The GE PE250 Early Color Television Camera

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by julianburke

I love how Gates touts this GE PE400 Camera as a "lead oxide color camera". Isn't this the same thing as a car battery?

I presume they used the term "lead oxide" because Plumbicon was a registered trademark of Philips - and they didn't want to pay royalties on the name? (Similar to RCA referring to their videotape models as "television tape" because Ampex trademarked the name "videotape.")

But PE-400 actually came out within the last two years of GE's ownership of the broadcast equipment division (1970), prior to selling that unit to Harris. Here are some web pages with photos which clearly had GE markings on the PE-400, as used throughout the 1970's by Tampa, FL television station WTVT:

http://www.big13.com/Facilities/facilities_cameras.htm
http://www.big13.net/Adrian%20Snow/adrian_snow8.htm

In short, Harris inherited (but did not originate) the PE-400.