AERIALITE TYPE TCD Band Converter

[Heatercathodeshort]

Another Aerialite B3 converter, maybe their first. Interesting that it was made by Rainbow. They produced pre amplifiers amongst other items back in the fringe area days. John.

[G6Tanuki]

I wonder just how many of these sorts of converters were sold?

And how many people saw the coming-of-ITV as a good 'excuse' to replace their first-generation small-screen austerity-telly with something larger-and-more-modern?

Same goes for retro-fitting in-set multi-channel tuners; I can honestly say I never came across a telly with one fitted.

[winston_1]

People did not have the disposable income they have now, and TV's were very expensive so probably not many.

[Graham G3ZVT]

In the case of our family set, it was replaced with a new 17 inch 13 channel set.
I remember the dealer carrying it into our living room. The old one was not retained as a second set.

As an inquisitive 6 or 7 year-old I think I would have been aware of any ITV convertors in our friends and family circle but I don't recall any, that's not to say that there definitely weren't any.

[Heatercathodeshort]

Huge numbers of Band 1 superhet receivers were converted to Band 3 with the famous Cyldon and Brayhead internal units. The manufacturers also supplied their own conversion kits. Ferguson were very prominent with this supplying type A, B, B1 and C units to fit the various models.

TRF receivers suffered from patterning when converted to Band 3 with aerial converters but it gave their owners a taste of ITV and most TRF receivers were replaced as soon as funds became available. You could compare it to the digital set top box, you hardly ever see them now. John.

[G6Tanuki]

Like I said, I never came across tellies with such converters attached, or retro-fitted multi-channel tuners.

I suspect that in the late-40s/early-50s a lot of not-so-well-off people had held back from buying/renting a TV, but the coming of ITV was the 'trigger point' to get them to enter the market.

I remember quite a few relatives who lived in the 'margins' between Granada and ATV or ATV and Anglia, and who had something like a 5- or 6-ele Yagi pointed at their 'local' ITV transmitter, and a bayed 5x5 or 7x7 on top of the mast to get the more-distant ITV station. BBC Band-I was provided by a simple dipole on the 5-ele - meaning somewhat-indifferent reception.

"Oh, the BBC - we don't really watch them much".

As to converters, even in the early-1970s Fenwicks radio-stores in Wolverhampton had on display in their front-window 'island' a kit of coils to build a BIII-to-BI converter.... I guess they missed that particular boat's sailing by a couple of decades.

[Nuvistor]

The HMV set we had was ‘upgraded’ by using a Sterling converter for ITA Ch9, W Hill in 1956, it worked very well and we kept the set for a few more years. The H aerial for H Moss Ch 2 had ‘Twigs’ fitted for Ch 9, the mast at W Hill was line of site 8-10 miles away and a strong signal.

[Heatercathodeshort]

Hello Frank, Yes the great little Sterling. Several versions were made that looked identical but had a completely different valve line up. Very good converters.

Your Holme Moss version of your HMV was a superhet and could have been converted with a conventional turret tuner but if the Sterling did the job it was easier and less costly.

The Sterling is on the right. The self contained Ferguson Band 3 converter type C was supplied to convert the Ferguson range of TRF receivers. John.

[Nuvistor]

Hello John,
I would have been about 9 years old when we got the Sterling so I had no say in what was fitted or even who did the install and aerial modification. The HMV was bought for the Coronation in 1953 which I still remember watching with extended family members.

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi , as a poor student incolved with wine women & cars, I made a few bob by fixing TV's.
I installed about 4 or 5 converter kits as well as repairing a good few sets that had had them fitted

Ed