The End of the STB!

Bill Wright wrote:
"Terry Casey" wrote in message
...
The simple translator was, of course, a transmitter, if not well shielded,
and the leaky coax of the time, even if properly connected, could still
radiate a potent signal, so that many viewers found their BBC reception
severely interfered with (even replaced) by the ITV signal from next door!

These boxes were in use for a surprisingly long time. Some people bought
single channel tellys very late in the day ("ITV -- it'll never catch on!").

Snip

Bill (born 1949)


I don't think that many had much choice, Bill!

ITV was authorised by the Television Act 1954 which received the Royal
assent on 30th July.

ITV started (In London) on 22nd September 1955, so that didn't give
manufacturers much time to design, build and market receivers for the
new service!

Don't forget that all of this happened not long after the biggest sales
boost that television had ever had in this country - the Queen's
Coronation in 1952 - so there were an awful lot of nearly new (most
people expected a 10 year life from their exceedingly expensive purchase
in those days!) BBC only TVs around at the time of the ITV launch.

Terry (born 1944)

"Graham." wrote in message
...
Is there a statute of limitations on the WT Act 1949 (As amended)?

I do so hope, because I would hate that young lad to get into bother.

Bill

"Terry Casey" wrote in message
...
These boxes were in use for a surprisingly long time. Some people bought
single channel tellys very late in the day ("ITV -- it'll never catch
on!").

Snip

Bill (born 1949)

I don't think that many had much choice, Bill!

ITV was authorised by the Television Act 1954 which received the Royal
assent on 30th July.

ITV started (In London) on 22nd September 1955, so that didn't give
manufacturers much time to design, build and market receivers for the new
service!

Don't forget that all of this happened not long after the biggest sales
boost that television had ever had in this country - the Queen's
Coronation in 1952 - so there were an awful lot of nearly new (most people
expected a 10 year life from their exceedingly expensive purchase in those
days!) BBC only TVs around at the time of the ITV launch.

Terry (born 1944)

Yes, of course you're right, although there was a bit more warning out in
the provinces.

Bill

In article , Bill Wright wrote:
"Terry Casey" wrote in message
...
The simple translator was, of course, a transmitter, if not well shielded,
and the leaky coax of the time, even if properly connected, could still
radiate a potent signal, so that many viewers found their BBC reception
severely interfered with (even replaced) by the ITV signal from next door!

These boxes were in use for a surprisingly long time. Some people bought
single channel tellys very late in the day ("ITV -- it'll never catch on!").
Later, naughty boys whose dads were in the trade used to collect convertor
boxes when their dad's customers finally upgraded to a set with a tuner.
They would then, allegedly, connect the input to an ITV aerial and the
output to a BBC aerial. Sometimes they would feed the output through a
'booster' which they had built from a design in Practical Television. They
would then clutch themselves with evil glee as the whole estate lost
reception of the BBC channel.

Bill (born 1949)

Some naughty boys found you could rewire one of the triodes as an audio
modulator and transmit gramophone records from their attic bedrooms to the TV
set in the living room (and goodness knows where else).

Rod. (born 1948)
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Bill Wright wrote:
"Terry Casey" wrote in message
...
These boxes were in use for a surprisingly long time. Some people bought
single channel tellys very late in the day ("ITV -- it'll never catch
on!").
Snip

Bill (born 1949)
I don't think that many had much choice, Bill!

ITV was authorised by the Television Act 1954 which received the Royal
assent on 30th July.

ITV started (In London) on 22nd September 1955, so that didn't give
manufacturers much time to design, build and market receivers for the new
service!

Don't forget that all of this happened not long after the biggest sales
boost that television had ever had in this country - the Queen's
Coronation in 1952 - so there were an awful lot of nearly new (most people
expected a 10 year life from their exceedingly expensive purchase in those
days!) BBC only TVs around at the time of the ITV launch.

Terry (born 1944)

Yes, of course you're right, although there was a bit more warning out in
the provinces.


You're right there but it doesn't alter the scenario: the 1953 TV sales
boom would have been nation wide and no manufacturer would have built BI
only sets alongside 13 channel ones! Economies of scale and all that.
(In the same way that, when the superhets replaced the single channel
TRFs, everybody was sold the 5 channel model.)

When ITV spread to the provinces, there were still a lot of pre-1955 BBC
only sets out there!

Terry

I doubt that many people have put their STBs on top of even CRT TVs. Too
narrow and often not level.



You have a point, Max. However, given that all of the spare room
under my set is occupied (VCR and DVD player), I had no choice but to
put my DTT PVR on top of the TV. This was only possible as I am still
using a 4:3 CRT. There will have to be changes when eventually I am
forced to change to a flat screen TV.

John

Needless to say, the VCR was immediately joined by the CATV STB in its
cosy little oven ...!

Terry, as Bob Monkhouse once said, "If it is 'needless to say', then
it is needless to hear!"

He is missed.

John

"Geoff Pearson" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
On 7 Sep,
"Max Demian" wrote:

wrote in message
...
With the prevalence of flat screens the STB
has clearly been outmoded. Now we enter
into the era of the LSB -
the Lower Shelf Box

I doubt that many people have put their STBs on top of even CRT TVs. Too
narrow and often not level.

I have seen /one/ in the STB position.

--
BD
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

We had a STB in 1955 to receive the new ITV in Band III and convert it to
Band I - hence "switch over to the other side"

Mine was in a Bakelite box with Red EF50's.

Of course the silver ones were best!

David

In article ,
David Butler wrote:


Mine was in a Bakelite box with Red EF50's.

Of course the silver ones were best!

no they weren't. Sylvania made the red ones which were a higher spec
version.

--
From KT24 - in "Leafy Surrey"

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
David Butler wrote:


Mine was in a Bakelite box with Red EF50's.

Of course the silver ones were best!

no they weren't. Sylvania made the red ones which were a higher spec
version.

--
From KT24 - in "Leafy Surrey"

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11


My red ones were made by Mullard.

Who made the silver ones?

David