Today Show

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Ken's mention of Sputnik reminds me how far science has progressed since 
then.  At the time that the launch of Sputnik stunned the scientific and 
military community in this country I was assigned to Research and 
Development Company  at Fort Monmouth, NJ, the home of the US Army Signal 
Corps.  When Sputnik went up a number of us were pressed into duty manning 
conventional radio direction finding equipment to track the beep, beep, beep 
of Sputnik.  Whenever it came into range we manually logged the coordinates 
and the corresponding times, then picked up a telephone and verbally relayed 
the information to a telephone number in Washington, DC.  Hard to believe 
that this was the way it was done then, but it was.

Incidentally, I worked in the Signal Research and Development Laboratories, 
known locally as the "Hexagon."  But, it was a five-sided hexagon!

The explanation is that two of the sides had not been built at that time.

Gordon Hamilton

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2007 6:54 PM
Subject: Re: Today Show



> The Today show broadcast from Roanoke on May 15-16, 1958. There was  an 

> interview segment with Stuart Saunders standing next to the  Pocahontas, 

> and a filmed (not live) segment riding the cab of the J  between Roanoke 

> and Bedford. There was a two page article in the June  1958 N&W Magazine. 

> pages 344-345.

>

> Having worked in the television business for 11 years, The first 

> satellite to orbit the earth was Sputnik in October 1957, just about  7 

> months prior to this broadcast. As I recall, it was capable of 

> broadcasting a "beep" tone every few seconds during its orbit.

>

> Satellite television broadcasting did not originate until sometime in 

> 1962, when Telstar was launched to become the first television  broadcast 

> satellite. Live broadcasting in those days was a  considerable technical 

> feat with a small scale broadcast truck at the  site. Satellite or 

> microwave broadcasting that is common today was  unheard of in 1958.

>

> Ken Miller

>

> On Mar 31, 2007, at 1:18 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:

>

>>

>> I do recall the Today show broadcasting from Roanoke in 1957, the  75th 

>> anniversary of the City. And I recall that the "studio" was an  open air 

>> location atop Mill Mountain. Unfortunately I don't recall  the train 

>> feature.

>>

>>      Ray Smoot

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org on behalf of NW Mailing List

>> Sent: Fri 3/30/2007 8:41 PM

>> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

>> Subject: Today Show

>>

>> Back durung the early 50's the Today Show with Dave Garroway  originated

>> one day in Roanoke, Va.   During the course of the program an N&W J

>> with a passenger train was approaching Roanoke.  This was before we

>> had the satellite technology that exists today. They had a "live" 

>> segment of

>> broadcast with Dave Garraway in the cab of the locomotive talking with

>> the engine crew, or trying to over all that noise.  I have wondered  to 

>> this

>> day how  NBC  was able to pull that off. Do any of you recall this 

>> program

>> from the past, or do you have any idea  of how they were able to 

>> broadcast

>> "live" from a moving locomotive cab?   The only angle I can think  of was

>> to have a small plane above the train with a satellite dish feeding  the 

>> signal

>> to a dish mounted on a building in Roanoke. What's your version?

>> Bill Sellers.

>>

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