UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum (https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/index.php)
-   General Vintage Technology Discussions (https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=29)
-   -   Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc. (https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=96824)

AC/HL 23rd Apr 2019 4:59 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Fourty two posts discussing the TV programme The Repair Shop moved here: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=135165

m0cemdave 13th Jul 2019 2:44 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
from:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-48954974

Quote:

The R34 airship made the first ever return flight across the Atlantic in 1919, with its crew hailed as heroes.

On its return to the UK, the airship was unexpectedly redirected to Pulham in Norfolk, landing on 13 July.
....

"It was in the news, it was on the radio - people all around the world would have heard of Pulham."

End quote

emeritus 14th Jul 2019 12:43 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
No doubt heard on a radio like the one in the first post of this thread! Possibly they meant to say "It was seen in the cinema", given that Pathé filmed the return.

Andrew2 18th Nov 2019 3:18 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Oh dear, the first episode of War of the Worlds featured yet another gramophone with the pickup playing the wrong side of the record.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...es-1-episode-1

About 28:35 in.

PaulR 18th Nov 2019 5:02 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Yes I noticed that. A repro gramophone as well I think

Mike-repairman 18th Nov 2019 6:08 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
As it's grinding away the tracks I wonder if it it's a little louder.
Makes me scream when I see it but wife it getting used to it now LOL.

paulsherwin 18th Nov 2019 7:25 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I saw that too. I can't believe nobody on the production team knew how a gramophone should be used, but I suspect it wasn't actually playing anything (the sound would have been added in post production).

Mike-repairman 18th Nov 2019 7:31 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
You're probably right Paul, but I doubt any of those in production were born when gramophones were in use. When I was a lad that's all there was; showing my age.

Junk Box Nick 18th Nov 2019 8:23 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by paulsherwin (Post 1192712)
I can't believe nobody on the production team knew how a gramophone should be used

The media is largely a young person's industry.

PaulR 18th Nov 2019 8:41 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Nevertheless it seems sort of intuitive that the needle should follow the direction of the record, not bite into it. As Paul says you would think that there would be someone on the technical team who would understand that.

Guest 18th Nov 2019 9:58 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Common sense isn't taught anymore*, it's all paperwork to prove you have attended a training course.

*You only get that by living and playing!

PaulR 18th Nov 2019 10:05 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I think that most people on here can see how something works just by examining it. It is difficult to understand those who cannot to this but there are clearly many!

Junk Box Nick 18th Nov 2019 10:53 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Most of my working life has been in an environment where the majority of my colleagues are non-technical and, sadly, I can vouch for PaulR's second sentence.

The most depressing/annoying aspect of it the pride some folk take in their ignorance. This is frequently to demonstrate some sort of superiority of status - code for "I don't need to know such things".

Guest 19th Nov 2019 12:05 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I don't think I am going too off topic with this tale/observation.

I used to frequent a (fairly rough) bikers pub on a Saturday afternoons reading my latest Wireless World just picked up from town. Comments like "oh, that's a bit sad" got the repost of "well you have a video, tv, (portable) 'phone etc. if it wasn't for people like me..." soon put them right.

paulsherwin 19th Nov 2019 11:52 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Back on topic now please.

PaulR 19th Nov 2019 12:32 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I find it odd that so much care is clearly taken with period detail in these productions. Edwardian Woking looked just as I imagine it would have done but there is such a blind spot over technology.

I have just bought some DVDs of the early Foyle's War series. So much of the detail is correct, even to having cars that were first registered before the war when very similar cars were built after the war, but there were several clearly post war radios shown and even a plastic battery wall clock. Maybe I am just sad and should just enjoy the programme as my wife says!

Richard_FM 19th Nov 2019 2:54 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
In one of the post war Foyles Dad dad spotted a Routemaster bus over a decade before it would have been in service. Especially as there are several of the earlier Regents in preservation which have been used in productions.

He also called out a bus in Call The Midwife which would have been out of service for a few years by the time it was set.

ms660 19th Nov 2019 2:58 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulR (Post 1192851)
I find it odd that so much care is clearly taken with period detail in these productions. Edwardian Woking looked just as I imagine it would have done

Yes, not bad for a Cheshire village.

Lawrence.

The Philpott 19th Nov 2019 10:40 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
....In BBC 'World on Fire', does anyone know why they chose to depict a Junkers 52 Trimotor dropping an SOE agent behind enemy lines...? It seems peculiar in a production where so much attention to detail was taken. (Did the UK have any Ju52/3m stashed away from before the war?)

