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Old 22nd Mar 2017, 8:14 am   #1
arjoll
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Default Old Southland TV

A local "What's On" website has just shared some old newpaper features on the new repeater of DNTV2 on Hedgehope - including a lot of period ads for a range of NZ-manufactured sets. Thought it might interest

It must date from around 1964 given the reference to the Tokyo olympics, so Hedgehope channel 1 would have been on-air about two years after DNTV2 (Mt Cargill, channel 2).

http://whatsoninvers.co.nz/wednesday...nth-edition-4/

I'm not sure when Hedgehope switched from being a repeater to a transmitter in its own right. The microwave network was completed in 1969.
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Old 22nd Mar 2017, 1:04 pm   #2
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Default Re: Old Southland TV

Nice to see some different cabinet designs from the UK ones, new TV's today all look the same.
The continental sets from France, Germany, Italy etc of the 50's and 60's were all somewhat different in style. It all adds the the variety.
Frank
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Old 22nd Mar 2017, 3:58 pm   #3
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Default Re: Old Southland TV

Noted the tv techs were from the UK.(Cambridge Electrical) Says a lifetime of experience.They must be pretty old then when they went out there.

PS Nice site.
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Old 23rd Mar 2017, 10:43 pm   #4
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Default Re: Old Southland TV

Intersting selection of pictures, adverts, etc. Apart from some then well known British TV sets on sale in NZ, quite a few familiar British and American programmes in those schedules. Apart from News, Weather, etc., there don't seem to be any locally made shows, at least not in the lists shown.
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Old 24th Mar 2017, 12:19 am   #5
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Default Re: Old Southland TV

Considering the ads are around 2 years after NZ tv started, I doubt, other than news, there would have been the facilities for any other sort of local programming.

I started with Television One in the mid 70's and they had only just completed Avalon TV Center with decent studios then.

One of the Pyes in the ad's look like what we ended up with in about 1966.

Terry
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Old 24th Mar 2017, 1:24 am   #6
Synchrodyne
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Default Re: Old Southland TV

Quote:
Originally Posted by arjoll View Post
It must date from around 1964 given the reference to the Tokyo olympics, so Hedgehope channel 1 would have been on-air about two years after DNTV2 (Mt Cargill, channel 2).
Quote:
Originally Posted by arjoll View Post
I'm not sure when Hedgehope switched from being a repeater to a transmitter in its own right. The microwave network was completed in 1969.

Thanks! That is sure a a "blast from the past".

1964 was the year when construction of the seven main high-powered transmitters was started, and I think that some were finished in that year. All had 400 ft (or thereabouts) towers, with space for additional TV and FM radiators. But the picture of Hedgehope shows a tower that looks more like the 90 ft interim units used elsewhere.

I recall spending a day at the Waiatarua (Auckland) transmitter site in mid-1964, when I was relatively young (in fact approximately 53 years younger than I am now). The new 400 ft tower, built by Italian riggers (as I think were six out of the seven, Kaukau (Wellington) being the exception, built by Japanese riggers) was nearly complete, and installation of the Marconi quadrant radiators was proceeding. In the new transmitter hall, the Marconi-EMI transmitters were bring installed. Vision (perhaps two paralleled transmitters – the memory is hazy there) was 20 kW for 100 kW erp. AKTV-2 was meanwhile still broadcasting at 10 kW erp (up from its original 1 kW) from the 90 ft interim tower. As far as I know, the Te Aroha (Waikato/Bay of Plenty) transmitter, then 1 kW, relied on off-air reception from Auckland. At Waiatarua there was a channel 1 (vertical) aerial aimed at Te Aroha, and connected to a regular domestic receiver, which served as an off-air check. I recall that reception was quite good, with some impulsive interference, and apparently not much affected by being in a strong channel 2 field. I guess the pathway between Te Aroha and Waiatarua was fairly clear, and given the height of Te Aroha, not much blocked by Hunua. The off-air link – if indeed it was such – between Wellington and Wharite (Palmerston North) is one where I think that intervening mountains (Tararua) could have got in the way. I am not sure if it was in place before the Wellington transmitter was moved from Mt. Victoria to Kaukau, but it would surely have been much easier with the latter, much higher and perhaps west enough to have a line on Wharite that was just west of the Tararua peaks.

For maybe a year or so before the microwave network was completed, the nightly news and was networked from Wellington using an interim arrangement that I think included cascaded off-air links as well as some microwave links. By the time the signal got to Auckland, it was very short on vision bandwidth, which attracted some adverse comments. (System B did not have an excess of vision bandwidth to start with – I’d say it started with a negative excess.)

Would Hedgehope have started before DNTV-2 Dunedin got its new 100 kW transmitter and tower at Mt. Cargill? I have vague recollection that the early DNTV-2 transmitter was at Highcliff (the MF transmitter site), but I could be wrong on that. The off-air relay would no doubt have been easier from Mt. Cargill.


Cheers,
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Old 24th Apr 2017, 4:48 am   #7
arjoll
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Default Re: Old Southland TV

After being swamped with work, and having to do an install in Greymouth the week after posting, I'd completely forgotten about this thread!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Synchrodyne View Post
Would Hedgehope have started before DNTV-2 Dunedin got its new 100 kW transmitter and tower at Mt. Cargill? I have vague recollection that the early DNTV-2 transmitter was at Highcliff (the MF transmitter site), but I could be wrong on that. The off-air relay would no doubt have been easier from Mt. Cargill.
Sorry that's all way before my time! By the time I knew much about what I was watching it was probably South Pacific Television (I remember I preferred the kids programmes on there, lots of arguments with my brother who was older and wanted to watch One).

I remember years ago one of the partners at work talking about picking up TV from Kuriwao - it would seem odd that South Otago would have TV before Invercargill/Southland, but from a practical perspective it would have been easier to get a signal to Hedgehope by bouncing it off there, so maybe that's what they did.

One of my clients is ex-BCNZ but again I think this would be before his time.
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