Everyday Technique

Early Television
Telephones
This and that
 
 
 

Early Television

Listen to:
Download im RealPlayer-Format
Können Sie schon fernsehen?
(Can you already watch TV?)
The first television station of the world, the "Berlin house of the broadcast", A dream for privilegedstarted his regular television program on March 22nd, 1935. A long-standing development went ahead, before the transfer of moving pictures in the near future was prophesied by the German Post Office Department in 1923. In 1928 the transfer of a motionless picture was successful for the first time. The Television AG (a share company) was founded in Berlin a year later. Foundation members were the Bosch AG, Zeiss-Ikon AG, Radio AG Loewe and the Baird television company. Private home-television, 1930sThe national socialists recognized the propagandistic possibilities which this medium opened fast after the seizure of power. Consequence was a direct insinuation of this department under the newly created propaganda department which was escorted by Joseph Goebbels. The development of the broadcast engineering and radio sets was pursued with enthusiasm and taken to maturity in 1935. The transmit power of the transmitter sufficed only for the area Berlin. The (private) television sets of this first hour were moreover so expensive (approx. 2500 Reichs Mark) that only a few Television loungeprivileged party functionaries could afford them by some good connections. Two years after the opening of the television program there were only approx. 75 home receivers. Music presentations as well as a two hour evening information program could be seen at the begin of the experimental television program of the early days. Only during the summer Olympics of 1936 the television got accessible to a larger audience. Approximately 150.000 people could watch the games in 28 so-called "television lounges" in Berlin. An eight-hour long program was broadcasted by the transmitter "Paul-Nipkow" daily. 
Besides propagandistic purposes the Olympics also used as a test for the new electronic cameras.
 
''Fernsehkanone'' (television cannon), Olympia 1936 Olympia, 1936

The prototype of a private television set, called FE1, could be taken to maturity for series production first in July 1939. Approx. 500 television sets existed in Berlin before the beginning of WWII , so that at this time nobody could speak of a real mass media but of a luxury object ( approx. 650 Reichs Mark per set).
With begin of the war the production for the private sector came almost to Television blow-up place with 294 places, Berlin 1936succumbing since the electricians were engaged with the development of the radar engineering. 
During the second World War only 50 equipments were manufactured . There were however television programs furthermore and new television rooms were established primarily in hospitals to "cheering up" the injured soldiers. Due to destructions and staff shortage (military service) the television operation (last only sustained over wires) was stopped on October 19th 1944.


 
 

Telephones
.

Telephone from the thirties with separate listener and speaking funnel.
German W28 table set, 1920s
German W38 table set with glass balls bell, 1940s

 
 
 

This and that

English tea machine with automatic timer,   1940s
KODAK-Camera,   1930s
 
(To be continued ...)


 [Homepage