Specs for obscure Philips patterns found in partial scan of PM5644 manual - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

inaxeon · 1st Jul 2024, 7:12 pm

Calling all test card nerds!

The manual for the PM5644 is a document which I have searched for, now for 4 years. No luck. I still have not found it. However today I got a partial scan (chapter 3, specs) from an equipment dealer who sold one with the manual more than a decade ago, and scanned this chapter for the advertisement (yes I did ask who it was sold to, no record of it).

New things which have been learned:

BBC Test card G:
It has been suspected that a version of the PM5644 existed which generated this test card, however hasn't been able to be confirmed. Example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utr7qDI5HSY

Now it is confirmed. There was indeed a model which generates this.

PAL-D/K:
A version of the Philips pattern for this TV system (looking a little bit like Test card G) has been known for some time. Example here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN3LUGdzmto it is clear that it has 6 frequency gratings, however no recordings have been of sufficient fidelity to work out what the frequency of the last grating actually is.

We now know it's 5.63 MHz.

PAL-N:
Generators for this standard have also been know for a while, but no specs whatsoever have been available to work out what the test card looked like.

We now know it looks like the regular PAL-B/G test card, however with the same gratings as NTSC (0.5-4.0 MHz).

It is absurd that it is now only in 2024 that this information has finally become public, but literally this is the deal. This documentation is extrememly hard to find. The specs for the SECAM test card were also recently seen for the first time with the PM5534 manual scan provided by Stan Stanger!

Here's the scan:
https://github.com/inaxeon/PTV_Preservation/blob/main/PM5644/General/Docs/Manual_Chapter_3_Scan.pdf

The info has also been added to Wikipedia.

1st Jul 2024, 7:12 pm	#1
inaxeon Pentode Join Date: May 2022 Location: Odiham, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 146	Specs for obscure Philips patterns found in partial scan of PM5644 manual Calling all test card nerds! The manual for the PM5644 is a document which I have searched for, now for 4 years. No luck. I still have not found it. However today I got a partial scan (chapter 3, specs) from an equipment dealer who sold one with the manual more than a decade ago, and scanned this chapter for the advertisement (yes I did ask who it was sold to, no record of it). New things which have been learned: BBC Test card G: It has been suspected that a version of the PM5644 existed which generated this test card, however hasn't been able to be confirmed. Example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utr7qDI5HSY Now it is confirmed. There was indeed a model which generates this. PAL-D/K: A version of the Philips pattern for this TV system (looking a little bit like Test card G) has been known for some time. Example here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN3LUGdzmto it is clear that it has 6 frequency gratings, however no recordings have been of sufficient fidelity to work out what the frequency of the last grating actually is. We now know it's 5.63 MHz. PAL-N: Generators for this standard have also been know for a while, but no specs whatsoever have been available to work out what the test card looked like. We now know it looks like the regular PAL-B/G test card, however with the same gratings as NTSC (0.5-4.0 MHz). It is absurd that it is now only in 2024 that this information has finally become public, but literally this is the deal. This documentation is extrememly hard to find. The specs for the SECAM test card were also recently seen for the first time with the PM5534 manual scan provided by Stan Stanger! Here's the scan: https://github.com/inaxeon/PTV_Preservation/blob/main/PM5644/General/Docs/Manual_Chapter_3_Scan.pdf The info has also been added to Wikipedia.