Television Test Transmissions - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

radioman · 12th Jun 2007, 1:18 pm

When I was very young, I remember watching colour test transmisssions which were of powerboats bouncing over the waves.
Does anyone else remember these ?
Also, was this for BBC2 and what year was it ?

Andy

GMB · 12th Jun 2007, 2:22 pm

I certainly do. There were loads of these films which were shown over and over on BBC2 during the day, presumably to give something for TV shops to show and installers to use to see that the colour was working OK. In fact one of the films was how to set up a colour TV. A number of them were better than the actual programs!

They started when the colour service began and I know for certain they were still transmitting them in 1972.
The only way I found to see what was on was to tune in to the transmitter information program where the state of all the transmitters was listed and then they gave the day's schedule of the test films which were separated by periods of the colour test card.

I had completely forgotten the powerboats - that was the round Britain race.
There was the comedy film "Home made car".
Something on the history of paint pigments by ICI.
An agricultural film telling farmers to grub up their hedgerows.
Manufacture of plastics.
Manufacture of TV tubes and how to set them up.
...and a load more that I can't remember.

Station X · 12th Jun 2007, 3:07 pm

One about road trains carrying cattle in Australia.

This has been discussed previously in this archived thread:-

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ead.php?t=2347

radioman · 12th Jun 2007, 4:41 pm

Thanks GMB and to Graham for the link to the similar post a couple of years ago - I didn't think this had been mentioned before.
Following one of the links in the other post led me to this page http://webfax.org.uk/683/ , which told me the film about power boats was a BP film shown between August 1968 & May 1970, so now I know

Andy

Mikey405 · 13th Jun 2007, 7:34 am

There was a film about a strange Philips technology centre called Evoluon. It had weird music with background noise of people wandering about but no speaking as far as I can remember.

I have seen a film about pollution and I do recall that it was made by one oil company or another. The opening bit was of water lapping about covered in oil.

From Mike.

Mike Phelan · 13th Jun 2007, 8:27 am

I do remember the oily one, and another film where someone had restored a car, drove into a filling station where there was this delectable young lady waiting in the passenger seat of an expensive sports car; she then jumped ship and drove off with the guy in the old car!

I remember the Evoluon one as well; it was somewhere in Brussels ? I liked that one! I am sure I have seen some of the building there in Brussels recently.

What about the test card music? Shadows LP on BBC, and various piano concertos on ITV (Grieg, Schumann, Beethoven 4) - this was in the late sixties.

standing wave · 13th Jun 2007, 4:24 pm

You can watch and download the evoluon film at;
http://www.dse.nl/~evoluon/film-e.htm
Terry.

Line whistle · 13th Jun 2007, 10:03 pm

Hi, I believe the powerboat film was called "POWERBOAT 66". My parents bought me my first tape recorder for Christmas 1972 and I know I made some recordings of some trade test films the following year. One film showed a man and woman on the beach . I think there was French background music. sorry if my recollections are a bit sketchy.

Cheers, Des.

DrZarkov · 14th Jun 2007, 1:06 pm

The Evoluon was (is) in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. I loved it, when I was a child. It was a great technology museum, and only about 100 km from my home ;-)

No it is a congress-centrum. :-(

The most interesting thing there is now the HAM-museum in Budel, I think.

Ian - G4JQT · 14th Jun 2007, 4:27 pm

Wasn't there also one about glass and the (re)building of Coventy Cathederal?

And some strange industrial electrical safety one - all I can remember was something about "Isolate, earth, dump" as they were working in some sort of high-voltage equipment. I think it was a trade colour film as I remember it being on quite often.

Ian

Panrock · 14th Jun 2007, 4:41 pm

You can get GIUSEPPINA here

http://www.simplymagic.freeserve.co.uk/store.htm

and the DVD also has EVOLUON on it, I recall.

Also more info on trade test films and a download of the Colour Receiver Installation Film here:

http://www.vintagebroadcasting.org.uk/

Steve

ppppenguin · 14th Jun 2007, 4:43 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian - G4JQT

And some strange industrial electrical safety one - all I can remember was something about "Isolate, earth, dump" as they were working in some sort of high-voltage equipment. I think it was a trade colour film as I remember it being on quite often.

The mnemonic was SIDE: Switch off, Isolate, Dump, Earth. I've got a poor quality VHS copy. They never said what all the exotic hgh voltage kit was used for but I rather suspect some kind of nuclear research.

Aerodyne · 14th Jun 2007, 4:52 pm

One powerboat film (Shell or Esso? Can't recall) was called 'The small Propellor' and showed all kinds of power boating. This was run regularly as a BBC2 daytime test film in the early days of colour. I often borrowed this film and others from the oil company's libraries, first in 16mm sound form then later as VHS tapes. Others I recall were 'Crown of Glass' about the building of Liverpool cathedral, 'The Home Made Car', 'Hot rocks' (I think that was the name, about drilling for geothermal energy) and a range of other films and tapes from their catalogues, all for free. Many about oil but there were plastics and environmental subjects too. Very useful at times both for adding interest to lessons and for use when staff were ill and some inexperienced supply teacher would not be capable of running a practical lesson safely!
-Tony

GMB · 14th Jun 2007, 5:58 pm

Yes, I remember SIDE. I vaguely remember the installation looked like an impulse generator for testing high voltage equipment.