For ease of framing and continuity the Ju87 Stukas were shown as glide bombers rather than dive bombers, but that aside the CGI action was done really well.

Dave

Richard_FM 20th Nov 2019 12:44 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
It's a shame they didn't use a Westland Lysander, especially as at least one has been preserved with the SOE delivery features.

Ted Kendall 20th Nov 2019 4:10 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Maybe somebody saw "Where Eagles Dare" and assumed that this was established practice, although the story is of course fictional. The Ford Trimotor was obsolete by this time. Many agent drops were by bomber, although pickups needed something smaller and more nimble, like the Lysander. I suppose a "Tante Ju" could have been captured in North Africa, but can't recall any mention of SOE use.

Graham G3ZVT 21st Nov 2019 12:08 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ted Kendall (Post 1193112)
Maybe somebody saw "Where Eagles Dare" .

I like the QSB/phasing on the music the German radio operator is listening to before he is attacked, but my favourite is the radio operator in Ice Station Zebra who blames sporadic-e for his inability to receive a signal from the film capsule.

Corona, while it was very much classified.

Neil Purling 21st Nov 2019 11:27 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Where Eagles Dare: The audience would not necessarily have realised they were not using a British or American aircraft. The Junkers 52 would not have aroused suspicion being in the area around the Schloss Adler.
Is the radio apparatus in the Funkraum that is playing the fading music correct?
I bet someone recognised the music that the operator is enjoying so much he doesn't realise he is about to get attacked.

As for War of The Worlds: I was looking for the bloopers of TV Aerials in shot & didn't spot the gramophone. At a time when there were no electronic devices in use (apart from the telegraph) there's nothing in war of The Worlds that is on-topic.
I did note that the infantry had what looked like Lee-Metford rifles. The plot is centred around 1904 as the Dogger Bank Incident is referenced as being what is occupying Parliament's time.
I also noticed a location blooper: Apparent use of the St George's Hall in Liverpool.
You can see a huge Willis pipe-organ in some shots that were supposed to be at the Admiralty or Parliament.

Ted Kendall 21st Nov 2019 2:49 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil Purling (Post 1193302)
Where Eagles Dare: The audience would not necessarily have realised they were not using a British or American aircraft.

The operation in the plot was clandestine and the aircraft carried German markings. Granted, the point was not underlined in the script, but most audiences should have picked it up, surely?

turretslug 21st Nov 2019 3:09 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by The Philpott (Post 1192995)
Did the UK have any Ju52/3m stashed away from before the war?

I suppose that it's possible that various individual aircraft may have been flown away from European mainland countries that bought them from Germany pre-war around the time of invasion- it seems that a number of Dutch-purchase He115 sea-planes and Do24 flying-boats escaped, possibly others from Norway, and were used by the Allies for clandestine operations, though this sort of thing is difficult to track down dependable information on.

slidertogrid 21st Nov 2019 3:17 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I met with one of the props buyers for the Netfilx series The Crown. I gave them some very basic pointers of TV at the time.
I also mentioned that the sets in Sandringham for instance were rented. RC Hunt a small shop in (I think) Dersingham provided Sandringham house with TV sets along with a lot of the P.A equipment for outside events.
At the time I supplied some TV sets for use in the recordings.
The first two series in my opinion were spot on in fact I thought they were excellent !
The T.V sets and radios were all correct for the year.
When the Queen mother thumped one of the sets that was playing up the Queen retorted "Don't do that it's rented!" so they did listen...


When we get to the current series things go a little astray... The first episode showed a Dual standard Ekco (which I supplied) showing a black and white picture and when the footman turned the volume up he used the correct control!

From there things went off the rails a little... A 23" GEC dual standard black and white set showed a colour picture, a Hotel room in America had a HMV Thorn 1400 with "rabbit ears" displaying a colour picture.. Sorry, color picture. And worse it was a good picture displaying none of the grotty NTSC symptoms... ;D

I did advise that early colour sets in the UK at least were big bulky things in cabinets and provided some pictures of the type of set. They used a 26" Thorn 3500 which I don't think was quite released by 1969... but I suppose it's near enough.
It is simply a case of the fact that the correct sets were hard to find, buy or hire so they used what they could.
As others have said most people wouldn't notice .

Don't get me wrong this is in no way a criticism of the programme I think it
is excellent. I think a bit of artistic licence is permissible.
I haven't watched the whole of the third series yet but so far Harold Wilson is driven around in a black Humber I don't know if this is correct for his early years but I do hope he gets his Rover P5B soon...
I did get a little moaned at when I kept pausing the programme to photograph one of "My" sets … :-)
Rich

SiriusHardware 21st Nov 2019 11:25 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by The Philpott (Post 1192995)
....In BBC 'World on Fire', does anyone know why they chose to depict a Junkers 52 Trimotor dropping an SOE agent behind enemy lines...?

