Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Valvepower · 15th May 2020, 1:25 pm

Hi,

Still clearing the workshop as part of the move and found these:

Found a pile of tapes and thought “ah, that could be that long lost Bowie or Beatles tape” .... but, no it’s Mrs Mills and The (politically incorrect) Black and White Minstrels, oh well better luck next time...

The other was an amplifier cover for a Specto Mullard 5-10 amplifier that was from memory bought at an Abbey Road sale sometime in the early 1980’s and label of £5 on it...... ah, those were the days!

Regards
Terry

camallison · 15th May 2020, 2:04 pm

Maybe nowadays we should say, 'People of colour and people without colour minstrels show'?

Colin

vinrads · 15th May 2020, 2:22 pm

Now what happened to the amplifier ? talking about finding things ,I take my little dog (Tilly) for a walk every night about 10pm ,when I came across a small case put out on the wall for any one that want's it that's what we do round here ,so I brought it home to discover it was full of cassette tapes all pre recorded some were wet , The David Essex one went straight in the bin , left the to dry out for a couple of days , the collection included Fleetwood Mack ,Beatles , Madness,Beach Boys , Spandau Ballet, Squeeze , to mention just a few. all play like new , I wonder if there will anything out the tonight ! Mick.

PS my wife called me a skip rat the other day ,

15th May 2020, 3:20 pm

Quote:

PS my wife called me a skip rat the other day

An environmentally aware pre loved equipment recovery being (as in human being). I found a 4 foot length of 6 inch pipe in a skip, just what I needed for a telescope. SHMBO was a bit annoyed when I took it along with us to the restaurant where we where having a wedding anniversary dinner. Neither the restaurant or taxi driver (home, you can't walk far after one of our anniversary dinners!) minded a bit.

Valvepower · 17th May 2020, 7:20 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinrads

Now what happened to the amplifier ?

I still have both amplifiers (there were a pair). The covers were stored in the shed and I'd forgotten about them and it was only doing the sort out I found them again.

It's one of those situations if only the amplifier could speak as it may have been used on some famous recording sessions, but saying that they could have easily been used to just run the speakers in the canteen

I'll never know

Both output transformers failed and were re-wound by Danbury transformers. They are a nice example of a commercially manufactured 5-10.

Regards
Terry

avocollector · 18th May 2020, 4:14 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valvepower

Hi,

Still clearing the workshop as part of the move and found these:

Found a pile of tapes and thought “ah, that could be that long lost Bowie or Beatles tape” .... but, no it’s Mrs Mills and The (politically incorrect) Black and White Minstrels, oh well better luck next time...

.. .
Regards
Terry

I used to love seeing the Black and White Minstrels on TV as a child - that glorious music swept all over you. I never associated them with black or white people either - just thought they were in some sort of singing costume. After all those peculiar singers in Opera wore funny clothes as well!!

stuarth · 19th May 2020, 11:45 am

Wasn’t the Black and White minstrel show one of the first programmes to be transmitted by the BBC in colour?

Stuart

19th May 2020, 3:25 pm

Quote:

Wasn’t the Black and White minstrel show one of the first programmes to be transmitted by the BBC in colour?

The test for a colour set is to display B/W perfectly.

Craig Sawyers · 19th May 2020, 3:41 pm

That is a issue that modern OLED TV's don't have a problem with, unlike the good old CRT ones.

As a lad I used to work on a Saturday and during school holidays as a hifi and TV salesman in Windows music shop in Newcastle. From time to time I used to help out with delivery and installation of TV's, as the second pair of hands to hoik these hernia inducing sets out of the van. This was in the days that installation involved adjusting everything from convergence and colour balance to pin cushion and barrel distortion. And degaussing the damned things. It was a half hour process on a good day.

And that was mainly transistorised ones, it being '72 or thereabouts.

But yes - I too remember the B&W minstrels. Boy is that dated in today's context! It had huge viewing figures though because at the time there were only two channels, or three when BBC2 got up and running.