As for "Home made car" - a friend on mine thought there was just enough clues in the film to find the location so we spent a lot of time rewatching it and in the end we actually worked it out based on very little information and visited them, only to find that the garage in the film had been demolished and an infill house built on it, and that the locations that seemed close together were actually miles apart (often the way in films).
We were students at the time and obviously had too much spare time.

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet I now find that someone else did this too!

Focus Diode · 14th Jun 2007, 6:06 pm

My fave ever has to be the Mullard film, "It's The Tube That Makes The Colour" showing production from scratch of the A63-11X!

Interestingly two versions were made, the original credited to Mullard, the other to Philips. Apart from the start and end captions the two films are otherwise identical.

Brian R

GMB · 14th Jun 2007, 11:23 pm

Oh dear, it was a long time ago.

The location that got us into the rough area was a few frames of the Post Office in "Bucks Horn Oak" which is south of Farnham. The garage where the car was "found" was there except it had changed hands and didn't have a scrap yard when we found it and I think the Post Office had died. The house itself was somewhere near Farnborough (confusingly) - I have a slide of it somewhere and maybe a note of the address if you really want to know - but it was a long time ago!

We actually located the house by using the direction of the TV aerials to work out the orientation of the road, from the views up and down the road showing it to be between two more major roads and also from the scene with the rag-and-bone man going round a rather oddly curved bit of road nearby. From that I used my powers of spotting patterns (I'm good at that) to just "see" it on a map. We nearly didn't go there because it was a way off from the garage. We then drove round a few streets until we saw the house - the point being that the curved bit of road wasn't as near the house as its context in the film suggests.

12th Jun 2007, 1:18 pm	#1
radioman Heptode Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ayr, Ayrshire, UK. Posts: 631	Television Test Transmissions When I was very young, I remember watching colour test transmisssions which were of powerboats bouncing over the waves. Does anyone else remember these ? Also, was this for BBC2 and what year was it ? Andy __________________ G-QRP #12697

12th Jun 2007, 2:22 pm	#2
GMB Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: near Reading (and sometimes Torquay) Posts: 3,099	Re: Television Test Transmissions I certainly do. There were loads of these films which were shown over and over on BBC2 during the day, presumably to give something for TV shops to show and installers to use to see that the colour was working OK. In fact one of the films was how to set up a colour TV. A number of them were better than the actual programs! They started when the colour service began and I know for certain they were still transmitting them in 1972. The only way I found to see what was on was to tune in to the transmitter information program where the state of all the transmitters was listed and then they gave the day's schedule of the test films which were separated by periods of the colour test card. I had completely forgotten the powerboats - that was the round Britain race. There was the comedy film "Home made car". Something on the history of paint pigments by ICI. An agricultural film telling farmers to grub up their hedgerows. Manufacture of plastics. Manufacture of TV tubes and how to set them up. ...and a load more that I can't remember.

12th Jun 2007, 3:07 pm	#3
Station X Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4, UK. Posts: 21,289	Re: Television Test Transmissions One about road trains carrying cattle in Australia. This has been discussed previously in this archived thread:- https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ead.php?t=2347 __________________ Graham. Forum Moderator Reach for your meter before you reach for your soldering iron.

12th Jun 2007, 4:41 pm	#4
radioman Heptode Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ayr, Ayrshire, UK. Posts: 631	Re: Television Test Transmissions Thanks GMB and to Graham for the link to the similar post a couple of years ago - I didn't think this had been mentioned before. Following one of the links in the other post led me to this page http://webfax.org.uk/683/ , which told me the film about power boats was a BP film shown between August 1968 & May 1970, so now I know Andy __________________ G-QRP #12697

13th Jun 2007, 7:34 am	#5
Mikey405 Octode Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Solihull, West Midlands and Beaford, Devon Posts: 1,626	Re: Television Test Transmissions There was a film about a strange Philips technology centre called Evoluon. It had weird music with background noise of people wandering about but no speaking as far as I can remember. I have seen a film about pollution and I do recall that it was made by one oil company or another. The opening bit was of water lapping about covered in oil. From Mike. __________________ G7TRF

13th Jun 2007, 8:27 am	#6
Mike Phelan Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Near Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 4,609	Re: Television Test Transmissions I do remember the oily one, and another film where someone had restored a car, drove into a filling station where there was this delectable young lady waiting in the passenger seat of an expensive sports car; she then jumped ship and drove off with the guy in the old car! I remember the Evoluon one as well; it was somewhere in Brussels ? I liked that one! I am sure I have seen some of the building there in Brussels recently. What about the test card music? Shadows LP on BBC, and various piano concertos on ITV (Grieg, Schumann, Beethoven 4) - this was in the late sixties. __________________ Mike.

