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The first
mechanical television systems
that produced real television images
were developed by John Logie Baird in England
and by Charles Francis Jenkins in the U.S. in the
mid 20s.
Picture quality was very poor, and the screens were only
an inch or so wide and were usually made up of only 30 to 60 lines (compared to
525 lines in the present U.S. system). Most of these sets used a motor to rotate
a metal disk to produce the picture, with a
neon tube
behind the disk to provide the light. Later mechanical systems used the
lens disk,
mirror screw and
mirror drum. The
Scophony system was the only mechanical
system capable of high definition pictures, but it was developed at a
time when the cathode ray tube had already been demonstrated as a better
method of displaying television pictures.
By 1931, television was being
broadcast from about 17 stations in the U.S., not only from the major cities such as New York and
Boston, but also from Iowa and Kansas. Several manufacturers were selling
sets and kits.
The frequencies used for TV broadcasting at that time
could travel long distances, so reception was possible hundreds of miles
from the station. However, the pictures suffered from not only poor
resolution, but also fading and ghosting.
In Columbus, Ohio, Murray Mercier, born in 1912, was
one of the first people to watch television. Click
here for his story.
In England, regularly scheduled 30 line television
programming was first broadcast by the BBC in September of 1929. At
first, only the picture was transmitted for a few hours a week, after
regular radio broadcasting was completed for the day. By March of 1930,
sound and pictures were transmitted together. Most countries in
Europe had at least one mechanical
station.
Because of the poor picture quality, mechanical television
was not a success. By 1933 almost all stations were off the air in the United
States. Mechanical television transmission by the BBC continued until 1935,
and in the Soviet Union until 1937.
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More on Mechanical Television
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These sets are in our
collection
Click on the
Image for More Information
* Indicates set is in working condition
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Baird Televisor (1930) *
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Baird Copy (1950?)
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Color Mirror Screw Receiver (1933/2007)* |

Daven TV Receiver (1928) *
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Daven Tri Standard (1928)
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Fracarro 30 Line (ca 1930)
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General Electric Octagon replica (ca 1950) |

Hollis Baird Receiver with Globe Scanner
(1929) |
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Hollis Baird C-3-S Shortwave Converter (1930)
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Hollis Baird 35 Receiver (1930)
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Jenkins JD-30 Receiver (1932)
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Jenkins 100 (1931)
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Mercier 24/45 Line (1928)
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Mercier 60 Line (1929)
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Mervyn Mirror Drum (1934) |

RCA 60 Line (1931) *
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Shortwave Converter (1928)
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Western Visionette (1929) *
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Western Empire State (1931) *
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Daven Equipment (1928)
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