BBC TV: The Repair Shop

[Rileyman]

Forgot to mention that the kite had 2 points of attachment for the line , and printed next to each (on the fabric) was the recommended range of wind speed -- in m.p.h., not knots !
My pals and I used fishing-line at first , but later we used enamelled-copper wire unwound from faulty transformers , scrounged from a local radio repair shop , in attempts to get better reception on my "cigar-box" one-valver , powered by grid-bias batteries and suchlike !
We also had one of those dinghies which we used on deeply-flooded farmland in that really bad winter . 1947 ? ?
Which reminds me,-- I've a partially blocked ditch to clear , and more rain is due tomorrow !

Laurie.

[avocollector]

Wonder if there will be an outtakes and bloopers programme for it some day? Sort of 'Did you notice how well that china was restored before you dropped it' or 'argh!! no it looks NOTHING like it was when I was young - 'it's ORRIBLE'. Maybe even 'ooh!! thank you ever so much! it looks fantastic! and that'll fetch me a fair few quid down portobello road next week at me weekly 'antiques stall'. Perhaps even 'Well John was confident your brass ornament could be really improved by heat treatment - sadly he was wrong so here's the ingot that resulted when it melted - sorry about that.'

[Station X]

"Dead Ringers" did a spoof version of "The Repair Shop".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000q3mf

Starts at 14:30 in.

[eddie_ce]

The thing that has come nearest to "oh no what have you done" was when Jay Blades re-upholstered a chair with material with a whopping great bee in the middle. It looked hideous. The owner looked very surprised to say the least.

[emeritus]

That "Dead Ringers" spoof was excellent!

[stevehertz]

What? no comments about the radiogram restoration?! I loved it, the sheer joy of those two ladies who were transformed back to their childhood days when it was the centrepiece of their Christmas. Lovely job done by Will on the cabinet.

[wd40addict]

The deck was Telefunken, but what was the receiver? Looked a bit Blaupunkt ish, controls were labelled in German, but couldn't see a maker's name?

[stevehertz]

It's a Kaiser radiogram. Kaiser as a brand is still going in Germany. They don't make radiograms anymore..

[David Simpson]

Certainly a nice looking 1950's/60's Radiogram. Well worth saving. Unfortunately the over sentimentalised(drippy-drooly) presentation & even the silly bowing of the hexpert, was overshadowed by the excess of "pretend" snow everywhere outside. Once again it showed the metalworker blasting out loads of sparks from his angle grinder - inside !
A great laugh, if nothing else.

Regards, David

[wd40addict]

Cheers! Not a brand I'd heard of. Looks like they may have been taken over by Dual in the 70s

[Phil G4SPZ]

All the restorations were enjoyable to watch. The radiogram was in nice clean condition when it arrived, and must have required very little work apart from de-glazing the idler wheel and probably cleaning a few pots and switches, so it was mainly cabinet repairs.

Happy New Year, everyone,

[kalee20]

Watched the Repair Shop programme, not having done so before! on account of the electronics item (mentioned in Radio Times as a stereogram) and the rocking horse.

Stereogram looked 1960's, long and low but then it would need to be to give decent L and R separation. Nice-looking piece of furniture. Though, construction was veneered chipboard, not even plywood. (Confirmed in programme as around 60 years old, which at least fits).

And, although there were only a few shots of the chassis, it had bottles! Obviously a stereo radiogram. May have been hybrid, but I don't think so. Might have been one of those which have two SE outputs, which get turned to P-P for mono. Doubt if radio had a stereo decoder for FM, but the programme was much more involved with the human interest than the technicalities - which to be fair, I was expecting, as light entertainment rather than an educational programme.

I was put off by the number of cameras in use, with continual switching between them... Also, that the impression was given that the chassis work consisted of testing all the components - no replacement work was shown, nor any alignment, both of which could have been shown for an extra 10 seconds.

It's not a programme I shall be making a regular point of watching - but then, for me, very little TV is!

[mark_in_manc]

(My family were just watching it, but I had recently eaten and was struggling to keep it down OK, horses for courses, I guess. I was joking with my kids about the stuff I've made which they can take along after I'm dead, stuff which was always a dogs breakfast and over which the experts would be rolling their eyes and saying 'who the made this??' ! ).

[dave walsh]

Well I don't quite know what to say here and I usually say a lot inadequately without perhaps doing that much myself on a practical basis. [It's a bit like when people think some vintage valve radio knowledge means you're good with computers]. The thirteen day gap between this thread's last entry and Steve's comments at 606* caught my attention. Now bear in mind that I have scrutinised the Radio Times Christmas Edition since the seventies every year [even before it was called that!]. Especially looking for the Ghost Stories. Kalee had spotted what I missed this time at 612* ie the requested "Stereogram" restoration in "The Repair Shop" but it WAS the very last sentence [in a half page feature] so no wonder perhaps?

