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Television’s Golden Age Part 3 – By Kevin Poulter With next month marking a half century of television in Australia, this third and final installment in our unashamedly nostalgic series looks at what, to many, is regarded as the Golden Age of TV: its first twenty-five years. T elevision, like radio before, became the centre of household entertainment, values and enhanced education. Essential to many, television created employment, with a host of manufacturing, service, finance, retail and related businesses. The all-important ingredient was successful shows, as this led to more television receivers purchased, enabling growth in all areas. “In Melbourne Tonight”, hosted by Graham Kennedy, began in 1957, its success relying on slapstick comedy and light entertainment format. To the shock and dismay of advertisers, Graham soon lampooned their products. After initial complaints, advertisers were stunned to see their sales – and profits – growing as a result. 24  Silicon Chip Most drama was American, with a smattering of British content, so nothing has changed. Teenage programs were also popular, like Brian Henderson’s Bandstand on Sydney’s TCN9, Mickey Mouse Club, Brian Naylor’s Swallow Junior and the ABC’s Six O’Clock Rock, hosted by Johnny O’Keefe. This Day Tonight commenced on the ABC in 1967, soon reaching top popularity. TDT was initially flown all over Australia from its Sydney base, for telecast by ABC channels in other states. By 1969, television reached 95% of Australia’s population, with 45 commercial and 39 national stations keeping our nation entertained. Per capita, city stations provided more TV channels siliconchip.com.au than in USA or Europe. 81% of homes had a television set. Nearly all drama on Australian TV was produced overseas – a massive 97% – so rules were changed, requiring stations to present Australian-produced drama programmes for at least two hours a month, in peak viewing, between 7pm to 9.30pm. Safe at any voltage? Right through the era, valves remained the dominant technology, with plastic cabinets and solid-state slow to take on. Technicians needed to learn about television, so schools were commenced at the Royal Melbourne Technical College (RMIT) in 1955 and the ABC Sydney training school in St Peter’s Church Hall, opposite their radio studios in Forbes Street. HMV’s Television service manual for their all-valve chassis type M2 offers an insight to the state of technology at the time. . .“The “BP Australia presents . . . PickABox, with Australia’s favourite compere, Bob high voltage of the picture tube anode (16,000 Dyer . . .” Bob (shown here with Dolly Dyer) was one of relatively few radio volts EHT) will give an unpleasant shock, but personalities who made a successful transition to the new medium, television! doesn’t supply enough current to give a fatal burn or shock. However, secondary human Shocking! reactions to otherwise harmless shocks have been known to cause injury”. In the 60s, RMIT’s television department had about 25 Further – “the picture tube is highly evacuated and if brobare Astor chassis for students to work on. After initially ken, it will violently expel glass fragments. When handling powering up the Astor to measure voltages, I suddenly rethe picture tube, always wear goggles.” ceived a karate blow to the back of the neck. Students were I never witnessed technicians wearing goggles but some known to perform occasional pranks but on looking around, ‘scientific minds’ threw a tube into the dump-master from nobody was close by. a building’s second story, authoritatively confirming that Lesson learnt – don’t wear the latest fashion tie with metal there is indeed an implosion on impact! highlight threads near a live set! Returning to the HMV M2, this receiver boasted a turret tuner for precise alignment of the oscillator on each channel, through the front, an overall frequency response within 6dB from DC up to 4.7MHz, DC coupling from the video detector to the picture tube – ensuring full black, instead of greys in the shadows and night scenes – time-gated AGC, to nearly eliminate impulse noise, like ‘aircraft flutter’, plus many more leading edge technologies. A hinged vertical chassis made servicing much easier. (see photo overleaf). The sound from early console sets with an eight or twelve-inch speaker was most impressive too, even by (especially by?) today’s standards. Proof of the design and build quality of the higher-priced early sets is some still work, or are capable of reception after their leaky capacitors are replaced. CRTs remain the best. Now, after fifty years as the only medium to present TV images, the cathode ray tube is on its way out, sorely missed by many professional video editors and graphic artists. Despite the huge size and ‘cartoon colour’ of plasma screens, video editing staff continue to use ageing CRTs, as they exhibit a more accurate picture. Sony manufactured their last CRT TV in 2005 and others are following suit, so soon there will be no choice. An Astor 1956 console, with 21-inch tube displaying children’s host, Happy Hammond. siliconchip.com.au A potted history From the fifties to the seventies, a vast range of new proAugust 2006  25 like a live broadcast of football, beamed from Geelong to Melbourne. Originally partners, ATN7 Sydney established a microwave link in 1957, connecting to GTV9 Melbourne. Five mountain-top microwave links were employed in an exercise called Operation Kangaroo. 