UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > Specific Vintage Equipment > Vintage Television and Video

Notices

Vintage Television and Video Vintage television and video equipment, programmes, VCRs etc.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 10th Sep 2020, 7:59 am   #1
Colourstar
Octode
 
Colourstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Ilkeston, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 1,397
Default ILEA TV station

I was very surprised to discover that some exellent quality video recordings of the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority) television service have survived and have just been uploaded to Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-V...HGRtm8Q/videos

I had heard of the station and I'm sure there was an article on the subject many years ago in 405 Alive magazine, although I can't lay hands on my copies at the moment. What I do recall is that the station was equipped with a lot of ex-broadcast kit, based around EMI 203 image orthicon cameras- and had what appear to be pretty decent production facilities. The music performances are particularly well produced (albeit somewhat hard on the ear in some cases!) It's quite odd seeing programmes from the early 1970s displaying all the picture traits of classic 1960s television- black halos around bright objects etc.

Can anyone fill in any more background to the station? I believe it was distributed on cable around the London area. One of the announcers mentions a Battersea address, which was presumably where the studio(s) were based. When the service start and end? Was the broadcast kit ex-BBC/ITV? Was any of it preserved or did it all end up in the skip? Did ILEA TV ever change to colour?

Steve
Colourstar is offline  
Old 10th Sep 2020, 10:23 am   #2
Richard_FM
Octode
 
Richard_FM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 1,999
Default Re: ILEA TV station

I have some early 1980s computer training videos made by ILEA that are in colour, but in one of videos a camera is in shot and looks quite large, possibly a second hand first generation unit.

PS: I've only just noticed you are also on the Missing Episodes group Steve, even though you use the Vision On avatar on both!
__________________
Hello IT: Have you Tried Turning It Off & On Again?
Richard_FM is offline  
Old 10th Sep 2020, 1:41 pm   #3
peter_scott
Dekatron
 
peter_scott's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Edinburgh, UK.
Posts: 3,273
Default Re: ILEA TV station

https://www.bvws.org.uk/publications/405alive.php

https://www.bvws.org.uk/publications...22.pdf#page=35
peter_scott is offline  
Old 10th Sep 2020, 2:05 pm   #4
red16v
Heptode
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Winchester, Hampshire, UK.
Posts: 636
Default Re: ILEA TV station

I used to work with a couple of broadcasting engineers who worked at the ILEA. If and when I next see them at a reunion I will ask the question and if they have any interesting anecdotes.

Here's a link to the excellent Martin Kempton studio website that gives some more information:

http://www.tvstudiohistory.co.uk/ind...%20studios.htm

Look for 'Battersea Studios".
red16v is online now  
Old 10th Sep 2020, 2:25 pm   #5
Graham G3ZVT
Dekatron
 
Graham G3ZVT's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 18,675
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Recorded on Sony Umatic at a guess.
I think my daughter will have known the son of the shoe fitting interviewee, when she was a manager at Russell & Bromley.
__________________
--
Graham.
G3ZVT
Graham G3ZVT is online now  
Old 10th Sep 2020, 7:40 pm   #6
Colourstar
Octode
 
Colourstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Ilkeston, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 1,397
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Excellent, thanks very much for the information and links.

Plenty of background to read up on there!

Steve
Colourstar is offline  
Old 10th Sep 2020, 11:36 pm   #7
mark_in_manc
Octode
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 1,872
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Thanks for posting this - I'm really enjoying the music (man)

What did the program makers think inner London kids were going to do when confronted by 19min 28sec of Soft Machine?!! And Robert Wyatt!! Well, there was certainly no lacking in ambition on the kids' behalf in their music lessons.

('Mr Safety's shield-of-safety offers another excellent moment like 'for viewers in black and white, the pink ball is behind the yellow'. It's all just such fun).
mark_in_manc is offline  
Old 11th Sep 2020, 1:18 am   #8
Graham G3ZVT
Dekatron
 
Graham G3ZVT's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 18,675
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Quote:
Originally Posted by mark_in_manc View Post
Thanks for posting this - I'm really enjoying the music (man)

What did the program makers think inner London kids were going to do when confronted by 19min 28sec of Soft Machine?!! And Robert Wyatt!! Well, there was certainly no lacking in ambition on the kids' behalf in their music lessons.
I think they all succumbed to the effects of epilepsy.
Never was there a more earnest "flashing images" warning!
__________________
--
Graham.
G3ZVT
Graham G3ZVT is online now  
Old 12th Sep 2020, 2:14 pm   #9
Colourstar
Octode
 
Colourstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Ilkeston, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 1,397
Default Re: ILEA TV station