13th Jun 2007, 4:24 pm	#7
standing wave Pentode Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Tipperary, Ireland Posts: 121	Re: Television Test Transmissions You can watch and download the evoluon film at; http://www.dse.nl/~evoluon/film-e.htm Terry.

13th Jun 2007, 10:03 pm	#8
Line whistle Hexode Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bedfordshire, UK. Posts: 341	Re: Television Test Transmissions Hi, I believe the powerboat film was called "POWERBOAT 66". My parents bought me my first tape recorder for Christmas 1972 and I know I made some recordings of some trade test films the following year. One film showed a man and woman on the beach . I think there was French background music. sorry if my recollections are a bit sketchy. Cheers, Des.

14th Jun 2007, 1:06 pm	#9
DrZarkov Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Herongen, Germany Posts: 65	Re: Television Test Transmissions The Evoluon was (is) in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. I loved it, when I was a child. It was a great technology museum, and only about 100 km from my home ;-) No it is a congress-centrum. :-( The most interesting thing there is now the HAM-museum in Budel, I think.

14th Jun 2007, 4:27 pm	#10
Ian - G4JQT Octode Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Reading/Fakenham, UK. Posts: 1,326	Re: Television Test Transmissions Wasn't there also one about glass and the (re)building of Coventy Cathederal? And some strange industrial electrical safety one - all I can remember was something about "Isolate, earth, dump" as they were working in some sort of high-voltage equipment. I think it was a trade colour film as I remember it being on quite often. Ian

14th Jun 2007, 4:41 pm	#11
Panrock Nonode Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 2,534	Re: Television Test Transmissions You can get GIUSEPPINA here http://www.simplymagic.freeserve.co.uk/store.htm and the DVD also has EVOLUON on it, I recall. Also more info on trade test films and a download of the Colour Receiver Installation Film here: http://www.vintagebroadcasting.org.uk/ Steve __________________ https://www.radiocraft.co.uk

14th Jun 2007, 4:52 pm	#13
Aerodyne Octode Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hampton Vale, Peterborough, UK. Posts: 1,698	Re: Television Test Transmissions One powerboat film (Shell or Esso? Can't recall) was called 'The small Propellor' and showed all kinds of power boating. This was run regularly as a BBC2 daytime test film in the early days of colour. I often borrowed this film and others from the oil company's libraries, first in 16mm sound form then later as VHS tapes. Others I recall were 'Crown of Glass' about the building of Liverpool cathedral, 'The Home Made Car', 'Hot rocks' (I think that was the name, about drilling for geothermal energy) and a range of other films and tapes from their catalogues, all for free. Many about oil but there were plastics and environmental subjects too. Very useful at times both for adding interest to lessons and for use when staff were ill and some inexperienced supply teacher would not be capable of running a practical lesson safely! -Tony

14th Jun 2007, 5:58 pm	#14
GMB Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: near Reading (and sometimes Torquay) Posts: 3,099	Re: Television Test Transmissions Yes, I remember SIDE. I vaguely remember the installation looked like an impulse generator for testing high voltage equipment. As for "Home made car" - a friend on mine thought there was just enough clues in the film to find the location so we spent a lot of time rewatching it and in the end we actually worked it out based on very little information and visited them, only to find that the garage in the film had been demolished and an infill house built on it, and that the locations that seemed close together were actually miles apart (often the way in films). We were students at the time and obviously had too much spare time. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet I now find that someone else did this too!

14th Jun 2007, 6:06 pm	#15
Focus Diode Octode Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Borough of Gateshead, UK. Posts: 1,420	Re: Television Test Transmissions My fave ever has to be the Mullard film, "It's The Tube That Makes The Colour" showing production from scratch of the A63-11X! Interestingly two versions were made, the original credited to Mullard, the other to Philips. Apart from the start and end captions the two films are otherwise identical. Brian R

14th Jun 2007, 11:23 pm	#16
GMB Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: near Reading (and sometimes Torquay) Posts: 3,099	Re: Television Test Transmissions Oh dear, it was a long time ago. The location that got us into the rough area was a few frames of the Post Office in "Bucks Horn Oak" which is south of Farnham. The garage where the car was "found" was there except it had changed hands and didn't have a scrap yard when we found it and I think the Post Office had died. The house itself was somewhere near Farnborough (confusingly) - I have a slide of it somewhere and maybe a note of the address if you really want to know - but it was a long time ago! We actually located the house by using the direction of the TV aerials to work out the orientation of the road, from the views up and down the road showing it to be between two more major roads and also from the scene with the rag-and-bone man going round a rather oddly curved bit of road nearby. From that I used my powers of spotting patterns (I'm good at that) to just "see" it on a map. We nearly didn't go there because it was a way off from the garage. We then drove round a few streets until we saw the house - the point being that the curved bit of road wasn't as near the house as its context in the film suggests.