Abstract â This paper is related to Turkiye's first TV channel Istanbul Technical University TV's born and contribution to Turkish TV broadcasting. ITU TV was ...
Turkiye’s First TV Broadcasting and Istanbul Technical University TV, ITU TV Osman Ceylan1, H. Bulent Yagci2, Selcuk Paker3, A. Suha Calkivik4 Electronics & Communication Engineering Department Istanbul Technical University {ceylanos1, yagcih2, spaker3, calkivik4}@itu.edu.tr}
Abstract — This paper is related to Turkiye’s first TV channel Istanbul Technical University TV’s born and contribution to Turkish TV broadcasting. ITU TV was setted up as a laboratory in March 1952. Chair of the High Frequency Department, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Santur and his student Assistant Proffesor Adnan Ataman were the constitutive of the ITU-TV. ITU-TV is used as a laboratory for a long time. Index Terms — TV broadcasting, ITU-TV.
I.
FOUNDATION OF ITU TV
Foundation of ITU TV depends on Prof. Dr. Mustafa Santur’s investigations in Europe after the World War Two. In 1948, Santur traveled to Europe to research the developments about the TV. When he came back to Turkiye, he started to work on the TV himself. At those times, because of the war in Europe and hard economic conditions in Turkiye, Turkish People had no image about that box. Santur makes his first formal attempt for TV broadcasting to Istanbul Technical University Electrical Faculty Deanery in 1951. At the beginning, Santur’s purpose was to found a laboratory and to educate faculty’s students in it. Santur demands necessary regulations for that purpose. However in future, new goals comes into existence and developing broadcastings attract public’s attention. Santur has difficulty in the beginning process because of Turkiye’s hard economic conditions. At those times, in Turkiye, importation was banned by the government. Therefore, Philips gave necessary receivers, and cameras to ITU TV voluntarily. Even today, it is not known that this situation is an innocent plan to get rid of the law. Santur gives the broadcasting work to Adnan Ataman, his favourite student. Ataman had completed his education in America and come back to Turkiye yet. Ataman accepts that offer. After necessary devices had arrived in Turkiye, in Taşkışla a laboratory is founded and volunteer students start to studyings and projects. By the way, a studio is found close to the laboratory. Generally, although projects are started, many technical problems arrive. For example, there are receivers but no antennas. As there is no antenna in Turkiye at that time, no experts can be able to cope with that issue. It is thought that minaret worker can climb to above to place the antenna. Antenna is founded despite of hard winter conditions but it is
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not useful for first times because there are not many receiver in Turkiye. With these difficulties, test broadcasting are started. First broadcasts are started with Philips’ devices such as 100 watt receiver and supericonoscope camera. With these conditions first broadcastings is started in March 1952. First broadcastings of conservation, sketch and conference is done by supericonoscope camera. The room next to the studio is the control room and here there are signal generator, picture monitor, recording device. First antenna of ITU TV is a broadband dipole antenna. This antenna cannot perform some tasks and it is developed by Santur’s attempts so ITU TV becomes accessible to wide area in Istanbul. In course of time, broadcastings attract public’s attention. University has no will to access people, they want to be sure of their studyings and measurements at first stage. However, people pay attention to ITU TV and they want different broadcastings and they support ITU with their congratulations and criticisms. University’s studyings and broadcastings continue and develop with time. At this period, ITU TV is a school for university’s students at graduation project level. Many devices are produced by them as a result of their graduation projects and they are used for ITU TV. II.
DEVELOPMENT OF ITU TV
Day of 18 march 1956 was very important for ITU TV and history of Turkish television because the TV broadcasting of ‘Conference of Istanbul Culture’ at ’Çağaloğlu student club’ broke a record in terms of spectator. This day was also significant due to television spread out among people in Turkiye because of broadcasting accessible to the public. After this practical conference had given by Adnan Ataman, the number of volunteers who wish to work as in this field gradually increases. Already, ITU TV’s success explains as volunteers ‘amateur sprit’ at those days. In this period, the cameraman taking the first broadcast, the technician tuning the sound, the electrician lighting up the image and the announcer known as ‘firsts of screen’. For example the first cameraman was Adnan Ataman and the first TV speaker was Fatih Pasiner. One of those volunteers was Arif Yesari. He is so important for Turkish television history because he created the first
television drama named as ‘MEKTUP’. The other famous program in ITU TV was also ‘Weather Report’ presented by Ali Esin. This program was very rare for ITU TV because it was broadcasted without a break until the closing of the ITU TV. When it comes to the year 1955, published a well becomes sparse and the each week publications are being held every two weeks. The most important reason for this is about workers because most of them were students and they also had to study their exams in ITU [1]. One year later in 1956, suddenly interest in television increased. The most important reason for this increase in the number of receiver, therefore to create a culture of television and started to settle in and as a result of newspapers and news articles on this subject began to increase. The number of receiver was 30 in 1953, 40 in 1955 and up to 160-170 in 1957 [2]. At those years transmitter was in architecture faculty in Gümüşsuyu and ITU TV’s coverage was approximately 20-30 kilometers. Broadcasting was taken better the city's high points relative to low points. Television camera with a receiver in Istanbul "Fifty- Sixty" family is estimated to be those years. Those tools had been bought from Americans who left our country.