1958 was an eventful year too, with “Leave it to Beaver” achieving the first registered TV audience of over one million viewers. TCN9’s “Brian Henderson’s Bandstand” commenced, a variety music program that launched the careers of many Australians during 14 years of broadcasting. This was the year TV WEEK magazine started annual TV awards. GTV9’s Graham Kennedy won the Gold Award (for most popular TV personality) and named the awards the Logies, after TV pioneer John Logie Baird. The first Logie awards were held in a hotel, not televised until 1965, though they were presented on IMT for a few years. Video recording – at a premium price. Sets like this HMV M2, featured a swing-out chassis, making servicing more accessible. grammes, stations and networks appeared, so only highlights are mentioned here. Links with extensive details are found in the references web page, shown at the end of this article. On March 31 to April 1, 1957, the first Telethon was broadcast, with Graham Kennedy, a young radio announcer, making his first appearance. Producer Norm Spencer is later titled the ‘King Maker’. Shortly after, “In Melbourne Tonight” commenced five nights a week in the “not for kiddies” time-slot of 9.45pm. IMT’s ninety minutes of live, slap-stick humour, singing and acts entertained till 1971. Stars were created, like Bert Newton, Philip Brady, Ernie Sigley and Denise Drysdale. Fifty years later, many of these stars continue broadcasting. Microwave transmission, still utilised for links, was available from the beginning, enabling line of sight transmissions, Video recorders were a must-have for television stations. Nearly three years after first broadcasting, GTV9 purchased their first video recorder, in 1959, for 35,000 pounds. Features like still-frame and slow-motion were not available, though later a PYE slow-motion adapter was added to Nine’s unit. (see photo) During 1960, HSV7 acquired an RCA videotape recorder for 45,000 pounds, including spare parts. The challenges for designing improved videotape recorders included creating new features and better quality, with less tape and equipment costs. A leading Ampex engineer was playing with his dog, twirling a spiral of toilet paper. Then an inspiration hit him – why not spin the video heads in an angled pattern? In 1978, one inch helical-scan reel-to-reel video recorders became available, offering shuttling and still-frame, but the sound plus picture was not as good as the quad-head system. Stations equipped with video recorders saved money by A Videotape department in 1967. In the early ‘60s, each machine cost as much as 45,000 pounds. 26  Silicon Chip siliconchip.com.au The videotape recorders of the 60s were good quality, but lacked still frame and slow motion. Later, PYE made an adapter for slow motion. recording over programmes again and again, until dropouts on the tapes were excessive. Then tapes were thrown out. So a combination of mainly live theatrical-style shows, lack of VCRs, re-using tapes, disposing of used tapes and no insight they were producing history, means very little local TV footage from the era remains. As we mentioned in the first part of this series, even the famous, grainy, Bruce Gyngell “Welcome to Television” snippet that “records” the commencement of TV in Australia is itself a fake, recreated for posterity quite some time after the original in 1956! Fortunately, though, over the years some dumped tapes and equipment were rescued by enthusiastic staff. Even though they risked the wrath of station management at the time, years later those same stations began to borrow collectors salvaged video cameos of the era. Equipment also met the dump-master and still does, with just a few saved for history and especially useful for dubbing old programmes to DVDs. a multi-way plug onto the remote lead and run a suitably socketed cable under the floorboards from their watching position to where the TV receiver sat, so as to avoid a cable cluttering the lounge room floor! One of the first cordless units was the Admiral ‘Son-R remote’, appearing around 1960. It was an utrasonic unit – infrared was many years away. Inside the remote control, two solid brass rods were held by taut wires and tuned to ultrasonic