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Introducing The RCA TK30: Television’s First Workhorse Camera

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Eyes Of A Generation.com

Introducing The RCA TK30: Television’s First Workhorse Camera


This is the entire edition of RCA’s October 1946 “Broadcast News” magazine that features this brand new camera in a very detailed, multi page story. One of many new Archive items in the new Eyes Of A Generation site, coming soon.

The cover page photo is in relation to the first ever use of this camera at the Joe Lewis – Billy Conn boxing match held at Yankee Stadium. On page 20, you can read about RCA’s new improved microwave system that help the new TK30 images.

Even after taking in these feature stories, it’s fun to browse the rest of this issue for an interesting look back at audio boards, transmitters and more technology that, at the time, was “state of the art”. -Bobby Ellerbee

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10 responses to “Introducing The RCA TK30: Television’s First Workhorse Camera”

  1. Frank Keller

    I’m from the Norelco PC-70 era

  2. Frank McCoy

    Looks like a TK-10 to me.

  3. Alaire St. David

    ~ How we take the transistor for granted … !

  4. Val Ginter

    The first time I ever went to a television show with a studio audience–it was called “Let’s Have Fun” with singer and emcee Hank Grant. It was shot live from the eight-floor auditorium of the Goldblatt’s Department Store on State Street in Chicago. (I think it was the former Rothchild’s dining room.) And they had three TK-30As on tripod dollies. The show was directed by Chalmers Marquist. Great show. The reason they were at Goldblatt’s is because Col. McCormick ripped the guts out of the old WGN Building, and was building a brand new WGN-TV Building on Michigan Avenue.

  5. Val Ginter

    The “switching system” became known as an “SEG.” Ugly George used to say: “Hey…guess what I just bought. An SEG!”

  6. Steve Dichter

    Had the opportunity to work w/the last of this B&W equipment when I started at KTLA-TV. Still going strong.

  7. Steve Newman

    The first studio we had at San Fernando Valley State College (now CSUN) was aTK-30 system canabalized from an old KCOP mobile unit. The IO tubes were pretty worn out, but it was TV and it was all the Radio TV Dept. had.

  8. David Breneman

    Man, what I wouldn’t give for that setup.

  9. Vance Piccin

    I love this picture. It reminds me how much technology we have at hand these days. My phone also has two cameras, a switcher and a recorder. Not the sticks and pan heads though.

  10. Gene Allen

    Amazing the CCU’s back then. ^_^ Anyone ever have the Marconi cameras from England? To register you aimed it at a reg chart and hit START. Then stand back and watch a dozen or so motorized pots twist left and right, looking for a null that indicated a good overlap for registration.

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