Pre-SSTV Flying Spot Scanner by W8ZCF

As a University of Cincinnati EE Student I was fortunate to have co-op work jobs at WLW-TV and WCPO-TV stations. For my thesis in my senior year 1950-1951 I built a FS Scanner using an 5FP4 Camera monitor tube inserted in a discarded TV chassis. Light from the tube was projected through a 35 mm projector operated in reverse with a 931 A photo multiplier tube replacing the projection bulb. Emphasis was on a wide band video amp design developed by one of my professors in Electronics Dept.Design using L/C networks in cathode compensated design with four 6CB6 tubes.

Unfortunately l did not learn of SSTV until many years later, so never did utilize this assembly with the advances of Amateur Radio SSTV developed by W0LMD and others.

(Quite a picture of W8ZCF in his youth 50 years ago!)

K7YZZ SSTV Flying Spot Scanner

During the early beginnings of ham radio SSTV, I (K7YZZ) was pleased to have a visit from Copthorne Macdonald while he, Gervie (W7FEN), and I put on a SSTV demo at a ham convention in Portland Ore. Cop explained to me how he fixed up a cover attachment that housed a photo electric cell and could be placed over the screen of a SSTV monitor. A negative was placed over the monitor screen which then scanned the picture while the photo cell was recording the light varations from the negative. A very rough but workable SSTV flying spot scanner. That gave me the idea of making my own scanner using a 3FP7 scope tube with two 931A photo cells to look at a scanned photo attached to the access door on the front of the light tight box. I used this gadget to send photos for some time before I was able to build my first SSTV camera. I had an article published, describing this machine in 73 magazine, October 1967.

                                 

WB8DQT SSTV Station with Flying Spot Scanner


Box on top is the mechanical parts of the SSTV Flying Spot Scanner. Electronic parts of Ralph's FSS, are in the box on the left. The 5" SSTV monitor is on the right, and the center box contains the various switching electronics.

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