frequencies, about 40kHz and 41kHz, one controlling the tuner and one for volume. Pressing a black button connected to a strip of spring steel resulted in a ‘piano string striker’ effect. A microphone, discreetly built into the TV cabinet fed an amplifier/frequency splitter, connected to stepper-motors. The turret tuner had its usual mechanical indent for a positive stop. The Son-R unit was very rare but is another example of early technology that led to the remote controls we enjoy and expect today. Pass me the remote. Renewing old tubes Remote controls for TVs were uncommon and unwieldy, usually connected to the TV receiver via a long cord. It wasn’t uncommon for the more technically minded to fit Television picture tubes were very expensive, with early predictions of short picture-tube life. So refurbishing factories started to open. siliconchip.com.au August 2006  27 The Telecine department in TV stations was a busy vital area. Film was transferred to tape or broadcast. On the top right, an Astor table-top receiver is used as a monitor (this receiver was also used in many homes). In today’s ‘throw-away’ society, its hard to imagine these companies offered a total service – collection, delivery, payment for the faulty tube, refurbish – and still sold the rejuvenated tubes much cheaper than new, including a 12 month warranty! Rebuilding of the picture tubes commenced with inspection under ultraviolet light and any scratches on the tube face removed. Then cleaning and washing in a chemical solution followed. Next, a hot wire was placed around the neck to crack it. This causes a gradual rush of air into the tube, then the gun fell off. After mounting the tube on a lathe, the glass neck was cut to within one inch of the flare of the cone. A new gun was then affixed to the tube, by heating, using air and gas jets. Finally, the gun was placed in a 725°F oven for two hours, while pumps evacuated the tube. The coax cable A television breakthrough, the coaxial cable was laid in 1960, between Sydney and Melbourne. During the same year, Sir Frank Packer of Consolidated Press purchased GTV9 for three million pounds. Toward the end of October 1960, a Marconi colour television system was demonstrated in various venues around Australia, including at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Australian television receiver licences in 1961 totalled 1,229,084, with New South Wales owning 490,922, Victoria 402,465, South Australia 127,519, Queensland 117,386, Western Australia 71,044 and Tasmania 19,748. Technicians were becoming increasingly concerned the 28  Silicon Chip morning test pattern broadcasts would cease, even proposing a levy system to pay for its continuance. Don’t blame us! Television receiver manufacturers were concerned their well-designed units connected to low-performance antennas or poor installations were presenting unsatisfactory pictures. Companies such as Kriesler therefore published antenna selection and installation guides, advising nuisance-calls to TV technicians regularly uncovered poor antenna installations. “The situation is a difficult one,” it said, “because while the service technician may suspect a faulty aerial system to be the cause, he has to exhaust the other possibilities first, because of the labour and expense involved in re-installing the aerial.” Kriesler then covered a multitude of factors, like the quality of the aerial, gain, use of many feeder stand-offs (to avoid feeder flutter), twists in the 300W ribbon, avoiding acute angles in the feeder, refraining from horizontal runs – especially near the ground or gutter, avoiding resting on metal, salt areas, use of coax to minimise ghosting, checking loop resistance and much more. Around this time, technicians such as John Williamson commenced replacing fault-prone paper capacitors with polyester. In fact some technicians regularly quoted to replace all the most vulnerable problematic capacitors to reduce service-calls. In time, John found this upgrade did indeed reduce service-calls. siliconchip.com.au The famous “Studio9” at Television City, Richmond, Victoria. Note the impressive lighting grid at the top of the picture – all run by an equally impressive electronic organ-like control panel, shown here insetted into the main pic. Outer space technology and Television. The world was exhilarated with space achievements, so television advertising gratuitously included references to space exploration, linking the latest sets to the excitement. Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, was launched in 1962 enabling live TV pictures to be transmitted from the USA to France. Bandstand commenced with Brian Henderson. Performers who rocketed to fame included Col Joye, Peter Allen, Helen Reddy, the Bee Gees, Little Pattie, The Delltones, Judy Stone, Sandy Scott and Lucky Starr. The TV station monopoly situation prompted the Government to establish a third commercial network in 1963. Newspaper magnate, Rupert Murdoch, was an unsuccessful applicant and the licence was awarded to Sir Reginald Ansett, of the national airline company, Ansett-ANA. This was the beginning of the TEN network. TCN 9 and GTV 9 secured the rights to the first coaxial soccer ball GO TO www.rsaustralia.com Easier access to over 150,000 electronic, electrical and industrial products siliconchip.com.au August 2006  29 Filming the Mt. Dandenong Bushfires in 1962 atop an OB van. Cameraman is Russ Sefton, using a PYE camera and telephoto Canon lens. Note microwave dish, to feed the images to the station. cable between Melbourne and Sydney. On November 30, the Federal Election was seen simultaneously in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Links were still not permanently established to most states, so Test Cricket was broadcast live and direct from Adelaide, using a transmitter link fitted in a DC3 aircraft. Australian made – for now. AWA was the only Australian manufacturer of television transmitters, just one of about ten major manufacturers of TV transmitters in the world. The first Australian-built TV transmitters were supplied to BCV-8 Bendigo, and GMV-6 Shepparton, both designed and built by AWA. In the same year, AWA completed a further fourteen complete 10kW TV transmitters for the Australian Post Office. All the electronic parts of TV transmitting systems including Vidicon cameras, (except Image Orthicon cameras) were manufactured by the company. Sony’s first all solid-state TV receiver, 8-301W, with 23 transistors, 17 diodes and 2 high-voltage rectifiers. The tube was an eight-inch and the set could be operated from mains or two 6-volt lead-acid unspillable batteries in an external screw-on battery box. The unit weighed only 13 lbs and consumed a tiny 11 watts. This model performed flawlessly and was instrumental in the Sony brand being widely accepted in USA. 30  Silicon Chip The following years saw rapid progress with the introduction of printed circuit boards, hybrid circuits, solidstate devices and the introduction of many models and screen sizes. In fact Admiral televisions had printed circuit boards from the onset. By 1968 when the futuristic 17-inch Telstar portable was released, AWA had manufactured 500,000 receivers. The government insisted on local manufacturing content and AWA Television receivers were proudly made entirely from components manufactured in Australia. In fact AWA fabricated all but the capacitors, resistors and some sundry sockets in-house. Considering the large number of component parts – over 2000 in a receiver – their performance and reliability proved to be outstanding, a credit to the Australian industry. However, in just a few short years, this was totally undone by government suddenly slashing tariffs, so Australian television and electronics production rapidly ceased. Brisbane and Adelaide secured new third channels (network TEN) and a second station commenced in Perth, during 1965. The Australian Broadcasting Control Board had advised against extra stations and introduced a fifty percent Australian content requirement in peak viewing for commercial television stations. Satellite connection. Satellite telecasting arrived in Australia in November 1966, through the earth station at Carnarvon, Western Australia. The Carnarvon earth station was built as a result of an agreement between 14 countries to establish a global satellite-based communications system by 1968. ATV0 (now TEN) produced the first colour TV program The Panasonic Orbitel, model TR-005 was advertised as ‘straight from the Space Age’. With a five-inch screen. tuning was via a single knob, from VHF to UHF. siliconchip.com.au the Middle East and western Asia, opened at Ceduna in South Australia and Carnarvon established a second antenna. The Carnarvon station was critical in providing communications for the NASA’s Apollo manned space mission program, leading to an astronaut on the moon in July 1969. Multipurpose hammer! “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”: Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon, the grainy images watched by millions live on TV in July, 1969. on Australian television when it televised the Pakenham Races in colour on June 15, 1967. Australia took part in two global satellite telecasts. “Our World”, a two-hour telecast screened simultaneously in 30 countries, with segments produced in 18 countries including Australia, and a live telecast from Expo 67 in Montreal. This Day Tonight commenced on the ABC in 1967 and was flown all over the country from the Sydney base. This situation did not last long, as soon better technology was available. OTC (the Overseas Telecommunications Commission) opened their earth station at Moree in 1968, the first regularly available television