Baird's Early Experiments
John Logie Baird is often credited with the invention
of television, though in reality it was the culmination of
various independent discoveries. However Baird was
responsible for bringing various elements together and
promoting the idea of television commercially to such an
extent that it became a reality.
Baird, although a Scot, had lived in London for much
of his life. And he had also suffered from ill health for
most of his life as well, so on the advice of his doctor he
moved to the South Coast of England to live in the seaside
resort of Hastings. Against medical advice, he carried on
developing his ideas for various inventions both large and
small, including the one that interested him the most -
television.
Lynton Crescent was to be the place where Baird
managed to finally realise his dream; that of the
transmission of an image without the use of wires or any
form of trickery. He had been following the various
attempts made by other people to transmit pictures with
great interest, and very soon he was to attempt to do the
same as well.
He built his pioneering equipment using what odds and
ends he could lay his hands on, such as an old tea chest,
an old bicycle lamp, cardboard from a hat box, an old
biscuit tin, darning needles, string and tallow wax. With
this he managed to construct a mechanical scanning system
for the transmission and reception of images - he received
help from local people in order to fund the
experiment.
By the end of 1923 John Logie Baird, through sheer
determination had finally managed to build what was
effectively the world's first complete television
transmitter and receiver. Its achievements may today look
relatively modest but by the standards of the day it was a
technical miracle - the speed of both the transmitter and
receiver had to be perfectly synchronised in tandem for an
image to be viewable.
The very first transmitted image was that of a simple
cross made of cardboard (visible on the right hand side of
the picture); the camera and transmitter were a few feet
away on the other side of the room. In January 1924 the
Daily News reported on this feat, and public interest
rapidly grew as a result of this successful experiment. Mr.
Twigg the landlord was rather less impressed though - since
Baird had electrocuted himself twice and caused a small
explosion, he evicted Baird from his lodgings. The first
chapter of television history had effectively drawn to a
close.