Craig

MotorBikeLes · 19th May 2020, 8:10 pm

Craig, BBC2 got up and running in about 1964 I think. It was the only 625 picture at the time i believe. Why does 1964 stick in my mind? I remember looking in my boss's Daily mail and seeing a small Classified advert. just a few words, but simple and precise:-
Pye times 625 equals 1964. (or it may have been -- Pye X 625 = 1964)
That struck me as the best advert ever, and probably still is.
Still quite a few valved TVs in 1972, but disappearing fast.
I cut my teeth (in a purely hobby way, but it lead on to earning a living some years later) with a Phillips 25" G6 and a 25" HMV 2000 chassis. I decided they need not be 405 lines any longer, so I removed EVERY single component I could find relating. Bi-passing that big D/S changeover slide switch was interesting.
i got them both working, even staying clear of the X ray machine of the G6's PD500.
Les.

AC/HL · 19th May 2020, 8:38 pm

As much nostalgic as fun, a souvenir nicked from Cable & Wireless's Dolphin Mess. Chalk and cheese from the restrictions of Riyadh.

Valvepower · 19th May 2020, 10:00 pm

Hello,

Back in the very early 70’s I remember visiting my grandparents on a Saturday evening and watching The Black and White Minstrel show on their new DER colour TV - I figure this was the trusty ole Thorn 3000 chassis?

I think the B&WM tape may have came from my grandparents, even though they didn’t have a tape recorder

How about mugs acquired by forum members in their travels?

Ps. The other programme I remember watching at my grandparents on a Saturday(?) Night was the the Goodies - god rest Tim Brooke Taylor.

Terry.

Radio Wrangler · 20th May 2020, 12:15 am

For those watching the black and white minstrel show, the singer in the green jacket is the one behind the one in the brown.

David

Herald1360 · 20th May 2020, 10:37 am

Very helpful!

Which shades of grey would green and brown be?

AC/HL · 20th May 2020, 2:32 pm

Sadly, interpreting the past by the standards of the present is common in all areas these days, entertainment thankfully being the least problematic.

Ted Kendall · 20th May 2020, 3:42 pm

Too true. A client and friend met his wife whilst working in the George Mitchell Choir, and they went on to work in the Black and White Minstrel Show. They were interviewed for a documentary about the show and were confronted, unbriefed - "ambushed" I think is the word they used - with high-handed questions about the alleged racism of the show. In truth, neither of them had given it a thought, and were offended to the point where they withdrew.

The tradition of minstrelsy, whatever its origins, was accepted as part of show business at the time, and entertained millions, of all colours and creeds. The show ended more because it had run its course than because of racial offence. It is an unfortunate fact that it takes far more courage and hard work to create something in the entertainment world than to criticise it - and the further away it is from modern attitudes, the easier is the target. Somebody has probably had a go at Julian and Sandy on similar grounds. When I first heard them, I was too young to understand the background. I just thought them screamingly funny - and still do, God help me.

15th May 2020, 1:25 pm	#1
Valvepower Octode Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Rayleigh near Southend-On-Sea, Essex, UK. Posts: 1,883	Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Hi, Still clearing the workshop as part of the move and found these: Found a pile of tapes and thought “ah, that could be that long lost Bowie or Beatles tape” .... but, no it’s Mrs Mills and The (politically incorrect) Black and White Minstrels, oh well better luck next time... The other was an amplifier cover for a Specto Mullard 5-10 amplifier that was from memory bought at an Abbey Road sale sometime in the early 1980’s and label of £5 on it...... ah, those were the days! Regards Terry Attached Thumbnails

15th May 2020, 2:04 pm	#2
camallison Heptode Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Yarm, North Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 535	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Maybe nowadays we should say, 'People of colour and people without colour minstrels show'? Colin

15th May 2020, 2:22 pm	#3
vinrads Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK. Posts: 3,767	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Now what happened to the amplifier ? talking about finding things ,I take my little dog (Tilly) for a walk every night about 10pm ,when I came across a small case put out on the wall for any one that want's it that's what we do round here ,so I brought it home to discover it was full of cassette tapes all pre recorded some were wet , The David Essex one went straight in the bin , left the to dry out for a couple of days , the collection included Fleetwood Mack ,Beatles , Madness,Beach Boys , Spandau Ballet, Squeeze , to mention just a few. all play like new , I wonder if there will anything out the tonight ! Mick. PS my wife called me a skip rat the other day ,

