Email received 26 March 2009
Years ago, Harris used to make TV cameras. They purchased the TV
camera division from GE. I imagine some of their early ones were
just rebadged GE cameras, but they did eventually come up with their
own design. Harris stopped making cameras in the early 1980's about
the time that all the manufacturers were switching from tube based
to solid state imaging devices. I have in my collection a Harris
TC-85 studio box camera that was one of the last models they produced.
(Mine was used as a test jig at the factory, it never saw any use
in an actual studio.) How do I know that? Well about 10 years ago
I worked at Harris's Quincy, IL location and bought the camera at
an employee sale. One of the interesting things about the TC-85
was that it utilized a microprocessor driven CCU that featured automatic
setup and registration by the touch of a button. Even though it
had that option, many engineers preferred not to use it and would
set up and paint the cameras manually, because the automatic method
was hard on the tubes.
Also, I don't remember all the exact details of this, but one of
the reasons they abandoned making cameras was that they filed a
lawsuit against their imaging tube vendor (Amperex I believe,) stating
that the quality of the tubes was below par and not up to the standards
to compete with the brand new solid state CCD cameras of the day.
The lawsuit primarily focused on the Harris TC-90 cameras, which
were a shoulder mount EFP camera. Harris ultimately lost the lawsuit
and was forced to recall and destroy all the TC-90's
I will try to post some pictures later of some of the different
Harris cameras, as I have some old 35MM slides from the '70's sitting
around somewhere. Also, some of they guys who worked in the camera
division at Harris back in the day are still there, working in TV
transmitter field service, in the repair department, and in various
management positions.
Posted by: matt_s78m
Email received 15 January 2012
My first job was at the Harris TV Camera Demo Facility
in Quincy Illinois. I grew up in Quincy and started working at Harris
two weeks after I turned 16 years old in 1977. I had the job lined
up before turning 16, but they could not hire me due to child labor
laws. I started out my first day sweeping the floor and sorting
parts in the lab working under my manager Jim Brown. By the end
of the summer I was setting up TC-50 and TC-80's and repairing those
cameras. The demo facility was in a relatively small building that
had the Harris facility in one side and the Illinois department
of motor vehicles in the other. We had many confused visitors looking
to renew their drivers licenses come in the wrong side of the building.
As a matter of fact, I actually took my driving test during my lunch
break in my managers new Chrysler because my car would not pass
inspection.
I also did some of the software design in the TC-85 Auto Setup
Unit one summer as well, although most of the code was written by
Gary Sanderson http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gary-sanderson/9/8a6/109
and Brian Johnson. Most of the software was written in the language
FORTH. The CPU used was an Intel 8085A
I left Harris in 1985 and overlapped the development of the TC-90.
I was not really involved in the development of the TC-90, but it
was 50 feet away in the lab and I had of course worked with Gary
and Brian in the past so I was always wondering in to see what was
going on. The controls and setup of the TC-90 were based on a National
Semiconductor NCS-800 processor. It was a Z80 knock off. The code
in Forth again. I did not know that they abandoned the TC-90, but
I can tell you for certain that not all were destroyed. I have a
complete TC-90 sitting here next to me. The power supply mostly
works, but as a high pitch squeal to it. Most likely a 30 year old
tantalum cap failed. I am attempting to repair it back to working
order. By the way, the TC-90 was released in both Plumbicon and
Vidicon versions. Mine uses Plumbs. The power supplies were different
in the two versions to adjust for a voltage requirement that was
different between the two.
I picked it up recently and the manual that came with it had several
photocopied pages of Gary Sandersons original hand drawn schematics,
modifications, and notes. I have scanned these and sent them to
Gary this past year (2011) and would gladly send them to you if
you wish.
To the best of my knowledge, all of the PE and TE series were all
rebaged GE and the TC series were original Harris, although design
by some of the original GE engineers. Art Wymer was one of them
that I worked with. Art came in from GE in New York as did a few
others. Sorry, but I cannot remember any of the other names off
the top of my head.
I am a HAM also (AD7OI) and an ATVer. I belong to the BATC
and stream most Wednesday and Sunday evenings at 18:30 and again
at 19:30 GMT-7 both as AD7OI member streams and on W7ATV repeater
feed when it's my turn.
Posted by Kevin AD7OI
See also e-mail
on TC-90 pages.
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