Trade Chat Training Material

I have a dim memory that there was a VHS tape on the ICC5 chassis, There was something ironically funny about the recording which I think went on and on... It may have been the despair of the presenter.  I went the the Len Briggs lecture on the G11 when it was launched but I don't remember any follow up training tape being made it would have been very useful to have been able to recap as it was a lot to learn in one day, especially as an apprentice. We soon got to know our way around them though. 

I too can vaguely recollect an training tape on one of the Thomson ICC chassis but can't recall which. the only training tapes i can remember with certainty are ones for the Philips Charley VCR deck and the Panasonic G mech. Not sure how I obtained them as they had nothing to to with Thorn, I think they were produced by Visionhire or Granada.

Hi All, There was a training tape on the ICC5 chassis, I have been looking to see if I still have it but haven't found it. That is of course if I did save it? I have a compact cassette training tape on the G11 which I have kept. Will try and lay my hands on it if and when I find it.

Sony did a training video disk on the Sony BVW-75P Broadcast VTR, I don't think it was a domestic format. These are the ones I remember. Like Slidertogrid I went to a Len Briggs lecture on the Philips/Pye KT3 chassis went it was released, that was at Belle View Manchester in 1980. This was just before I moved from Domestic Radio/Television servicing into Broadcast Television Maintenance.

Casting my memory back, the earliest training video I can remember from about 1985 was produced by National Panasonic for their first VHS Video Movie series of cam-corders NV-M1 and NV-M3. It was found languishing in the showroom of all places, anyway the sales guys had no use for it so ended up in the workshop! Quite by accident I discovered the tape format alignment was almost as good as an expensive alignment tape so it found an alternative use for appraising suspect alignment issues on any VHS VCR.

Prior to this, the technical college C&G course lecturers used a Philips V2000 training video for introducing technical aspects of the format.

Given the amount of time, effort, and cost going into making a training video, manufacturers soon cut back on them when late 1980's recession pressures were on the horizon.

Rich

Posted by: @hurty

↑

Like Slidertogrid I went to a Len Briggs lecture on the Philips/Pye KT3 chassis went it was released, that was at Belle View Manchester in 1980.

About 12/13 years earlier I went to a Len Briggs lecture at Belle Vue for the first Dual Standard Colour TV Pye produced. His lectures were excellent.

I don't remember any technical training videos until late 1980's. I can't remember seeing any Thorn ones. I used to enjoy going on manufacturers training courses. Bell and Howell used to run JVC courses in Alperton before JVC had their own training deparment. Panasonic used to run good courses in Slough and then in Bracknell. Sony were aslo very good with their courses in Basingstoke and also in Theale I think it was. Barco in Reading I went to a good few times regarding their video projecters. Acorn in Cambridge was excellent. I remember going on a Philps 1500 VCR course in 1974 but I don't think run by Philips. Many Thorn ones as well. I'm sure there were some I've forgotten.

I did a few manufacturer's training courses, most notably the Calrec/AMS assignable sound desk and the Quantel PictureBox. The BBC used to do training courses on certain items of kit, such as the Rank-Cintel Slide File and obviously, cameras.

The Slide File one sticks in my mind as one evening a group of us got exceedingly hammered. Hung over, we looked like s**t the next morning and most of us were seated with our heads on the desks. The lecturer - a lovely guy - breezed in, took one look at us and said "you lot are from TC, aren't you?!" He then said the mark of a good hangover was not wishing you were dead, but wondering why you weren't dead! 🤣 

Posted by: @cathovisor

↑

..... and the Quantel PictureBox

Oh wow I'm envious that really hit the sweet spot for me back in the day, combining computing and graphical artistry. After binging dexters lab on YT I was almost persuaded to try and find one.

@crustytv You'd find the PaintBox much more fun - the PictureBox was a still store, albeit a clever one. The PaintBox used very similar hardware and an A3-sized graphics tablet.

I still remember spending an Easter weekend changing the main hard drive on one and getting the operating system installed and running with telephone guidance from Quantel support. Someone at Quantel clearly had a sense of humour as was shown by the status messages visible when you had a terminal connected: two that stick in my mind are "cold start - brrr" and "warm start - phew".

Paintbox, of course, that's the one I'm recalling.

I first became aware of its abilities when it was featured greatly on "The Box of Delights" just before Xmas 1984, ah.. I was just 21 back then.

