To Rick Goldschmidt -- I read your piece on the web about the history
of Bozo's Circus, a show that was produced live at WGN-TV in Chicago
for many years as you well know. I congratulate you on a very
comprehensive history, with lots of details that you have researched
with much diligence. There is one additional detail that I would
like you to know about, in case you have not heard of it. It is an
interesting "behind the scenes" engineering detail that went on for
several years, at least, in the Chicago area.
I am an electrical engineer [retired], and in 1972-1973, I worked at
a Motorola operation in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.
Many of my engineer colleagues had come from the Motorola television
receiver [Quasar] manufacturing operation in Franklin Park, another
Chicago suburb. In those days, engineering development and
improvement of color television receiver designs was an ongoing task
for electrical engineers at that Motorola location.
Because TV test equipment was very costly, and simple lab signal
generators could not completely test a new circuit design, and color
TV cameras were beyond the lab budget, and it was essential to use a
bona fide color TV signal for many test purposes, the engineers came
up with an interesting solution to their test needs. At Motorola,
and probably at other Chicago area TV set manufacturers, the
engineers established a very close working relationship with the
engineers at WGN-TV. When the Bozo program was on the air in
Chicago, it was the only locally originated colorcast, but very
suitable for test purposes at Motorola as you will learn. While Bozo
was broadcast, an engineer at Motorola was on the phone talking to an
engineer at WGN-TV. The Motorola engineer would request a slight
"tweek" of one of the broadcast signal parameters, such as
brightness, or hue, essential to check the proper response of the
circuit under test. This change was usually so subtle that home
viewers would not notice. Then another of the signal parameters
would be "tweaked" and so on, throughout the show. On another
broadcast day, one of the other TV set manufacturers engineers would
get their turn, with their test needs met. The WGN engineers were
very cooperative and helpful.
This led to a funny incident one day at Motorola. The development
engineers had been called into a meeting with some non-engineer
management executives. Suddenly, one of the engineers looked at his
watch and blurted out something like-- "Omigosh, Bozos Circus is
on!" With this, the engineers jumped up from their chairs and rushed
out of the room, back to the test lab, to the utter astonishment of
the clueless managers!
Paul J. Gregg
of Bozo's Circus, a show that was produced live at WGN-TV in Chicago
for many years as you well know. I congratulate you on a very
comprehensive history, with lots of details that you have researched
with much diligence. There is one additional detail that I would
like you to know about, in case you have not heard of it. It is an
interesting "behind the scenes" engineering detail that went on for
several years, at least, in the Chicago area.
I am an electrical engineer [retired], and in 1972-1973, I worked at
a Motorola operation in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.
Many of my engineer colleagues had come from the Motorola television
receiver [Quasar] manufacturing operation in Franklin Park, another
Chicago suburb. In those days, engineering development and
improvement of color television receiver designs was an ongoing task
for electrical engineers at that Motorola location.
Because TV test equipment was very costly, and simple lab signal
generators could not completely test a new circuit design, and color
TV cameras were beyond the lab budget, and it was essential to use a
bona fide color TV signal for many test purposes, the engineers came
up with an interesting solution to their test needs. At Motorola,
and probably at other Chicago area TV set manufacturers, the
engineers established a very close working relationship with the
engineers at WGN-TV. When the Bozo program was on the air in
Chicago, it was the only locally originated colorcast, but very
suitable for test purposes at Motorola as you will learn. While Bozo
was broadcast, an engineer at Motorola was on the phone talking to an
engineer at WGN-TV. The Motorola engineer would request a slight
"tweek" of one of the broadcast signal parameters, such as
brightness, or hue, essential to check the proper response of the
circuit under test. This change was usually so subtle that home
viewers would not notice. Then another of the signal parameters
would be "tweaked" and so on, throughout the show. On another
broadcast day, one of the other TV set manufacturers engineers would
get their turn, with their test needs met. The WGN engineers were
very cooperative and helpful.
This led to a funny incident one day at Motorola. The development
engineers had been called into a meeting with some non-engineer
management executives. Suddenly, one of the engineers looked at his
watch and blurted out something like-- "Omigosh, Bozos Circus is
on!" With this, the engineers jumped up from their chairs and rushed
out of the room, back to the test lab, to the utter astonishment of
the clueless managers!
Paul J. Gregg
THANKS Gregg! I have known many clueless managers too :)
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