Have another look at the opening titles (and great theme music) of 'Where Eagles Dare'. The transport being used to insert the allied party is an Alpine-camouflaged Ju-52.

I suppose it would have made sense to use an 'enemy' plane, assuming one was somehow available, if the flight could be arranged to start somewhere not far from the enemy border, from 'friendly neutral' territory perhaps.

Edit: Cross posted with several others who also remembered the Ju-52 in Where Eagles Dare.

livewireless123 28th Nov 2019 10:06 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Regarding the wind up gram boob in War of The worlds, the same thing was done in the Andrew Marr spies prog on BBC4 on tuesday. arm on the left not the Right. maybe the same machine? Have they got some young sprog in the props dep'nt who has never used a record player?

Test Desk 5th Dec 2019 12:34 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by colly0410 (Post 650838)
The one that annoys me is when they say "over & out." We were told on the first day of my army signallers course "if you say over & out you're on a charge."

I never really understood that. How were you told to end a radio communication? Was it " all received and out"?

Graham G3ZVT 5th Dec 2019 2:42 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Test Desk (Post 1196838)
Quote:

Originally Posted by colly0410 (Post 650838)
The one that annoys me is when they say "over & out." We were told on the first day of my army signallers course "if you say over & out you're on a charge."

I never really understood that. How were you told to end a radio communication? Was it " all received and out"?

Or Roger. Out.
I don't think an "and" adds anything useful.

Civil aviation is very light on procedural words, and does very well without them. The key thing is for an aircraft to give its call-sign at the end of every transmission.

Over & out makes no sense. Why would you invite the other station to transmit when in the same breath you have ended the conversation, and released the channel for other traffic?

Peter.N. 5th Dec 2019 10:40 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I thought it was '73' and sign off with your call sign.;)

Peter

Orakle42 5th Dec 2019 4:20 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Saw a good one on "Endeavour" last night. An old valved record player with a record on a still turntable spang into instant life when power was switched on. No warm up for the valves or speed up for the turntable!

Orakle42

Mike-repairman 5th Dec 2019 4:31 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I've seen that many times on programs with old valve radios, instant sound and no hum!

Graham G3ZVT 5th Dec 2019 11:27 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike-repairman (Post 1196961)
I've seen that many times on programs with old valve radios, instant sound and no hum!

Indeed, but just to play devil's advocate, a battery set with directly heated valves would achieve that.

Ted Kendall 24th Dec 2019 5:53 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
I've just caught up with "Darkest Hour" - gripping stuff, and Gary Oldman deserves his Oscar. However, in the climatic scene, his speech in the Commons is heard live over the radio. This is of course anachronistic - broadcasting of Parliament only commenced in the 1970s. True, the same speech was have been delivered by Churchill (or Shelley?) over the BBC that night, but this is one more misconception of the kind which led to the Argo issue of Churchill's speeches being bathed in artificial reverberation.

Granted, in the film the dramatic licence works, but it should not be forgotten that the Commons chamber was sanctum sanctorum at this time - only one photograph of the house in session during the war has ever emerged, and that was clandestine.

Oh, and the shot of R.W.Wood asking the bloke on the knobs if all was well is accompanied by ghastly artificial whistles - at that time the OB engineer would not have been monitoring off-air, even for cue purposes.

arjoll 4th Apr 2020 9:53 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
1 Attachment(s)
Slightly different to the other ones here (and mods, if this is the wrong section please move or let me know and I'll repost).

After our youngest left home, I thought I'd do a little gaming on her Xbox 360 - I hadn't had time for much gaming since the early 2000s, and found it was a great way to unwind to play an hour or two of something every so often. The kids love this, and my son gave me his Xbox One seeing he's mainly moved to a mix of PC gaming, PS4 and Switch.

At the moment I'm working my way through The Outer Worlds, and just found the attached on the wall of a maintenance room in a secret research lab (so secret it has a massive neon sign outside saying so).

(sorry about this being photo of the TV screen, for some reason Xbox snapshots aren't uploading to OneDrive for some reason)

Guest 5th Apr 2020 7:29 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Theremin.

Radio Wrangler 5th Apr 2020 8:46 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
You're going to shoot that poor, innocent, voltage regulator tube, Arjoll?

David

arjoll 5th Apr 2020 9:24 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell (Post 1231623)
Theremin.

