3 ms·
Gustav Wikkenhauser mentions this briefly: > The tube provides immediately a visible record which can be kept on in detail at leisure. This record can, of cour
by masswerk 3y ago
Gustav Wikkenhauser mentions this briefly:
> The tube provides immediately a visible record which can be kept on in detail at leisure. This record can, of course, be traced on paper or photographed with a simple camera. (…) For most of the applications it was found that direct observations were sufficient.
[0] https://www.cdvandt.org/Blauschrift-Roehre.pdf https://www.cdvandt.org/Blauschrift-Roehre.pdf
Wikipedia includes a passage on rapid film recording and development as an alternative (based on fluorescent CRTs):
> Even the use in radar was not widespread; looking for an even larger format system with better properties, the RAF turned to the Photographic Display Unit, a system that took a photograph of the display, rapidly processed it, and then projected it through a modified movie projector. Even with this complexity, it was faster than the skiatrons, producing a new image every 15 seconds] while the skiatron units were typically longer due to the erasure process.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiatron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiatron
(Note: provided the short clip in that film, I cannot see how the argument really adds up. I guess, the log and analysis aspect was important. Moreover, I assume, as the size of the projection exceeds what is possible with direct projection and you have to opt for intermediate steps anyway, "conventional" CRTs were preferable for any photographic process because of their contrast properties.)
For more on the Photographic Display Unit, see:
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_Display_Unit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_Display_Unit
- nickloewen 3y agoFantastic! The comment you're replying to sent me looking for references, too. The closest I found was this article, which mentions an installation at RAF Truleigh Hill: https://www.shorehambysea.com/raf-truleigh-hill/ https://www.shorehambysea.com/raf-truleigh-hill/ "This device was a continuous photographic process which filmed the radar screen, processed the film and projected the image onto a glass screen within a very few seconds." (I wonder whether something like the Eidophor system that NASA used for mission control would have been another option? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidophor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidophor)
- masswerk 3y agoRegarding the Eidophor and possible similar technology in WWII, it may have been that there was still something missing to make rapidly spinning mirrors (like in laser printers, etc.) a viable option. That article on RAF Truleigh Hill is a great link, BTW!
- actionfromafar 3y agoWhich video clip are you referring to?
- masswerk 3y agoThe embedded one, which is actually the heart of the article, "RDF to RADAR" (1946) at 15:03.