Stooky Bill wis the gien name for the heid o a ventriloquist dummy that Scots telly pioneer John Logie Baird uised in his 1924 experiments tae transmit a televised eemage aatween rooms in his laboratory at 22 Frith Street, Lunnon.

Baird in 1925 wi his televisor scanner an dummies "James" an "Stookie Bill" (richt). The banks o bricht lichts war needed tae mak bricht eneuch eemage at the receiver.
Modren replicae o Stookie Bill.

Baird inventit some o the first experimental telly seestems. In 1924 he developed a mechanical telly seestem tae transmit muivin eemages bi means o electrical seegnals, whit he demonstratit on the 25t Mairch 1925 at a Lunnon depairtment store, Selfridges. Hit consistit o a spinning disk set wi a spiral pattern o 30 lenses. While ilka lens span past the illuminatit subject, hit focused the licht fae a spat on the subject on a selenium photoelectric cell. This convertit the brichtness o the eemage at ilka spat intae a proportional electric seegnal, that coud be sent tae a reciever bi radio waves. While ilka lens swept past the subject, hit scanned a successive line o the eemage. At the reciever, a licht sheenin throu the holes o a seemlar spinnin disk crecreautit the eemage o the subject.

Acause o law sensitivitie o the photoelevtric cells, Baird's first seestem coudla transmit human coupons, acause thay didna hiv the richt contrast. Sae Baird uised a ventriloquist's dummy, whase brichtly pentit coupon haed better contrast, an made hit muive an taak afore the scanner. Stookie Bill an anither Baird dummy, "James" hiv been cawed "the first telly actors" for a lauch.

The incandescent lichts illuminatin the subject tae be televised generatit sae much heat that Baird coudna uise a mannie for testin, sae Stooky Bill wis uised. Eventually the hair became singed and the painted face became cracked by the heat.

See an aa eedit

  • Mechanical television
  • History o television
  • Phonovision

References eedit

Ootside airtins eedit