Yup, I must admit I cheated and googled it because it didn't really look right for a radio, then when looking again with the knowledge it was pretty obvious it had two aerials.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler (Post 1231638)
You're going to shoot that poor, innocent, voltage regulator tube, Arjoll?

Haha no, the gun was for the raptidons and mercenaries :)

af024 6th Apr 2020 11:12 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
1 Attachment(s)
Is this a Goldring Lenco GL75?

It's screenshot from Saturday Night Fever.

Station X 14th Apr 2020 11:33 am

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
In last night's episode of "Quiz" a would be "Who wants to be a millionaire" contestant builds himself a "Fastest Finger First" keypad so he can practice. However instead of soldering the component leads he arc welds them.

I hope the devices weren't static sensitive!!

https://www.itv.com/hub/quiz/2a7854a0001

AC/HL 14th Apr 2020 2:46 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Watched an episode of Endeavour last night. The usual basic record player, with the addition of a Tandberg tape recorder for the ransom call. Unfortunately, the telephone monitoring was done on an AVO signal generator.

Andrew2 14th Apr 2020 3:30 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Station X (Post 1234689)
In last night's episode of "Quiz" a would be "Who wants to be a millionaire" contestant builds himself a "Fastest Finger First" keypad so he can practice. However instead of soldering the component leads he arc welds them.

I hope the devices weren't static sensitive!!

https://www.itv.com/hub/quiz/2a7854a0001

Yes, I noticed this as well. We first see him through his workshop window and he's earing a leather apron which wouldn't look out of place in Frankenstein's laboratory! I wouldn't have been surprised to see a forge and an anvil...

Andrew2 16th Jun 2020 3:14 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
1 Attachment(s)
Just watched 'Dancing with Crime' on TPTV. Towards the end we see a police radio operator instructing his cars via an R1155 receiver. I wonder where he plugged the mic? There was no matching T1154 to be seen, btw.

Wendymott 18th Jun 2020 10:30 pm

Sas ww2
 
I dont know if this has been posted else where.. but the CH5 series about the "Real SAS " story has been re gurgitated again. In part 3 they showed supposedly a clandestine radio.... wrong BC221 frequency standard.... even had the charts showing in the lid...Ahhhhh program makers..

Herald1360 21st Jun 2020 5:01 pm

Re: Sas ww2
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wendymott (Post 1260827)

In part 3 they showed supposedly a clandestine radio.... wrong BC221 frequency standard.... even had the charts showing in the lid...Ahhhhh program makers..

Wrong BC221 frequency meter? ;)

Graham G3ZVT 22nd Jul 2020 4:23 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Agatha Christie's Marple (Joan Hickson) "A Murder Is Announced"

showing now on ITV2

A shot of an old Gents wall clock with a replacement quartz movement. No problem with that, but why did they include a red second hand, and leave the battery in so we could see it stepping once a second?

PaulR 22nd Jul 2020 6:07 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Using quartz clocks sometimes in genuine cases and sometimes not is a common annoyance. They did it in the recent programme about the Battle of Britain. Sometimes they would show one with a sweep seconds hand which would be perfectly in keeping but on other occasions there was one that was clearly stepping in second intervals.

On another point why is the use of American telephone ring sound and interval becoming more common in programmes set in the UK? Could it be that more and more of the people involved have never heard a UK telephone bell, or even a land line ringing?

I should "just enjoy the programme" as my wife is always saying!

its ur aerial 18th Aug 2020 5:07 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
The XYL sat watching another depressing episode of that dreadful Call the Midwife on Sunday, I understand it is supposed to depict London's Dockland in the 50`s, however during Sundays episode, high winds blew down the Convent TV aerial, nothing wrong with that, as we know a very common occurrence, but the aforementioned antenna bore a striking resemblance to a horizontal polarized Band 4 and 5 UHF Yargi !
I therefore rest my case for the prosecution, Milord.

Snowy picture....it`s`yr`aerial...`Luv`.

Ken, G6HZG:beer:

barrymagrec 20th Aug 2020 2:24 pm

Re: Technology related anachronisms on TV and in films etc.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulR (Post 1272087)
Using quartz clocks sometimes in genuine cases and sometimes not is a common annoyance. They did it in the recent programme about the Battle of Britain. Sometimes they would show one with a sweep seconds hand which would be perfectly in keeping but on other occasions there was one that was clearly stepping in second intervals.

I would have expected that at the time of the Battle of Britain all the clocks in operations rooms would be controlled by a Gents or Synchronome master clock system which increments all the slave clocks at one second intervals. (If I remember correctly).


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 1:39 pm.

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.