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Guillermo González Camarena
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Guillermo González Camarena (Guadalajara, Jalisco, February 17, 1917 - Puebla, April 18, 1965), was a Mexican engineer that invented the color television and founded the first television station in Mexico from his basement. Making his first video camera from scrap materials at age 17, he patented the first color television in 1940. That same year, he started the first television broadcasting station in Latin America. Some years later he invented a remote control and presented other patents that would lead to lower costs of color television sets. His ideal was to build economical TV sets so everybody could have one.
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Biography
Guillermo's family moved to Mexico City when Guillermo was almost 2 years old. Since he was very young, he made electronically propelled toys and at the age of twelve built his first Amateur radio. In 1930 he got matriculated at the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (ESIME) by the IPN in Mexico City and got a licence for radio operation two years later.
Working for the radio station from the Department of Public Education (SEP) while keeping on doing experiments at his basement laboratory, in 1934 he built his own video camera, at the age of 17. He kept on working in his basement with his television equipment, and in 1940 he patented his trichromatic system both in Mexico and the USA, and with it the first color television. The next year, he became a chief operator at the radio stations XEW and XEQ in Mexico City.
In 1942 he began experimenting with live television broadcasting from his house, and in 1946 he founded the first experimental television station in Mexico called XEIGC. The only two receptors were built and installed by him at the Mexican League of Radio Experimenters and in the XEW radio station. The same year, he was authorized to operate meteorological balloons in Mexico City that he used to elevate his radio equipment to the stratosphere with the aim of studying the reach of his television broadcasting signal.
He founded the Gon-Cam Laboratories in 1948 to manufacture television transmission equipment. Two years later, he exported television sets to Columbia College Chicago. In the mid 1950s, there was a big demand for television sets and his television channel 5, called XHGC, formed part of the company Telesistema Mexicano, S.A. (currently Televisa) together with another two channels.
From 1962, González Camarena was authorized to transmit in color starting next year with a series for children. One of his main interests was to make television available to everybody. In 1963 he patented a new color television method called simplified bicolor that made it possible to reduce production costs of color television sets. The first commercial model of television sets appeared in 1964 and, next year, in association with the company Majestic, property of Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta, they started to sell color television sets made in Mexico.
González Camarena was a versatile person who could do research and still had time to compose songs and play several music instruments. Among other things, he built his own telescope and became a regular member of the Astronomical Society of Mexico.
He died in a car accident in Puebla on April 18, 1965 coming back from inspecting a television transmitter in Las Lajas, Veracruz.
Wow, this leads to wealth of info pickings. The reference to Gon-Cam Laboratories is very interesting. I wonder if any of the television apparatus sold to Columbia College Chicago in the 1940's still exist today?
A very interesting fellow. He had a HAM radio license XE1GC which might explain why his early experimental station was broadcast sound on 40 meters. But ....I'm no further ahead understanding Camarena technical work in the 60's that focused on his SBS (Simplified bi-color system) Tv Color television system. I still can't find any patent info unless it wasn't licensed in the US? This reference is interesting:
http://www.jalisco.gob.mx/nuestroedo...zcamarena.html
Steve, got any other gems of wisdom to add?