de Produtos Eletrônicos” andRCA, originally in the Company’s facili-ties in São Paulo circa 1956, moving laterto Belo Horizonte in a new factory alreadyprepared for transistor-making.

CINESCOPIOS E TRANSISTORESA uma pregunta que fizemos sobre a

producão de cinescópios, esclarce opresidente da RCA.

- A fabricão de cinescópios pam TVfoi considerada de primordial importan-cia pela nossa organizacão. Tanto as-sim que a RCA Victor passará a pro-duzir cinescópios muito antes de estarem funcionamento a fábrica de BeloHorizonte. Logo nos primeiros mesesdo ano proxima vindouro, comecare-mos a produzir cinescópios na fabricaque esta sendo instalada em SãoPaulo. Talvez os senhores estranhemessa duplicidade de locais, mas devoesclarecer que esta rigorosamente deacordo com os preceitos de engen-haria industrial estabelecidos pelalonga experencia da RCA neste assun-to: evitar a concentracao de suas fab-ricas em um unico local. A instalacaoda fabrica de cinescópios em SãoPaulo e indicada pelo fato de se tartarde produto volumoso e de transportedelicado; nada mais logico, portanto,do que produzi-lono local em que dev-era ser entregue aos seus majoresconsumidores - isto e, onde estao asprincipais fabricas brasilieras de televi-sores. A fabrica de cinescópios estana sua fase final de instalacao, e des-de ja convido "Antenna" a fazer umareportagem sobre esta outra important-te inicativa industrial da RCA Victor.

- Voltando ao assunto de nossa fab-ricca de Belo Horizonte (prossegue oSr. Hadlock), ha uma informacao degrande interesse: esta tambem pre-vista a fabricao de transistores.

"Kinescopes and transistors"

In 1955, Perry F. Hadlock, president ofRCA-Brazil, in an interview with the mag-azine Antenna, confirmed the company’splans for local production of kinescopes,and later on transistors. Picture tubeswould first be made at RCA facilities in SãoPaulo, as the majority of TV setmakers werelocated in such an industrial area. Later on,valves, kinescopes, as well as transistorswould be made in the new plant in BeloHorizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais.Excerpt of Mr. Hadlock’s interview col-lected from Antenna,November 1955.

RCA plant on Avenida David Sarnoff

Homage to General David Sarnoff: OnJanuary 21, 1971, the municipality ofContagem city in the neighborhood ofBelo Horizonte named a new avenue forthe honorable American entrepreneur ofthe electronic industry. The avenue cros-sed the front of RCA's new plant devotedto the manufacturing of tubes, CRTs, andtransistors. Source: Antenna.

In 1956 RCA was already producing thefirst batches of kinescopes in São Paulo witha painstaking manufacturing process com-prising several sequential stages. Theyconsist of: chemical cleaning of the glassbulb, application of the luminescent phos-phor solution to the screen, application of agraphite mixture coating, known as“Aquadag,” to give a uniform voltage dis-tribution over the entire bulb, simultane-ously degaussing and radio-frequency heat-

ing for inner-debris burning,and bulb-sealing.

Then the assembled picture tube was putthrough quality-control stages involving

checking for electrical performance aswell as operational conditions regardingthe vacuum and luminosity level and fi-nally, the quality of the image projectedby the cathode.

KINESCOPE MANUFACTURING STEPS

The main stages of tube-making at RCA,for instance, for type 21YP4, are as below.

RCA's large facilities for kinescope-manufacture in São Paulo

Stage: screen preparation in a roomcontrolled for temperature, humidity,

and dust.

Stage: application of Aquadag coatingand heating of bulb to 415 ºC.

Stage: assembly of innerelectrodes of kinescope.

Stage: simultaneous RF heating andremoving residual gases from the

electron gun

Stage: electrical testing of kinescope.

Final stage: packing and storage.