I believe it was also used in the then new "Top Of The Pops" title sequence around the same time, the one where the 7"singles tumble towards the camera, although I could be mistaken, it is 40-years ago now!

Back in the day, from a time when documentaries were not afraid to educate the public.  Discussion of how quantel helped to avoid frame roll with different timebases using framestores, is covered at around 6:50 mins in, was this part of picture box? 

Speaking of which, do you know it's 40-years ago next month since "Careless Whisper" was released, yet it still sounds as current today as the day it was released. 

I found myself pondering that when I was 21 in 1984, how relevant a popular track from 1944 would have sounded to my 1984 ears. Not just my biased ears either, as my 21-year-old son and his peers all happily listens to 80s hits, many also wishing (my son included) they could have lived in the 80s. I guess, a sad reflection on current times.

I digress, apologies.

There were training tapes for Akai, Panasonic, Toshiba, icc5 and some others I can't remember but should have them at work, here is a couple from my bookshelf at home.

My mate Mick ( Mickmcmichael)  has a audio cassette of training for the G11 chassis maybe by Len Briggs.  It hasn't been played for donkey's years but hopefully will be OK.  I have borrowed it today and will have a listen.  If it is of any interest I may be able to upload it to youtube.  I have done short video clips in the past but I will give it a try if the tape turns out to be playable.

@michael-dranfield I don't suppose you have the ability and care to run me off a copy of the those two tapes? Happy to cover all costs. Both those tapes are smack bang in my area of interest, namely Thorn TV's and VCRs. Especially the ICC5, even if it was universally hated by the trade.

Just wish there were more of these training videos about. This morning, I've rigged up a monitor and VCR, so I can have my one tape running in the museum for when guests pop over, it would be great to be able to vary the content.

@slidertogrid ,Rich I'd be interested in downloading that if you did put it onto your channel. Although I've not got a G11, I'm on the lookout for one with teletext, I've a load of spares for the G11 too. I've got lots of Len Briggs publications, so if his audio course is as good as the books, it will be invaluable.

I have played the tape today. Side two is fine the recording is clear with normal volume. However side one is really muffled and the tape has a mechanical repeated squeak.  I have spooled the tape forward and back many times on both sides to try to relocate the tape within the cassette and tried the old trick of shocking it by banging in on a hard surface.  No luck.  It is the same on two cassette players so it is definitely the cassette that has the problem. I do have a plan... I have a cassette player which needs a little attention. I am going to get that going and then play the tape on side 2 first and record it onto another cassette, then I will play side 1 and tweak the azimuth to see if I can get it to play clearly. Hopefully as the squeak is physical and is coming from the tape cassette it won't be transferred onto the recording.  Unfortunately the cassette is glued together rather than screwed so taking it apart and transferring the spools to another case isn't an easy option and as it isn't my tape I wouldn't want to risk breaking it open. Fingers crossed plan 'A' works, the parts I have heard sound interesting! 

@slidertogrid Regrettably, those squeaks do get transferred onto the audio.

You may have to swap the tape into another shell. I've done that in the past with some success, but some tapes (Ampex and Memorex, I'm looking at you) are utter junk and can't be recovered. Sometimes it's just the Mylar (?) sheet between shell and spools that's the problem.

@cathovisor Oh dear! It is a Memorex... I have spoken to Mick and he says I can cut the tape open if I want but it looks as if that may be a no-go from what you have said. I will have a go at seeing if I can copy it, side 2 should be OK and that is a description of the whole chassis apart from the power supply which is on side 1.

  We went to Spalding radio rally today and I saw one of the TV fault guide books on a stall, just for a laugh I had a look to see how many pages there were on the ICC5... Answer?  About a third of the book! It read like the old Testament!  KT3 ? - half a page. G11 wasn't mentioned maybe covered by an earlier edition. 

@crustytv I could send them to you by recorded delivery and you can copy them if you want?

@slidertogrid What intrigues me is why only one side is muffled. However - nothing ventured, nothing gained. Give it a go, Rich. If you have a spare TDK or similar screwed shell you should be fine: once upon a time you could buy empty shells from online retailers.

Looks like you had a lovely day for the radio rally.

@crustytv I have also got the following training tapes, Toshiba V3 video deck, Phillips DM4, Cd104 cd105 cd, akai 1989 1992,nokia m chassis, and a couple of promotional videos, the mullard 45AX tube and Phillips match line 100 hertz.