As to the original set, it was retired because the tube went soft to the point the contrast was so flat it was like looking at telly in a fog bank.
A little side story and one that many could relate to. At the time of me being a spotty herbert in shorts, the family home was in London on the Norwood Road, directly opposite Brockwell Park. The majority of houses along the road had the standard H section VHF aerial lashed to the stack but under it we also had the UHF for the 625, pointing at Crystal Palace and picking up the IBA tower a mile away from palace on South Norwood Hill as a single point source. Marked us out as being a bit ahead of the times I suppose, even though the telly itself was a black & white model, complete with two aerial cables down the front of the building.
All was well and good until the early 70s when the Peoples Republic Of Lambeth decided to put up two tower blocks in Hurst Street just off of Railton Road. Then we started getting major ghosting issues on UHF as the signal from the palace bounced off the two blocks and just out of phase to cause issues. The eventual solution was to move the UHF off of the main roof and onto the side wall at the rear of the house, using the house as a shield. This arrangement lasted until the early 80s when along with one of the family who worked in the trade, erected a rotor mounted aerial on the roof that could pick up television from Emily Moor on a good day. Fun times.
But the real ball breaker? Anybody who lived in Westow Street, alongside the pirate radio stations, they didn't need an aerial for their sets, the signal from the palace just drowned everything out.
A little side story and one that many could relate to. At the time of me being a spotty herbert in shorts, the family home was in London on the Norwood Road, directly opposite Brockwell Park. The majority of houses along the road had the standard H section VHF aerial lashed to the stack but under it we also had the UHF for the 625, pointing at Crystal Palace and picking up the IBA tower a mile away from palace on South Norwood Hill as a single point source. Marked us out as being a bit ahead of the times I suppose, even though the telly itself was a black & white model, complete with two aerial cables down the front of the building.
All was well and good until the early 70s when the Peoples Republic Of Lambeth decided to put up two tower blocks in Hurst Street just off of Railton Road. Then we started getting major ghosting issues on UHF as the signal from the palace bounced off the two blocks and just out of phase to cause issues. The eventual solution was to move the UHF off of the main roof and onto the side wall at the rear of the house, using the house as a shield. This arrangement lasted until the early 80s when along with one of the family who worked in the trade, erected a rotor mounted aerial on the roof that could pick up television from Emily Moor on a good day. Fun times.
But the real ball breaker? Anybody who lived in Westow Street, alongside the pirate radio stations, they didn't need an aerial for their sets, the signal from the palace just drowned everything out.