PRODUCTION OF SETSPhilips-IBRAPE started local production

of thermionic valves by launching in themarket the “noval” and miniature types.In 1956 the factory was producing circa1000 units per hour, which led the com-pany to introduce several types of kine-scopes in its product line.

A 23 inch-inch size, 114º-degree de-flection angle, and aluminized screenwere features of the “SILVERAMA”

kinescope series in this ad publishedby RCA, circa 1960. Source: Antenna

Philips-IBRAPE ad outlining the ad-vanced technology and quality control

in its products in the early Sixties.Source: Antenna

One of the most important factors for theindustrial achievement was the local man-power, as a tight rejection rate was im-posed on the company’s production line,much lower when compared with the onesfound in industrialized countries overseas.Considering manpower represented a 70%share in the total manufacturing chain, itcontributed by improving product qualityas well as minimizing end-user costs.

Sylvania was another U. S. enterprise tomake picture tubes in Brazil. Sylvania'sactivities as maker of kinescopes and setsbegun after the bankruptcy of the Brazil-ian group Empire Radio e Televisão, ofwhich the company was the main creditor.

Sylvania facilities in São Paulo contin-ued those of “Empire Radio e Tele-

visão.” Source: Antenna.

Making CRTs in São Paulo, Sylvaniaalso developed a TV-receiver productionline, initially for black-and-white modelsand later on color ones with high quality.

Sylvania kinescope production line,circa 1961. Source: Antenna

In 1964 Sylvania (Silvania ProdutosElétricos Ltda.) reached a cumulative fig-

ure of 500,000 kinescopes made in Brazil,sold to independent television makers aswell as in the replacement market.

Advertisement for the Sylvania "SilverScreen 85" kinescope series. Source:

Antenna

The Company commemorated the eventthrough a cocktail party at the Scandina-vian Club in São Paulo on February 27.At this event the management released anew marketing approach by sponsoring onSão Paulo TV net Channel Two a movieseries entitled “Espionage.”

Celebration in 1964, commemoratingthe production of the 500.000th kine-

scopes made by Sylvania in SãoPaulo. Source: Radiotécnica

A disastrous fire in the company's plantpressed it to stop the TV receiver produc-tion. Therefore, Sylvania stayed in themarket for a while as a kinescope-makeronly. In the later Sixties Sylvania ceasedits industrial operation in Brazil, transfer-ring its original installations to PhilcoRadio e Televisão Ltda.

As it has been known, components werethe Achilles’ heel of the local electronicindustry. Over the years many parts wereimported, mainly transmitting and receiv-ing valves considered, in the early Fifties,the backbone of industrial and scientificapplications.

Bearing in mind those technical and hist-orical aspects the national kinescope-making was quite peculiar as independ-ently of big foreign investment in thecountry from either American or Europeansides, for local similar component making,originally a Brazilian enterprise was com-peting in the market, since “Invictus S/ARadio e Televisão” was credited withlaunching the original national counterpartfor the industrial electronic community.

The Company was founded in 1934, or-iginally making radio receivers. In thetelevision boom of the mid-Fifties, Invic-tus expanded its industrial activities as thefirst national brand of kinescope. Thecompany started production in its old plantand later on planned to move to its newfacilities located downtown in São Paulocity, scheduled for December 1964.

Evaluating kinescope performance inInvictus' quality control department.

Source: Radiotécnica

The production process was like the onementioned above, i. e., bulb-cleaning,

inner-electrode assembling, bulb-prep-aration, and finally electrical and opera-tion performance testing.

In a short period of time, circa 10 years,after the inauguration of the first BrazilianTV station, a national enterprise, facingthe lack of industrial infrastructure, Invic-tus' efforts culminated in advanced kine-scope-making by using the new 110º de-flection geometry, an innovation for thenational industry as Brazil was the secondcountry in the world to use such technol-ogy, and in this way improving the pro-duction of TV sets.. In the new 21-inch 110-degree deflec-tion geometry, the kinescope bulb wasmuch shorter than the older 70º and 90ºtypes. Considering the smaller bulb neckdiameter, it allowed the fitting of high-sensitivity deflection coils. The electronbeam scanned the screen in a wider anglewith power not higher than with the 90ºcounterpart.

