CPS Emitron tube

CPS Emitron tube for the first post-war British television camera by EMI.

CPS (Cathode Potential Stabilised) tubes replaced the pre-war Emitron and Super Emitron camera tubes. Development had begun before the war but was not completed until after the service relaunched in 1946, and first used at the 1948 Olympics.

The tube is ‘orthogonal’ meaning the electron gun scans at right angles to the target plate which is placed at the front of the tube and made transparent. This arrangement created a cylindrical tube which became the standard arrangement for camera tubes. The CPS tubes were more sensitive to light but early versions had a defect where the image would appear to peel off the screen.