The UK 405-line system was almost certainly kept going for far longer than it really needed to be. There was probably only a handful of people who could not receive the 625-line service. At the time, I recall that many of us said that it would be cheaper simply to buy that last little old lady, living in a remote valley in the middle of nowhere, a new TV set and aerial.
In article , Dave Plowman (News) writes
Better oversized than undersized, especially if the run is long.
I was in Ireland in August 1961, before RTE started.
On the last day, I visited the village post office where the following conversation took place with the elderly post mistress:
She: "Would you mind me asking how much you're after paying for the television licence in England?"
Me: "Four pounds and a pound for the wireless licence"
She (looking rather pleased with herself) "Ah! We're only after paying the seventeen shillings and sixpence for the wireless licence and we don't have the television licence!"
On our way home the following day I spotted the headline on the evening paper:
£4 TV LICENCE FROM JANUARY Wireless licence goes up to £1I've always wished I could have seen the look on the old lady's face when she saw that!
In article , Arny Krueger writes
Think about it - your kettle would boil in half the time :-)
A colleague went to work in the USA and complained about the weedy kettles over there that take forever to boil. I suggested he take a UK
230V kettle over with him and run it off an extension to his stove connection (i.e. 220V). Dunno if he ever bothered.
Maybe it would have been better to have one 625 line network on VHF, like most other countries used until analog closedown. Of course going from 405 to 625 would have meant ther was no room for two networks there.
gr, hwh
In article , Arny Krueger writes
Both ends of the ring connect into the same breaker.
32A breaker = 16A down each leg of the ring. If each leg were fed from its own breaker, switching one breaker off would turn the ring into a 32A radial using 16A wire! :-)In article , Arny Krueger writes
No, single pole on the phase wire.
In article , Don Pearce writes
Terrell's a twit. Killfile fodder.
In article , Dave Plowman (News) writes
Yes, connecting screws each side of the socket. On the side, not on the back, unless the socket has push-fit connectors (yuck).
In article , J. P. Gilliver (John) writes
NTSC = Never Twice the Same Colour. NTSC TVs had (still have?) a "Hue" control for the user to twiddle when skin tones started looking a bit green.
In article , Arny Krueger writes
The ground wires in that picture appear to be in bare copper, borne out by the person using a multimeter with a probe resting on the ground wire. If so, that's pretty shoddy. What's to stop it coming into contact with the exposed hot and neutral screws on the outlet body as the outlet is pushed back into the box?
UK wiring regulations require earth (ground) wires to be sheathed in green and yellow sleeving where it is exposed.
Also, the screws are pretty well recessed (on decent quality sockets anyway) It's difficult to touch them with a finger accidentally.
ron
The original plan, drawn up in the early '60s, was to re-engineer Bands 1 and 3 for 625-line operation once the 405-line service was switched off; but it never happened. I guess that the powers that be thought that the spectrum could be more usefully used for other purposes.
David.
for
Completely open as well not shroded at all. Don't like that, damaged cover plate and very easy for little (or not so little) fingers to make contact with a live screw.
OK, two can play at this game:
Oh yes it did!
In fact BBC2 *did* launch on April 20th, from a news studio at Alexandra Palace, I've seen the recording. Not suprisingly the headline news item was the power cut!
OK so a brief news programme wasn't what the BBC had in mind for the 'Grand Opening' of BBC2, but a programme was broadcast on BBC2 on April 20th.
No, the first programme on BBC2 was a news bulletin, on April 20th.
David.
Then why not use 2.5mm? 4mm?
Tables and guidelines are readily available to help you choose the correct cable for your individual requirements. But in general 1mm is just fine for a domestic lighting circuit protected by a 6 amp breaker.
Yes - that was one of the things wrong with the design. The faceplate can be removed separately - rather like grid switches in the UK. Excellent idea for re-decorating. But having the terminals so easily touched when it is removed just poor design.
I get it. However, the 2-3 minute boil times I get with our current technology seem to work out well enough.
I can boil 12 ounces of water in about 2 minutes in my 1200 watt microwave.
I can boil almost 2 liters of water in about 3 minutes in a 1500 watt plastic pot with a built-in heatnig element.
In both cases the starting temperature of the water is about 45 degrees (F).
When I have people over for tea I set the pot to boiling when they arrive and then reheat it in a few dozen seconds when needed.
Seems like overkill, given the alternatives.
Something that can actually be enjoyable, useful and even a bit educational, managed well.
A capacious 2 channel DVR is a big help.
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