There is a fascinating clip on YouTube of 405 line BBC TV being received in New York (from London) presumably by F2 or multi-hop sporadic-E propagation in 1938. This is the only example of a pre-WW2 live 405 line BBC TV transmission known to be recorded. The image shown left is of the female TV announcer. The signal comes and goes as the QSB takes the signal out of sync. Totally fascinating.See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SniB0JEDGs
It would be great to be able to listen to what the ham bands sounded like in those days.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if there are any recordings of ham activity pre-WW2. It would be most interesting. There was a recording made of the last night of activity on 56MHz (5m) band in the late 1940s which G5UM made (I think) in London but I do not know who has a copy.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic movie, Roger. I didn't know there was already TV in the late thirties. 73, Paul PC4T
ReplyDeleteI have just come across your posting. I am Archivist of the Alexandra Palace Television Society, and was responsible for uploading this clip to our YouTube Channel.
ReplyDeleteI have undertaken a great deal of research in the identification of the items featured in this sort film.
Originally the film was reversed (a mirror image), which was easily corrected. This Disney cartoon has been identified, as well as the female announcers, the tuning caption at the end of the sequence, along with one of the plays and one of the performers.
I presented the footage at the British Film Institute in September 2011, which the findings todate. However the research continues and it is hoped to have as many of the individual clips identified by the end of 2012.
Should any readers of your blog wish to know more about this footage, or its identification, I can be contacted at apts@apts.org.uk.
Best regards
Simon Vaughan
Archivist
for and on behalf of
Alexandra Palace Television Society