KNBC "News 4 LA" - 4 PM news broadcast from November 23, 1984

This video tape is believed to have been recorded on the afternoon of Friday, November 23, 1984.
The clip opens with two commercials leading into the 4 PM news (one for a new cigarette lighter and another for Kraft Light Mayo).
The KNBC "News4LA" team at 4 PM consisted of John Beard , Kirstie Wilde, Kevin O'Connell (weather), and Fred Roggin (Sports).
John Beard starts the news with reporting on a 5.7 Mammoth Lakes earthquake which occurred earlier in the day. At Mammoth Lakes, correspondent John Marshall calls into the studio with a remote report (satellite trucks were rare at that time). Kirstie Wilde reports on findings from the Cal Tech earthquake lab. Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is noted. Several stories air, including a story reported by Vikki Vargas on an attempted kidnapping and shooting in Riverside County. John Beard discusses the case of Baby Fae (first chimpanzee heart transplant recipient) and a marijuana seizure off Oxnard.
Some holiday shopping stories air starting with Jim Thomas from Torrance's Del Amo Fashion Center.
At 8:30 into the clip, a new TV line called Proton is noted to be entering the market at $800 to $2000 per unit. A wrist TV from Seiko is noted as well as a robot and a doll line. The reporter notes that "fluorescent colors" were hot.
Bob Navarro reports from South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. There are many shots of South Coast Plaza in the midst of the 1984.
A commercial break occurs with a short announcement on the Los Angeles Children's Museum. There is a William Conrad narrated commercial for the Ready-Lite from First Alert.
A Robinson's commercial, a Bob's Big Boy commercial, and a commercial for Collectors Art oil painting and fine art sale.
Kirstie Wilde returns to report on a flooding in Florida including the destruction of the St. Augustine Pier. Juneau, Alaska gets hit with a bad storm.
John Beard goes out to the Magic Kingdom with Kevin O'Connell teasing the lighting of a 60 foot Christmas tree on Main Street U.S.A. O'Connell gives the local weather report. This is particularly interesting given that Disney now owns ABC, including KABC 7. The weather forecast includes some increasing clouds and a front swinging through California with some precipitation. O'Connell gives some promotion for some Christmas themed events at Disneyland.
Harvey Levin gives legal advice for parent and minor children and discusses litigation on slips and falls.
Another commercial break occurs with an announcement for US INS hiring for border control officers. Commercials air for Ross stores, Prince Spaghetti, Scrabble brand world games, and House of Almonds.
Kirstie Wilde reads a report on tooth ID. Max Stollman, Pharmacist, discusses the sexually-transmitted disease chlamydia in the "For Your Health" segment.
Excedrin sponsors the segment. A Polo fragrance at Broadway commercial and a Pulsar watch (also at Broadway) airs. Puerto Rico Tourism airs a 30 second clip.
John Beard returns with an update on the Mammoth Lakes earthquake with Nick in the Newsroom. WIlde then reads a story about a boating issue off of Mexico. A missing plane story airs. Two French military planes collide. A burial for Ben Wilson, a high school basketball player who was shot outside of his school in Chicago. A story on me airs with Cal Campbell covering our experiment to apply Nitinol Heat Engines in a space environment.

[@johntheprofessional5039]

People spoke a different kind of English back then. They really annunciated their words.

[@kenhayashida4654]

In 1983, I reached the engineering team at then McDonnell Douglas, Huntington Beach with a concept of attempting to test if a nitinol heat engine could be applicable to the space environment as a low mass method of generating electricity in spaceflight. Engineers Ed Cady and Dr. Larry McNichols assisted me in the design of the engine. The shop at Arrowhead Products in Los Alamitos helped me to fabricate the machine. There was one functioning thermal vacuum chamber capable of testing the concept at Rockwell International Downey. The managers at NASA and Rockwell International took interest in the concept, which competed for a slot in a Getaway Special payload bay test for a space shuttle mission. The engine could not be flight qualified for a shuttle mission due to the parameters of the Getaway special program not matching the mechanics of the engine's performance. However, the experiment did show that the concept was valid. It also helped to verify some of the materials science of how the alloy nitinol functions. Nitinol heat engines are a little understood functional source of electrical power when the engine elements are exposed to hot and cold environments. The heat engine is actually capable of generating electricity but the dynamics of how to cost-effectively build these engines is a key. The US space program has yet to return to lunar exploration in 45 years but has completed the shuttle program and is flying the International Space Station. The opportunity to contribute ideas to the future of spaceflight and to pursue science became a lifelong process which continues to this day. Both the Rockwell International Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey and the McDonnell Douglas facility in Huntington Beach were eventually bought by Boeing. The Downey facility closed and was recently leveled. This could be some of the only footage remaining of the test facility at Rockwell Downey. These vacuum chambers were used to test materials for the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. It is my understanding that the nitinol and alternative energy programs at McDonnell Douglas were dissolved prior to Boeing assuming control of the facility. This particular science project received several awards, including being a national finalist for the Westinghouse Science Talent Search in 1985.

[@eph_loves_80s74]

Do you have June 19-21 1984?

[@forensicdarling]

That lighter seems safe.

[@patchadams1473]

Very impressive achievement Ken for such a young man

[@goldenpacificmedia]

+Patch Adams That is very kind of you to say.I remain very interested in applications of SMA in energy production.Since that time, it is clear that the economics of such an engine are reduced when crude oil is low cost and electrical power is only 3 cents a kwh. But, the clean nature of the power is something to consider. There is no exhaust and only electrical power produced. This is about the greenest source of energy that could possibly exist!

[@calchick82]

At 24:53 is Nathan Lane towards the end of a commercial for Scrabble.

[@WanderlustWonderscape]

19:24 - A young Harvey Levin decades before TMZ would be a household name.

[@joshuaturnage5243]

He certainly lost a lot of hair since then

[@Retrotv]

Are you the one who joined David Bell, Andy Jung, Mark Goff on The Night Tracks Facebook Group? How many NT shows do you have, I heard you had June 7,1985 and December 30,1983.

[@kuryakn]

Another wolf sighting in the park. What that means for your weekend.