Ed Sullivan Theater Rumor

[Tom9589]

There was a rumor about the Ed Sullivan Theater having problems with color TV productions.

Rumor has it that there is a huge motor-generator for the NY subway system that is located either adjacent or under the theater. Due to the fact that the motor-generator could not be re-located elsewhere, the TV studio had to make concessions. In particular, there were certain areas where the cameras could not go due to the magnetic fields from the motor-generator.

Any truth to this rumor?

[Hawkwind]

"Any truth to this rumor?"

I doubt it. But I did hear that when CBS re-habbed it for David Letterman, it was rat infested...

[nasadowsk]

AFAIK, there's no NYC subway substations nearby. There is a subway line on Broadway, and running currents can easily exceed 10,000 amps, and acring can throw off enough noise to screw up even FM radios (something I experienced in Lynbrook on an icy day one winter when an LIRR train pulled out of the Lynbrook station...)

Given how sensitive the old IO cameras were to anything, including probably the phase of the moon, it wouldn't surprise me if regular subway ops were an issue.

Legend has it that the PRR's commuter trains screwed with Philcos's testing in the 30's...

[old_tv_nut]

Not a rumor. The station has been preserved as a historical site. Cameras could not approach the rear of the stage due to the magnetic effects.

https://untappedcities.com/2010/10/1...ion-with-ohny/

[Pete Deksnis]

Originally Posted by Tom9589

There was a rumor about the Ed Sullivan Theater having problems with color TV productions.

Rumor has it that there is a huge motor-generator for the NY subway system that is located either adjacent or under the theater. Due to the fact that the motor-generator could not be re-located elsewhere, the TV studio had to make concessions. In particular, there were certain areas where the cameras could not go due to the magnetic fields from the motor-generator.

Any truth to this rumor?

Copied from my Sept 2018 post:

...pass the Ed Sullivan theater on Broadway and turn right at W.53rd. You heard the whirl of huge generators being driven by large electric motors. They were clearly visible from the street through a metal mesh. I guess to help keep things relatively cool in summer. I heard the noise and went exploring while my parents waited. I was about 11.

Pete

[colortrakker]

When CBS went color, they picked Norelco cameras to avoid using anything from their arch-nemesis, RCA. The Norelco cameras lacked proper RF shielding, so had to be modified with a mu-metal coating to keep the images from going wacko. Not long after that, CBS switched Sullivan to Marconi cameras, which were much better insulated against RF. By 1973, they went back to the Norelcos.

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by colortrakker

When CBS went color, they picked Norelco cameras to avoid using anything from their arch-nemesis, RCA. The Norelco cameras lacked proper RF shielding, so had to be modified with a mu-metal coating to keep the images from going wacko. Not long after that, CBS switched Sullivan to Marconi cameras, which were much better insulated against RF. By 1973, they went back to the Norelcos.

The mu-metal was for low-frequency magnetic fields produced by the subway equipment, not for RF.

RF interference was encountered when remote cameras were taken to the balcony of the Empire State Building. Even if the camera was well-shielded for RF, it could get in through the lens to the pickup tube faceplate signal electrode.

[reeferman]

Originally Posted by Pete Deksnis

Copied from my Sept 2018 post:

...pass the Ed Sullivan theater on Broadway and turn right at W.53rd. You heard the whirl of huge generators being driven by large electric motors. They were clearly visible from the street through a metal mesh. I guess to help keep things relatively cool in summer. I heard the noise and went exploring while my parents waited. I was about 11.

Pete

Pete,
They had electricity then?
Phil

[nasadowsk]

Originally Posted by colortrakker

When CBS went color, they picked Norelco cameras to avoid using anything from their arch-nemesis, RCA. The Norelco cameras lacked proper RF shielding, so had to be modified with a mu-metal coating to keep the images from going wacko. Not long after that, CBS switched Sullivan to Marconi cameras, which were much better insulated against RF. By 1973, they went back to the Norelcos.

Why'd the go back to Norelcos?

[colorfixer]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

Why'd the go back to Norelcos?

Presumably to take advantage of newer camera tubes that came out in the late 60;s and early 70's.

[julianburke]

This is certainly not a rumor. There was a well covered article regarding this I think in a AWA review. Of course they couldn't be moved because they were strategically placed and also of real estate concerns in NYC. They are still in place and are shown on special occasions as a museum piece. Also there are several of these alternators in there.