Assembling the Televisor Mechanics

INTRODUCTION

The mechanical assembly, including the motor, disc, and other associated hardware, is the heart of the 1934 Daily Express televisor and every effort has been expended to be sure that the final result is as accurate, museum-quality replica. Back in 1934, the mechanical system would have been driven by voltage from the AC Mains and the output of the final tube/valve in the audio system of the broadcast receiver. We won't be anywhere near that primitive, as we will see in the next section.

It is going to be necessary to include a number of assembly details in this section, for the simple reason that the required information is not in the kit documentation. The kit does include the 1934 assembly instructions and these are a big help. However, there are some subtle differences in the 2004 version that need sorting out as the televisor takes shape.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

VIDEO MODE

This is not a particularly good shot of the DE televisor as it nears completion, but you will note a major difference between my unit and the one illustrated at the top of the page. Instead of the 30-line scanning disc supplied in the kit, here the unit is shown with one of Peter Yanczer's 32-line discs. Because of the way I intend to drive the motor, I can actually operate the televisor in two modes - the 30-line Baird standard for which it was originally designed and the 32-line standard used by the Narrow-Band Television Association.

Because the 32-line disc is smaller, the mounting brackets for the replica "neon" tube and the magnifying lens must be moved inward slightly. The baseboard now has two sets of mounting holes for each component. Switching from one mode to the other, including a disc change, requires about five minutes. The advantage of the two vertically-scanned formats is that the height of the lamp and magnifying lens did not have to be altered - it is always in horizontal alignment with the disc hub.