Vintage channel 5 signal generator from the 1990 s
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- In this video I show an interesting vintage channel 5 signal generator, I wonder if these were issued to radio/TV shops in order to re tune customers sets ready for the new channel 5 transmissions in 1997 ???
Got a few of these left over from training CH5 retuners; early ones were dark grey.
I don't know how this came to Buxton as we never got CH 5 here , the only way to get 5 was by satellite .
I've realised - that Nikkai TV must share some display components partially with a Mitsubishi TV set of the same vintage as I had a small 12" Mitsubishi TV in the early 90's and it had an identical On Screen Display.
It could have well been so , a lot of sets back then used just industry standard chip sets .
Channel 5 was broadcast on a high frequency in some parts of North East England, either UHF 67 or 68 so there was no need to send anyone out to re-tune VHS machines. BBC2 from the Pontop Pike transmitter was on UHF 64 so the new Channel 5 was in the same C/D group for aerials, although it was broadcasting from a different transmitter. However down in Bristol (Mendip transmitter) where I moved to in April 1997 used exactly the same UHF frequencies for 1, 2, 3 and 4 as Pontop Pike but their Channel 5 was somewhere in the UHF 30's range (might have been 37). So strange how 2 transmitters using the same frequencies for the main 4 TV channels ended up with Channel 5 in completely different places.
I seen to remember channel 5 had to retune any affected VCR, games consoles to use the frequency's. A ofcom ruling I seem to remember. Guess this was used maybe to do it. Thanks for sharing, Daz
The DTI gave Channel 5 the use of UHF channel 35. They had to retune 1.8 million VCR's before the channel could launch causing a two month delay in its launch
I remember the guys coming round to retune video recorders that were on the proposed Ch5 frequency... used to get a nice sticker on it after :)
Many thanks to everyone who replied ,since the 1970 s we have only ever been on a relay transmitter so we never got channel 5 at all on terrestrial and as such I have no knowledge of channel 5 re tuning as we didn't need it round here , but I can see now what this box was used for now . Michael Dranfield .
I worked as a Channel 5 retuner and had one of these. My one didn't have the ch 35/37 switch on (wonder if it would have had the terminals for it inside?) The four buttons are programmable; use the five-pin connector on the side. One end is common, connecting it to the others allows you programme the channel for each button.
Sadly, I wasn't able to keep mine; when the returning project had finished the company insisted on having them back (I even offered to buy it, but they wouldn't). No idea what they would have wanted them for. Never seen another one since.
Thought the channel selection may have been for the 1, 5 and 9 rule but that doesn't add up.
When the switch is set for 35 rather than 37, does the selection of channels on the presets 2, 3 and 4 follow suit?
I live north Manchester, back in the day I had a fixed Group C/D antenna on Winter Hill and rotatable Group B for Emley Moor, Moel-y-Parc and others.
So had to reconfigure my system when Ch5 launched as Winter Hill was Group B.
Got a screenshot of the Ch5 Emley Moor testcard, the capture device I used (Play Snappy) had an option of multi frame averaging so removed all the noise.
Winter Hill was just about still group C/D even with Channel 5, although it was at the bottom extreme (channel 48) and would have been potentially poor with a short reflector. I think it was also somewhat lower in power, but Channel 4 was still affected for viewers on Middleton, so they moved that to 37 there.
@@PhilReynoldsLondonGeek I think it was about 16dB down 12.5kW Vs 500kW, my combiner splitter had a high crossover frequency around ch.53 as I recall.
@@simonparkinson1053 Ah, that would possibly affect it a bit.
interesting i have heard of them but never sean one .i was told they were for checking for co chanel interference to see if a filter had to be fitted to the aerial.
Hands up everyone who had to adjust the VCR modulators to stop the interference from ch5 .
Not seen one before but as others mentioned most vcrs used ch36 as output ,so channel 5 had "installers" going round adjusting customers vcrs for free so no Interference. This looked like it was used in B group area possibly Emley Moor ? .
These boxes were supplied to the people who were sent to every home with a TV in the predicted Channel 5 coverage areas to retune VCRs so they didn't interfere with the new Channel 5 service usually on Ch37.The re-tuners were usually not technical, some were students or retired people and they would struggle to sort out homes with a VCR, cable box, games console all around CH36 and without much modulator tuning range. If they failed then a local dealer would take a look (free to the customer) and in the worst case just fit a Ch37 notch filter so the customers would not have any interference but of course no Channel 5. The area I lived in was not in the official Mendip service area but many people had large aerials to get Channel 4 from the transmitter and also many communal systems in flats were served by Mendip but no re-tuners ever called, but never mind, for £10 I'd go along and sort something out often by using scart leads and boxes which I charged extra for but gave better results than RF especially for games and Sky boxes, I never used a signal generator since the transmissions had already started, I made some decent money from Chanel 5 starting, I'd do 20-30 flats in a couple of hours.
Hello No, not seen one of these, but like most of us, I had many service visits to retune after the launch of Channel 5
Hate to think how many vcr modulators I have adjusted ,as a side comment I was involved in a similar project when I was sent as part of a team to Whitehaven to trail the digital switch over,we did all the ground work and supplied custom freeview box with modulators so any tv could be converted but in the end we did not get the contract but it went to a company set up by upper management of the the digital switch over campaign (allegedly).
These were used by the mobile "retuning squads" - unfortunately they were not that great. There were many areas where they should have used one generating signals on both 35 and 37 - the signal from Lichfield overlapped with both The Wrekin and Waltham. However, they never got to me, and on a set top aerial I could receive both Lichfield and Waltham. The video recorder I was renting at the time had output adjustable between (specified) 32 and 40, and it was very difficult to find a clear setting. Fortunately my second TV could be manually tuned, so I set channels on it from 30 to 43. I also had Channel 5's own blockers for all their channels in that range, but they were no help - in fact, if anything, they seemed to make the problem worse. I found the only channel where the video could output without interfering with Channel 5 from Waltham or being interfered with by signals from either Nottingham, Lichfield or Sutton Coldfield was 42, which it could just reach.
Oddly enough, there was one of these for sale on eBay, back in the summer of '21. It's listing was badly worded and I didn't twig to it immediately, unfortunately, by the time I did, it was no longer available. 😭
The seller may not have known what it was, I didn't know what it was either until someone said in the comments as been on a relay transmitter we never got ch5 here, only on satellite.
No never seen this before and weren't affected by the ch 35/37 video retune as Channel 5 was on Ch39 from Sandy Heath and did all my retune of my family tv myself as i'm technical minded, But sadly never got a good signal.
We were years behind on channel 5 that's why I sold so many sky boxes at the time!
Yes co-channel interference for ch 35