When I saw the reference that he had [somewhat indignantly] made, I thought I would get it from I-Player easily but that seemed to be quite difficult. It was only when I realised it must be a recent and not historical episode, that I recognised my mistake [always give a date and time Steve].There is really no point in taking a purist viewpoint folks, especially with the sort of output we are looking at, and in this example, when the effect is so profound! I would criticise, for example, the hole cut in the top of the case but only because I confused it with the cut-out for the deck at first. The cause of the fire by candle seemed to remain mysteriously unresolved but the effect, on the two sisters of the repair job , was really heart warming!

I was particularly amused by the comment about the woodwork. I'd said to AmateurRepairer [in a different context, on the CR100 Thread this week] "Measure twice and cut once." In the Workshop it was measure 5 million times and cut once!

Dave W

[Andrew2]

Originally Posted by kalee20

Watched the Repair Shop programme, not having done so before! on account of the electronics item (mentioned in Radio Times as a stereogram) and the rocking horse.

Stereogram looked 1960's, long and low but then it would need to be to give decent L and R separation. Nice-looking piece of furniture. Though, construction was veneered chipboard, not even plywood. (Confirmed in programme as around 60 years old, which at least fits).

And, although there were only a few shots of the chassis, it had bottles! Obviously a stereo radiogram. May have been hybrid, but I don't think so. Might have been one of those which have two SE outputs, which get turned to P-P for mono. Doubt if radio had a stereo decoder for FM, but the programme was much more involved with the human interest than the technicalities - which to be fair, I was expecting, as light entertainment rather than an educational programme.

I was put off by the number of cameras in use, with continual switching between them... Also, that the impression was given that the chassis work consisted of testing all the components - no replacement work was shown, nor any alignment, both of which could have been shown for an extra 10 seconds.

It's not a programme I shall be making a regular point of watching - but then, for me, very little TV is!

Quite. This seems to be the modus operandi for most directors/editors now, with almost manic cutting from shot to shot, some lasting only a second or two. This gives the viewer no time to weigh-up what he is seeing and I must say I often end up exasperated and shouting at the telly!

[dave walsh]

There does seem to be a surprising number of people on the Forum who are not very keen on TV Andy. Even those who work on repairing these infernal goggle box devices. It's deeply ironic considering that television ["looking in"] as it was described in a TPTV film yesterday, must rank with the Interweb [as Andrew Neil calls it] with Wireless and Telegraphy, as major events in planetary history. I don't know what it's like now with onset of streaming on demand but you used to have to go to America to see how bad things could get on the [previously] small screen. Less is quite often more!

I think I agree with you that TRS can be a bit hyperactive but that's because they have to fit the all the set ups and emotions in you see . [like the One Show but better]. I quite like it [TRS that is] but I can't always eat a full one! I caught up with the Stereogram episode last night and I would say that the fact there didn't seem to be that much wrong on the electronics side, did bring the excellent wood work skill's to the fore and I don't doubt, given the hole in the top, that the daughters would have given up any hope of restoration until that point! It was "reminiscent" of Tony and his Blaupunkt Arkansas thread [22/12/20] where the Radiogram was a link to his parents as well. There was as another program later with some fast editing that clashed a little with the pace of the film] "Black Narcissus" 1947 [Nun's under pressure like "Call The Midwife"] but up a Mountain! However, I was won over by the extraordinary photography [definitely cinematic] and the dry humour of the Indiana Jones male lead playing against Sister Superior. It was even laugh out loud sometimes, in an otherwise quite serious work.

Dave W

[Malcolm G6ANZ]

I've kept quite so far on this thread but there is one area of filming I do dislike. It happens when one of the experts is describing something they are doing or explaining how something works the camera is kept on the expert and not on the item being described.
The same also happens on archaeological and similar programmes. There is more time spent on showing the presenter and not the item being described.
Rant over.

[David Simpson]

Me thinks they should call it the "Tear Shop". The time spent by cameramen zooming-in on distraught faces & the ever-present tears is far greater than the few seconds of filming of the practical work done by the radio expert(whatisname - Andy ?).
The program is just an emotional see-saw for mostly armchair-bound TV viewers who've never taken up practical hobbies. However, many of us Forum folk(and from other Forums, no doubt)), see through the pathos orientated production & regard it according to our tastes.

Regards, David

[ms660]

Originally Posted by David Simpson

The program is just an emotional see-saw for mostly armchair-bound TV viewers who've never taken up practical hobbies.

That's an insult.

At the moment I'm virtually armchair bound, I have taken up various hobbies over the years and in practical terms have probably done more in my life than most of the moral finger waggers have.

Lawrence.

[David Simpson]

No insult intended Lawrence, as quite clearly I stated in para 2 - - 'never taken up practical hobbies', & 'many of us Forum folk'. Those words CLEARLY exclude yourself! So you have no reason to state that I'm insulting you. Unless you just felt like "venting your spleen" out of context. This is a forum for folk to just express their views, not to seek confrontation with anyone in particular.

"The Repair Shop" program and the many comments about it should just be taken "tongue in cheek". It's just an entertainment program for God's sake.

Regards, David.