This is apparently their final programme, from 1979, which includes a lot of archive footage. I never knew that ILEA TV was so ambitious. Music, period drama, sci-fi... Those old EMI 203 cameras produced superb results.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=PSlAPpuK5RU

(with thanks to Jeff Leach on the Missing Episodes forum for the link )
Colourstar is offline  
Old 16th Sep 2020, 7:10 pm   #10
johnmarshmanagain
Pentode
 
johnmarshmanagain's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Northwich, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 206
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Thanks Steve - unseen Roy Harper
johnmarshmanagain is offline  
Old 15th Oct 2020, 1:04 pm   #11
Colourstar
Octode
 
Colourstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Ilkeston, Derbyshire, UK.
Posts: 1,397
Default ILEA Battersea Studios behind the scenes

This is a wonderful programme from 1972 made by the ILEA. After a bit of preamble about the history of moving images, it goes on to feature some fantastic behind the scenes shots of the kit they were using at the time. Luckily the entire thing, shot on EMI image orthicon cameras, exists on pristine b&w videotape.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYf0zl9r63Q

Steve
Colourstar is offline  
Old 15th Oct 2020, 4:31 pm   #12
beamcurrent
Heptode
 
beamcurrent's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Camberley, Surrey, UK.
Posts: 800
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Forum members may be interested to know at least one of the LEA EMI 203 Image orthicon cameras still survives:-

Serial Number : 368
Origin : LWT (London Weekend TV) ILEA (Inner London Educ Auth)
Condition/status : Good, conserved.
Comprising of :
Location : Bradford, UK
Keeper : National Media Museum
Notes : On display in reserve collection in 2015.
Record date : 16 Nov 2016

http://www.tvcameramuseum.org/emi/203/surv-1.html near foot of page.

Regards Brian
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	368.jpg
Views:	125
Size:	70.8 KB
ID:	217969  
__________________
Regards Brian

Visit the Virtual Broadcast TV Camera Museum
beamcurrent is offline  
Old 15th Oct 2020, 5:33 pm   #13
red16v
Heptode
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Winchester, Hampshire, UK.
Posts: 636
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Quote:
Originally Posted by beamcurrent View Post
Forum members may be interested to know at least one of the LEA EMI 203 Image orthicon cameras still survives:-

Serial Number : 368
Origin : LWT (London Weekend TV) ILEA (Inner London Educ Auth)
Condition/status : Good, conserved.
Comprising of :
Location : Bradford, UK
Keeper : National Media Museum
Notes : On display in reserve collection in 2015.
Record date : 16 Nov 2016

http://www.tvcameramuseum.org/emi/203/surv-1.html near foot of page.

Regards Brian
Good to know, I'll feed that back to some retired LWT camera people I sometimes see.

I note the VTR machine shown appears to be running 'slowly'? Normal speed was 15.625 ips but some machines were capable of operating at 7.5ips - perhaps that is the case here in order to save tape. Not important of course.
red16v is online now  
Old 28th Jan 2021, 3:24 pm   #14
Double0sable
Diode
 
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: Malvern, Worcestershire, UK.
Posts: 1
Default Re: ILEA TV station

I was a designer/illustrator with the Educational Television Service, 1973-77 and must say that the standard of professionalism was comparable to the main broadcasting channels. It was a pity the service had to close as the programmes were very popular with pupils and students. When 'Eclair', a series on which I worked finished, we had letters of protest from teachers. Their pupils missed the characters, especially Pmf (the name derived from 'primary French'), the robot.
Double0sable is offline  
Old 1st Feb 2021, 7:28 pm   #15
Amtec123
Pentode
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Reigate, Surrey, UK.
Posts: 130
Default Re: ILEA TV station

Quote:
Originally Posted by red16v View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by beamcurrent View Post
Forum members may be interested to know at least one of the LEA EMI 203 Image orthicon cameras still survives:-

Serial Number : 368
Origin : LWT (London Weekend TV) ILEA (Inner London Educ Auth)
Condition/status : Good, conserved.
Comprising of :
Location : Bradford, UK
Keeper : National Media Museum
Notes : On display in reserve collection in 2015.
Record date : 16 Nov 2016

http://www.tvcameramuseum.org/emi/203/surv-1.html near foot of page.

Regards Brian
Good to know, I'll feed that back to some retired LWT camera people I sometimes see.

I note the VTR machine shown appears to be running 'slowly'? Normal speed was 15.625 ips but some machines were capable of operating at 7.5ips - perhaps that is the case here in order to save tape. Not important of course.
The Ampex VR2000 was capable of operating a half speed ie 7.5 ips, but to do so needed a 5 thou head rather than the normal 10 thou track width job. Of course the s/n of both audio and video suffered.
Amtec123 is online now  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 7:43 pm.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.