While the TV broadcast studio in Taşkışla ITU, administrators on the one hand is in an effort to improve the quality of publications. On October 17, 1959 for this purpose in the ITU Maçka they were set vertically an antenna on the roof of the building and in the future thanks to this antenna would increase the technical quality of broadcasts. However, broadcasting was still continue from the building Taşkışla. In April 1960 on the TV broadcasts had been broken and on May 2, 1960 at 16.00 in the ITU Radio and television had been sealed by the police. This five months ‘’silent’’ ends in October 6, 1960. In November 17, 1960 normal broadcasting begun. After switching to normal broadcasting ITU will continue to run new programs on TV. The first quiz program’ Talih Kuşu’ which designed for assess high school students knowledge was one of them. By the way Halit Kıvanç comes to the fore for preparing and submitting the quiz show those days. The day of December 5, 1963 was also important for ITU TV because broadcasting was given the new studio that was built in Maçka. Also, Haluk Buran made a diploma paper to do transmitter power of 500 Watts and publications were much more widespread after that. Maçka studio was larger than Gümüşsuyu studio and in terms of ease of use was more suitable for this job because it was planned as a direct studio. At the same time, the important activities in this years were ‘live broadcasts’ at ITU TV. The first live broadcast, formerly Mithatpaşa today at the Inonu Stadium, losing 2-1 to Turkiye's match which was played against the Soviet Union in November 12, 1961[2]. Because of cameras can not be moved to a stadium or a demonstration area and the roof of the building Taşkışla is limited the image of Mithatpaşa stadium, all live broadcasting matches were there at those years. The first live TV broadcasting by using a radio link system was a football match between Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş football teams in 1966. III.
Figure 1. A view of ITU TV broadcasting
TRT YEARS AND CLOSING OF ITU TV
Early on TV broadcasting in ITU, professors and students worked hard to learn and teach techniques for best TV broadcasting. In the beginning broadcasting was only a few hours in a week [1] and transmitter power was 100W at,25MHz [2]. The number of TV receiver was 40 in 1955 and 160 in 1957 at Istanbul [2]. However each home which included TV had hosted 10-20 guests for watching TV at broadcasting times. At first, ITU-TV was a laboratory TV station but people embraced quickly. Many singer, speaker, sportsman, actors, actresses, musicians were invited studio for talking, playing, singing... Weather forecast, sport news, competitions, language courses attracted to attention. While ITU TV doing television broadcasts, university students generating new devices for using ITU TV . First of all, during TV broadcasting collage students had a good chance of doing variety of technical research on television devices and results of researchs they got experienced on
television equipment. Thanks to this various devices have been developed as a graduation projects. For example, Avni Morgül made a image screen divider, the camera controller, display selector and Halûk Buran made antenna transmitter. All those devices used ITU TVs television broadcast and those equipment had helped in discovery of other inventions.
Figure 2. President of Republic Celal Bayar watching ITU TV‘s first broadcasting in Turkiye.
In 1968 Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) was founded by government in Ankara. After that time government started to work broadcasting in Istanbul. As a result of this, most of the ITU TV equipment were given to TRT for starting broadcasting in Istanbul. Afterward ITU TV hindered broadcasting and in 4 February 1972, last broadcasting has succeeded with very little technical capabilities. After this time professors and other lecturers helped to TRT and other television channel for years. ITU TV worked with modesty and quiet in Istanbul for 20 years to provide them to the best services on broadcast television. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We are heartily thankful to our ITU RF Laboratuary students, Furkan Aral Tunç, Onur Yılmaz, Cem Yücelgen, Ayşe Şenyürek and Yasin Kurt whose support from the initial to the final level enabled us to develop of the subject.
REFERENCES Kivanc, H., “Bizde TV Böyle Başladı” (In Turkish), 2002, Remzi, İstanbul. [2] Yanatma, S., “Türkiye’de Televizyon Yayınlarının Başlaması ve Gelişimi” (In Turkish), Historical Research Report, 2008, Istanbul. [1]