19th May 2020, 11:45 am	#7
stuarth Heptode Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Heysham, Lancashire, UK. Posts: 669	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Wasn’t the Black and White minstrel show one of the first programmes to be transmitted by the BBC in colour? Stuart

19th May 2020, 3:41 pm	#9
Craig Sawyers Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 4,999	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! That is a issue that modern OLED TV's don't have a problem with, unlike the good old CRT ones. As a lad I used to work on a Saturday and during school holidays as a hifi and TV salesman in Windows music shop in Newcastle. From time to time I used to help out with delivery and installation of TV's, as the second pair of hands to hoik these hernia inducing sets out of the van. This was in the days that installation involved adjusting everything from convergence and colour balance to pin cushion and barrel distortion. And degaussing the damned things. It was a half hour process on a good day. And that was mainly transistorised ones, it being '72 or thereabouts. But yes - I too remember the B&W minstrels. Boy is that dated in today's context! It had huge viewing figures though because at the time there were only two channels, or three when BBC2 got up and running. Craig

19th May 2020, 8:10 pm	#10
MotorBikeLes Nonode Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Kirk Michael, Isle of Man Posts: 2,350	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Craig, BBC2 got up and running in about 1964 I think. It was the only 625 picture at the time i believe. Why does 1964 stick in my mind? I remember looking in my boss's Daily mail and seeing a small Classified advert. just a few words, but simple and precise:- Pye times 625 equals 1964. (or it may have been -- Pye X 625 = 1964) That struck me as the best advert ever, and probably still is. Still quite a few valved TVs in 1972, but disappearing fast. I cut my teeth (in a purely hobby way, but it lead on to earning a living some years later) with a Phillips 25" G6 and a 25" HMV 2000 chassis. I decided they need not be 405 lines any longer, so I removed EVERY single component I could find relating. Bi-passing that big D/S changeover slide switch was interesting. i got them both working, even staying clear of the X ray machine of the G6's PD500. Les.

19th May 2020, 8:38 pm	#11
AC/HL Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 9,643	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! As much nostalgic as fun, a souvenir nicked from Cable & Wireless's Dolphin Mess. Chalk and cheese from the restrictions of Riyadh. Attached Thumbnails

19th May 2020, 10:00 pm	#12
Valvepower Octode Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Rayleigh near Southend-On-Sea, Essex, UK. Posts: 1,883	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Hello, Back in the very early 70’s I remember visiting my grandparents on a Saturday evening and watching The Black and White Minstrel show on their new DER colour TV - I figure this was the trusty ole Thorn 3000 chassis? I think the B&WM tape may have came from my grandparents, even though they didn’t have a tape recorder How about mugs acquired by forum members in their travels? Ps. The other programme I remember watching at my grandparents on a Saturday(?) Night was the the Goodies - god rest Tim Brooke Taylor. Terry.

20th May 2020, 12:15 am	#13
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,903	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! For those watching the black and white minstrel show, the singer in the green jacket is the one behind the one in the brown. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

20th May 2020, 10:37 am	#14
Herald1360 Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 16,536	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Very helpful! Which shades of grey would green and brown be? __________________ ....__________ ....\|____\|\|__\|__\_____ .=.\| _---\__\|__\|_---_\|. .........O..Chris....O

20th May 2020, 2:32 pm	#15
AC/HL Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 9,643	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Sadly, interpreting the past by the standards of the present is common in all areas these days, entertainment thankfully being the least problematic.

20th May 2020, 3:42 pm	#16
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,675	Re: Workshop finds - just for a bit of fun! Too true. A client and friend met his wife whilst working in the George Mitchell Choir, and they went on to work in the Black and White Minstrel Show. They were interviewed for a documentary about the show and were confronted, unbriefed - "ambushed" I think is the word they used - with high-handed questions about the alleged racism of the show. In truth, neither of them had given it a thought, and were offended to the point where they withdrew. The tradition of minstrelsy, whatever its origins, was accepted as part of show business at the time, and entertained millions, of all colours and creeds. The show ended more because it had run its course than because of racial offence. It is an unfortunate fact that it takes far more courage and hard work to create something in the entertainment world than to criticise it - and the further away it is from modern attitudes, the easier is the target. Somebody has probably had a go at Julian and Sandy on similar grounds. When I first heard them, I was too young to understand the background. I just thought them screamingly funny - and still do, God help me.