The improved low-voltage electrostatic-focused electron gun assured image sharp-ness all over the screen, besides no longerrequiring an ion trap.

Certainly the new tube-making technol-ogy helped industry in the development ofimproved receivers in circuit quality, im-age performance, and compactness.

Picture tubes of the same screensize but different deflection angles

OVERVIEW OF TV SETS MADE INBRAZIL – 1955-1970

An illustrated overview of televisionreceivers made in Brazil follows. In themid-Fifties the local industry was alreadyable to supply many kinds of mechanical,electro-mechanical and electrical compo-nents including valves, as well as kine-scopes in several sizes and deflection ge-ometries.

Black-and-white table TV set, “Pre-dicta” model, made by Philco-Brazilbased on the American counterpart,model UG-4242M. Tube circuitry us-

ing a 21-inch CRT, circa 1956.Source: Maria de Oliveira collection.

CONCLUSIONThe above illustrates several aspects of

the origin and evolution of kinescope-making in Brazil. Other topics related tothe matter could have been covered, suchas the rebuilding of defective picture tubesby small and independent companies, the

Semi-portable color receiver, Araguaiamodel, solid-state circuitry using 17-

inch aluminized 110º kinescope, madeby Colorado, an independent televi-

sion receiver maker, circa 1970.Source: archives of Nilson Bertoni

Color receiver, model TVC 364V,solid-state circuit topology, using

“high-light” 14 inch series kinescope,made by Telefunken–Brazil in late

Seventies.industry efforts to overcome the difficul-ties of local manufacturing, as well as theapplication of 110º kinescopes, and soforth. However, as the author’s challengein any publication is space, those themeswere left for future opportunity in writingon the history of electronics in Brazil.

REFERENCES1. Henry British Lins de Barros, Historia da In-dústria de Telecomunicações no Brasil,Associação Brasileira de Telecomunicações,TELECOM, 1989, Brasil.2. "Fabricando Cinescópios no Brasil," An-tenna, edição 326, Agosto 1956, pp. 128-131,3. Kay, M. S., "The Television Test Pattern,"Radio & Television News, Jan. 1949, pp. 38-39.4. Bocuze Ciro e Hnroz Marcelo, "VisitandoIndústrias: Invictus S/A Radio e Televisão,"Rádiotécnica, no. 150, Agosto 1960, pp. 54-57.5. Finatti, Roberto, "O Desenvolvimento daIndústria Eletrônica Brasileira," Radiotécnica,no. 174, Jan.-Fev. 1964, pp. 35-37, Brasil.6. Radiotécnica, no. 175, Mar.-Jun. 1964, p. 40.7. Broadcast News, Jan.-Feb. 1952, USA.8. "The Voice of the Electrical and ElectronicsIndustry in Brazil," ABINEE, Associação Bras-ileira da Indústria Elétrica e Eletrônica, BelliniCultural, São Paulo, 2008.9. Fazano, Carlos A., A Idade do Elétron - 100Anos de Progresso na Eletrônica, São Paulo,2011.10. Fazano, Carlos A., "The Thermionic Age inBrazil, 1920–1970," Tube Collector, June 2009,pp. 5-2311. "Invictus S/A, Rádios e Televisão," An-tenna, edição 292, Nov.-Dez. 1953, pp. 42-43.12. "Primeira Exposição de Eletrônica e Tele-comunicações," Antenna, no. 292, Nov.-Dez.1953, pp. 22-41,13. Radio Age (quarterly RCA publication),Nov. 1950, p. 21.14. "Avenida General David Sarnoff," An-tenna, vol. 65, Jan. 1971, p. 67.