relay service. One of the first presentations was an announcement by President Johnson that he would not be seeking re-election. By this time, the ABC had set up microwave links between Sydney and Melbourne and its regional stations in the country. The ABC, however, rarely used these links for anything other than sports, a field they dominated. A second earth station linking Australia with Japan, the western Pacific, and the US opened at Moree, NSW in March 1968. Neil Armstrong placed the first human footprint for live television from the moon. Most who saw the live, noisy pictures can remember exactly where they were at the time. Australians watched enthralled as the astronauts carried out their activities and televised the wonder of the alien landscape. Suddenly, screens worldwide went black. Houston Control checked all links and frantically searched for solutions to restore the historic footage for an audience of billions. They were nearly certain the technical problem was on the moon. Suddenly live pictures reappeared. Houston asked the astronaut what he had done. The reply, ‘I hit the camera with my (prospecting) hammer!’ GTV9’s coverage entered the record books as the longest continuous live broadcast on television. While the OTC was highly instrumental in the television transmission of the lunar landing and associated communications, the plug was pulled on the Australia/England HF (high frequency) link between London and Melbourne, after continuous service since 1927. Now stations could broadcast live news daily from London via the newly opened Satellite Communications Earth Station at Ceduna. Darwin finally joined the television era, the last capital to commence television broadcasts, in 1971. Big is beautiful Early Australian television design was inspired by American sets with elaborate closing cabinets, though our designs were less ornate. Premier models of Australian sets were finished in beautiful highly-polished laminated wood. Compared to other countries, Australians had a much greater interest A globe-trotting Kangaroo. “Skippy” commenced in 1968, growing to viewing in 128 countries around the world. Australia became connected, as a second earth station linked Australia with Japan, the western Pacific and the US, from Moree. A third, the link to Britain, Europe, Africa, Kriesler’s 1968 Multisonic 3-in-1, shown here not just because it was a great performer, more so because of that strange “thing” on top. It’s a 3-function wired remote control. Channel changing was one direction only! (Reproduced larger at left.) siliconchip.com.au August 2006  31 in monster three-in-one entertainment centres, with radio, television and hifi in one package. Rather than an ingenious integration of components, many featured a current model TV, placed in the same cabinet as a radiogram but with little or no interconnection. In fact, the 25-inch TV in Kriesler’s 1968 Multi-Sonic TV Theatre (pictured overleaf ) was totally independent of the radio and record-player, with a small loudspeaker of its own. The speaker complement included eight-inch woofers and electrostatic tweeters. By radiogram standards of the time, the ceramic pickup head, valve amplification and electrostatic tweeters represented the peak of domestic valve design quality, with a sweet, crisp sound. Only top-end audiophile valve equipment was superior. Kriesler included servicemanfriendly ideas, like a circuit of the radiogram attached to the rear, the TV circuit inside the unit and even printed directions on the rear cover to guide on its removal. No expense was spared, packing in so much heavy technology and quality wood finishes, these monsters needed two strong men to lift for delivery. Luxury at a price Noel Gibson joined Gainsborough Furniture, manufacturers of fine furniture in 1971. Radio, TV and radiogram manufacturers relied on leading furniture companies to build their cabinets. Gainsborough furniture moved to the Astor/Electronic Industries ‘Radio City’ complex in Clayton, producing fine TV and Radiogram cabinets, along with domestic furniture, plus Travelodge hotel furniture. Total production included fabricating and welding steel, plus chrome baths, for metal components used in the furniture production. Cabinets for Astor receivers were manufactured entirely in-house at Gainsborough, from the slicing of raw wood for laminated veneers, through to completed cabinets. Stunning wood veneers included the now virtually extinct Russian burl walnut. Only very old Russian walnut trees from a cold climate but with little frost could be sliced to exhibit the awesome patterns prized by furniture-makers and customers. After laminating, the cabinets were finished in incredibly hard polyester, buffed to a very high gloss in a massive buff. Polyester high-gloss finish was sprayed onto furniture in a ‘wet booth’. Polyester is the result of