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Old 21st Apr 2020, 8:54 pm   #381
whyperion
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

I've not read the entire thread, but to me, TV and the like is going to change . A lot of presenters and restorers are of an age where they will be susceptible to the present virus ' mode de operandi' as will be the ages of many persons who can tell the story of what is being repaired. No more queues of people going to antiques roadshow events , unless some kind of testing or effective vaccine occurs then until I reckon 2022 there will not be much new shoots of the kind recently broadcast. Producers will have to think of new thinks, maybe the exploration by Drone of old objects and detailed scripted voice-overs (this kind of one person made filming has been done by some good you tube folk for some years now anyway).

Reverting back to the Christmas Special for 2019 I thought it was a joy as craftspeople used skills way in excess of mine to make secret santa gifts for another expert, I hope it gives inspiration.
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 11:58 am   #382
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Default How To Make Headphones BBC4 16/4/20

I see there's a "Gramaphone Guru" in action on our old friend The Repair shop tonight as well!

Dave W

Last edited by AC/HL; 30th Apr 2020 at 5:56 pm. Reason: Thread split
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Old 29th Apr 2020, 9:31 pm   #383
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Default Re: How To Make Headphones BBC4 16/4/20

The bloke who was repairing the cylinder machine seems to have no ear for music. When he played the blue Amberol cylinder it had tremendous wow and flutter - it was visibly "eccentric" in the technical sense- and it was obviously playing too fast. I googled "Take a pair of sparkling eyes- blue amberol" and up came a Youtube video of what seems to be exactly the same cylinder playing without wow and with a decent tenor voice at the right pitch - one Ernest Pike, it appears.
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Old 30th Apr 2020, 2:32 pm   #384
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Default Re: How To Make Headphones BBC4 16/4/20

Yes I was a bit surprised that the playback wasn't steady Barretter. I suppose it was a win for the family to have it working at all, plus it probably lived up to what they and most people would expect the quality to be, so it would be acceptable perhaps The the deceased owner may well have taken a different view though. In the same way, it's not generally understood that good condition 78's can actually produce very superior results.

I recall a picture of a cylinder machine [newly built in brass] some years ago, for the Smithsonian I think It was custom built to extract the audio from some very rare cylinders and cost a fortune.

All I have is one [wax] cylinder [not celluloid, as per the Opera unit].

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Old 30th Apr 2020, 7:18 pm   #385
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

"Not steady" is very polite. The "restored" phonograph made one of the most popular British tenors of the early recording era sound like Pinky and Perky.
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Old 30th Apr 2020, 8:20 pm   #386
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Wasn't this a repeat showing of an earlier restoration - which provoked similar similar observations at the time?
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Old 30th Apr 2020, 8:59 pm   #387
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Yep, I too (who didn't) heard the ridiculous amount of speed instability. Having never owned or paid much attention to cylinder gramophones, I wasn't sure that it wasn't the norm, although I pretty much thought as much. I like watching the programme, but that incident really speaks volumes about that particular 'expert'.
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Old 30th Apr 2020, 9:08 pm   #388
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moll View Post
Wasn't this a repeat showing of an earlier restoration - which provoked similar similar observations at the time?
No, it was a new programme. I don't think he's tried to restore a phonograph before but I do remember being surprised at the amount of wow'n'flutter he appeared to tolerate in a gramophone he repaired on a previous programme.
It's a bit like people nowadays thinking that clicks, ticks and pops are an inherent feature of vinyl replay, or that old films were scratched when first shown at the local Odeon in 1955.

Last edited by barretter; 30th Apr 2020 at 9:11 pm. Reason: Used the wrong term
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Old 30th Apr 2020, 9:34 pm   #389
M0FYA Andy
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

I think these current programmes are an edited mix of new items and items from previous programmes - I recognised both the phonograph repair and the chair as coming from earlier ones. I remember being surprised he considered the wobbling cylinder to be acceptable

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Old 1st May 2020, 10:45 am   #390
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

I tend to be more interested in the mechanics than the music.

But, how did they make the cylinders? A split mould would give at least a couple of clicks per revolution. Is each cylinder cut individually?
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Old 1st May 2020, 10:59 am   #391
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Some nice Pictures of wax cylinders being made here

http://www.paulmorrismusic.co.uk/Vie...%20Manufacture

Cheers

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Old 1st May 2020, 11:23 am   #392
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

I've only just seen the "gramophone" and "phonograph" episodes but I have to concur with some of the comments on here - I wouldn't class the chap in question as a Repair "expert" by a long chalk.
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Old 1st May 2020, 12:11 pm   #393
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M0FYA Andy View Post
I think these current programmes are an edited mix of new items and items from previous programmes - I recognised both the phonograph repair and the chair as coming from earlier ones. I remember being surprised he considered the wobbling cylinder to be acceptable

Andy
Well the Radio Times doesn't say "repeat" or "revised repeat"...
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Old 1st May 2020, 12:36 pm   #394
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Repeat.

Lawrence.
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Old 1st May 2020, 1:40 pm   #395
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Agreed, I was little disapointed when I started to watch and most if not all of it was a repeat ... althogh I had hoped the gram man may may have made a better job second time around but I'm not qualified to critise maybe that was the best that could be done.

Its been said before but overall a good interesting watch with many skilled restorers/presevers and I like the fact there's no reference to the time taken (some jobs must be days) or any monatary value.

John

PS
iPlayer says '60 min version' so not called a repeat just re-edited for BBC1
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Old 1st May 2020, 2:40 pm   #396
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Quote:
Originally Posted by barretter View Post
Well the Radio Times doesn't say "repeat" or "revised repeat"...
Maybe if there is some new material, even if most is recycled, they are allowed not to call it a repeat.
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Old 1st May 2020, 3:12 pm   #397
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil G4SPZ View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by David G4EBT View Post
There's yet another low budget light entertainment series entitled 'Mend it for Money' which might appeal...
It didn't appeal. It was dire.
I supplied a replica Baird televisor (and the associated operating skills) for a low-budget TV programme last year.

It was shot in a collection of farm buildings, and I've never seen anything so ramshackle in my life.

Hand-held cameras, no vision mixer. Huge gaps between short 'takes', movie-style. No camera script, and someone calling-out 'action!' every so often.

I didn't bother watching it when it was broadcast; I'd seen enough.

(I didn't get paid, either. Not even expenses).
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Old 27th May 2020, 9:04 pm   #398
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Did anyone spot the mistake on this evenings repair shop, the repairer lied about the eumig projector he was repairing saying the jumpy pic was due to a bit of fluff yet the glaringly obvious cause was he didn't leave a loop from the gate to the lower sprocket, I got told off for shouting liar at the telly by my wife hee hee. I paused it and showed her the little dotted line showing a loop has to be left on the film for the sprocket or it yanks it through the gate, how did I know? My dad had the same projector and I made the same mistake, later when the guy gets it back it has the lower loop when playing.
I should get out more
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Old 27th May 2020, 9:17 pm   #399
Malcolm G6ANZ
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Also did anyone else spot the PAT sticker on the projector before the mains lead was replaced?
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Old 27th May 2020, 9:34 pm   #400
Phil G4SPZ
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Default Re: BBC TV: The Repair Shop

Pity really. I generally enjoy this programme, but I am not watching the current so-called ‘Series 6’ as apart from a couple of new items in the first episodes, all the rest are repeats taken from earlier series, as other contributors have pointed out.
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