Hi all,

This 21 part video and is quite addictive.
The first couple of episodes he was waffling on too much and then after that it became fun to watch.
He also has some interesting radio videos going on there as well.
Like every thing else its American as nothing much happens here in the small world of vintage televisions collectors and restoration of them , In fact its dead in oz, so I tend to go all over the net looking for people that share the same interest in vintage TVs.
Although the models are different then ours I do feel I learn something from these people and some of these guys are very knowledgeable and sociable characters.

So if you like restoring old TVs like I do than you may enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/3-9vDGb3aN4


All the best Pete.

I can see the padlock but I can comment .

I'd say the dead scene here is due to the fact that there's nobody transmitting suitable signals.

Strange about the padlock...

Its a bit like the padlock on my shed ! its there but would'nt stop anyone

Re analogue transmissions for old TVs, I think you'll find it's now the same everywhere in the world. Analog TV has gone.

The shut-down of 405 line in the UK did little to slow interest in old TVs there.

I think there are two causes in play:

1. TVs here only go back to 1956, hence not old enough.

2. Public perception is they are still worthless landfill.

Re analogue transmissions, I often wonder if the capability still exists anywhere to radiate a channel on the otherwise-unused Band 1. Does anyone know?

Locks are intended for honest people only.
JJ

I have always found very few people to be dishonest in my life time,but one day I woke up and my motorcycle was gone,my mother was delighted ! Anyway the police found it at the bottom of a cliff with a car ontop of it . It was only 3 weeks old and not insured and I couldnt get to work so my boss would come and pick me up every day and drop me back home again ,not too many would of done that I was a mechanic in those days.

Re analogue transmissions, I often wonder if the capability still exists anywhere to radiate a channel on the otherwise-unused Band 1. Does anyone know?

The only thing I can think of is to use one of those old computers that had RF output, or perhaps a VCR. The problem is that old portable TVs only had rabbit ears.

The bigger ones had a 300 ohm connector and you could use a 75-300 adaptor to get the VCR/computer to talk to it. The channel used would be one of 0, 1, 3 or 4.

Tuning the TV to channel 3, 4 or 5 with an outside antenna should give audio from FM stations (depending where you live).

Some VCRs transmit on UHF instead, which makes it only of use on colour TVs with a UHF tuner fitted.

The issue of there being no broadcast is not relevant for me because I use a convertor and watch movies on them . Plus the fact that free to air TV has not been worth watching in years any how.

I built one of these Silicon chip transmitters many years ago and it works well, I deleted the extra dc output socket and added an extra audio input to the existing one and summed the 2 together via 2 resistors for a stereo input so I can plug in a set top box with USB to watch movies from a data stick.

http://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/1999/July/An+Audio-Video+Transmitter

I built one of these Silicon chip transmitters

Pretty nifty unit.

There are many choices for TV RF modulators. I use a couple of Kingray units, you can set them to any VHF channel.

"Re analogue transmissions, I often wonder if the capability still exists anywhere to radiate a channel on the otherwise-unused Band 1. Does anyone know?"

I meant at kW's of ERP! What else is anyone going to do with Band 1 anyway?

405 alive in the UK have been dreaming of doing just that from the pretty-much-derelict Alexandra Palace site for many years.

I wonder if SBS still has their Sydney or Melbourne Channel 0 transmitters stashed somewhere. To be honest I think acquiring or making a transmitter is the easy part. Getting the Government to let anyone fire it up would be the most difficult part of the task. You'd also need a good tower. 100kW of picture carrier next to one's head wouldn't work so well.

I meant at kW's of ERP!

That won't be happening. The Government didn't spend millions of dollars to get rid of analogue transmissions just to let somebody start using them again. I know it doesn't make sense, but then not much out of the Govt does.

You might remember that amateurs used to transmit wideband TV on UHF (I used to watch it on my TV here), and the Govt got rid of that. Then there was TVS channel 31, and the Govt got rid of that too. And there was the first digital channel, 44. Whatever happened to that? Oh right, the Govt again.

So forget about kilowatts, be satisfied with a few watts.

And, don't forget kilowatts will cost a fortune in electricity.

I remember the time when video senders first came out and I handed one to a technician who worked at a local radio station to beef up for me. It didn't become a powerhouse transmitter but I was able to transmit for about 60 metres rather than the 15 metres of approved range. I wish I still had that thing but it only lasted me about a year. I guess the rest of the circuit couldn't handle whatever he did to raise the output power.