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Old 05-05-2010, 05:21 AM
Paul M Paul M is offline
AK Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 5
Hello to our 'fellow travellers' in Oz!

Yes, I am aware of the sterling efforts of Barry Lambert - in fact this was one of the spurs to launch 'Vivat'. There is another complete Pye truck in Hungary (I've seen it), but it doesn't work, so it really is a very important piece of work. The Pye gear suffers from bad mains transformers and this has limited the number of working survivors in damper climes such as the UK, I guess that you don't have that problem! The Marconi kit is much more rugged in that respect. We are starting from a rather lower position, a wreck of a truck, incomplete equipment stock and no major benefactor. The other reason for starting this was the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee of HMQ, and the fact that Dicky Howett and myself have the only two surviving cameras out of the 21 used at the coronation in 1953. They are both cosmetically restored, having spent 25 years on a rubbish tip, but they can be taken to 'working' with a *bit* of effort. Attached is a picture of the latest piece of kit 'off the production line' for this project, a BD819A 405 line monitor. The tube is like new and the monitor (1952) is very sophisticated for its year having dynamic focus, regulated HT, regulated EHT, clamped frame scan and clamped video. It joins all the other bits of kit (including a working MkIII camera) that's destined for the truck. One of the other working monitors (not like the BD819A, the 'simpler' Marconi type from the early 1950s), came back from Australia some years ago. There's two more of that type yet to be repaired/restored too. Oh, and the latest 'hot' news is that we have new number plates (old style) for the truck itself (!).

Excellent news about your plans to build a solid state IO. I would humbly suggest that the most difficult problem will be in the scan/focus coils. You *could* copy an existing design of same with high voltage drive, using modern power FETs as valves (in effect), or, you could do as I did and go low voltage. This would need an existing design re-working, of course.

I do have some outside scenes recorded via the Photicon on VHS, but -

a) I don't know where the tape is!
b) It was 13 years ago and I don't think that the physical tape was new then!

I'm terrible at documenting things like this, so I'm fortunate to have my Golden Age TV oppo on board with 'Vivat' to do the business in this respect!.

Good luck with the camera, we need to stay in touch. I have the odd 'spare' IO yoke if it might help you, and access to original Marconi factory production drawings of things such as yokes too.

Cheers,

Paul M
Attached Images
File Type: jpg BD819A_05_Monitor.jpg (82.0 KB, 13 views)
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