a combined A and B catalyst, later found to be highly carcinogenic, so it was replaced by polyurethane. Unfortunately most of the applicators later died, due to the carcinogenic effects of the chemicals. After application, huge European men – specifically chosen for the job – rested enormous three in one cabinets on their bellies, pushing against a metre-wide buff wheel. Few finishes before or after compare to the depth, gloss, lustre and resilience of this finish. Plating onto plastic was a new technique employed by Astor in another plant, to feature on fascias and knobs, converting them into dazzling chrome or gilt. For a time, Gainsborough also made TV cabinets for other companies, like PYE and HMV. Noel recalls when Philips took over, they bought European ideas, ten years ahead of local production. Soon Philips made TVs in vinyl-finished plastic cases, with wrap-around curved style. As vinyl was a print, almost any wood appearance or pattern was possible. By the mid-seventies, production was upgraded by Philips, with machines to do the work of three or four men. You are naughty The Seventies was a radical period and this was also reflected on the nations TV screens. Leading the way in Australian TV’s loss of innocence were racy soap opera dramas Number 96, The Box and the cult hit comedydrama Alvin Purple. By 1973, Number 96 was the most popular program on Australian TV, with The Box running second in 1974. Classic TV shows started their run in 1971. Matlock Police from Crawford Productions, broadcast for five years on 0-10, Young Talent Time started an 18-year series on the 0-10 Network, Hey, Hey It’s Saturday was a Saturday morning cartoon show on GTV9 and A Current Affair with Mike Willesee, premiered on Nine. Beauty and technology Visitors to Victoria’s bayside areas in the 70s enjoyed television and radio beach broadcasts, so people could leave the water and enjoy a free live-show, see the live radio set-up, then later see highlights on TV. 32  Silicon Chip Visitors to Victoria’s bayside areas in the 70s enjoyed television and radio beach broadcasts, so people could leave the water and enjoy a free liveshow, see the live radio set-up, then later see highlights on TV. Activities and competitions were presented on a large stage, which was moved around the most popular beach areas. Channel 9 and radio station 3AK each presented different programs. 3AK playing popular music and GTV9 siliconchip.com.au recording the events to present in the evening news. The highlight was the Miss Victorian Beach Girl quest. 3AK’s equipment was housed in a rather makeshift custom audio console, with modest domestic tape recorders, basic by today’s standards, but it did the job. Well-known television presenters and judges included Rosemary Margan and ‘baby’ John Burgess. Blind 60’s rock singer and radio announcer Grantley Dee was in the line-up for the 3AK broadcasts. In 1974, Sydney Harbour Bridge rigger Paul Hogan, becomes a comedy star and “Countdown”, while ‘Molly’ Meldrum starts a 12-year run on ABC. Colour our world Only the first broadcast of television can compare to the first broadcast of regular colour programmes, on March 1, 1975. Channel Nine launched “The Don Lane Show” resulting in an eight year run. TEN10 launched the first one-hour news service – “Eyewitness News” hour. An infamous ‘bombblast’ episode of Number 96 wiped out four regular characters in a bid to reinstate top rating position and Graham Kennedy made a ‘faaark, faaark’ crow call while Rosemary Margan read a live advertisement on “The Graham Kennedy Show”. The ensuing row forced Kennedy from the network. AWA manufactured monochrome televisions at their Ashfield site until the introduction of colour, when they moved to a new facility at the AWV factory Rydalmere near Parramatta NSW. Australian production and thousands of jobs were forced out of the market after the government slashed tariffs in 1976, rather than a long, gradual phase out. The future is here Television is now changing at a frenetic pace. In 2005, Sony made their last CRT and posted profit losses, while electronic equipment these days usually displays the ‘made in China’ label. Where will television and video technology advance in the next decade? Only the brave would predict. Who would have anticipated the demise of the VCR for DVD players that do not record? The first attempt, Laservision, was rejected by the public. Then a smaller DVD disc made VCRs dinosaurs and new higher-capacity discs are about to become popular. Whatever the future holds, the pioneers of black and white television paved the way for tomorrow’s exciting (and expensive) large screen colour entertainment experiences. SC Credits and references are shown at: www.aaa1.biz/sc.html A young Pete Smith in Studio 9 sound booth. Pete is still doing voiceovers for Channel 9. siliconchip.com.au August 2006  33