Black & White TV's

[staffslad]

Re: Black & White TV's

Thanks, Marc. Last time I was in a caravan was about 1998 or so, so doubtless they are different inside now.

[marc]

Re: Black & White TV's

Hi Marc, were the caravans you mentioned the static type? i.e. permanently parked on the site? I think the one we rented in the mid-70s had gas for cooking/lighting/heating but I can't remember if it was piped or bottled gas. In the 80s we rented a caravan for a week almost each year, usually in one of the North Wales resorts. I think they all had bottled gas for heating/cooking and mains electricity and water. They were all of the static type. Also I remember that one site had a kind of private cable TV. As well as picking up the normal 4 terrestrial channels, there was a site channel which showed films and cartoons throughout the day.

Yes, these were static caravans. They were quite large. Too big to be towed behind a car. The caravan site was called Trecco Bay. It's still there, but very much modernised. All the caravans are now wired up and connected with electricity, water and to the main sewer. Not sure about gas. Haven't been there since the 1980s.

[Richard1978]

Re: Black & White TV's

Hi Marc, were the caravans you mentioned the static type? i.e. permanently parked on the site? I think the one we rented in the mid-70s had gas for cooking/lighting/heating but I can't remember if it was piped or bottled gas. In the 80s we rented a caravan for a week almost each year, usually in one of the North Wales resorts. I think they all had bottled gas for heating/cooking and mains electricity and water. They were all of the static type. Also I remember that one site had a kind of private cable TV. As well as picking up the normal 4 terrestrial channels, there was a site channel which showed films and cartoons throughout the day.

Yes it was a static caravan.

The TV was only a small B&W set so could be run off a car battery, though it would sometimes run out before the end of the week & have to be exchanged.

My Gran eventually got a bigger caravan which was connected to the mains so the TV was upgraded to a colour one.

[staffslad]

Re: Black & White TV's

Hi Darren, they are TVs designed to work on 12V DC. They are still available now--I have seen a fair few on Ebay, quite often LCD TV/DVD combos, though from what I have seen they are costlier than the normal 240V AC type.

[darren]

Re: Black & White TV's

Would not have thought a car battery would work.
Or even imagine how it would work.

i remember watching most of the 1984 olympics on a b&w set at my gran's caravan, powered by a car battery.

[staffslad]

Re: Black & White TV's

Hi Marc, were the caravans you mentioned the static type? i.e. permanently parked on the site? I think the one we rented in the mid-70s had gas for cooking/lighting/heating but I can't remember if it was piped or bottled gas. In the 80s we rented a caravan for a week almost each year, usually in one of the North Wales resorts. I think they all had bottled gas for heating/cooking and mains electricity and water. They were all of the static type. Also I remember that one site had a kind of private cable TV. As well as picking up the normal 4 terrestrial channels, there was a site channel which showed films and cartoons throughout the day.

[marc]

Re: Black & White TV's

In the mid-70s my parents rented a caravan and it had a B+W portable powered by a car battery. About half way through the holiday the battery became flat and we had to take it to a garage for them to charge up.

This was part and parcel of our holiday in Porthcawl during the mid 1980s. The caravans were not wired up to the mains electricity, water or gas. There was a shop in the centre that hired out car batteries. It was a bit of a relief when it was raining. Of course, at the best and most interesting part of the programme/film......

[staffslad]

Re: Black & White TV's

In the mid-70s my parents rented a caravan and it had a B+W portable powered by a car battery. About half way through the holiday the battery became flat and we had to take it to a garage for them to charge up.

[Richard1978]

Re: Black & White TV's

I remember watching most of the 1984 Olympics on a B&W set at my Gran's Caravan, powered by a car battery.

[darren]

Re: Black & White TV's

Great pics there.

Yes we had a portable black and white tv as well.

We had black and white ones at the same time as colour.

I just loved black and white tv's better for watching films on makes em scarier.

i remember having a b&w portable tv in my bedroom to play my zx spectrum on. The xmas i upgraded to a 14" colour job from argos was an absolute joy.

Here's some from argos.

[staffslad]

Re: Black & White TV's

I remember the first time I saw a colour set. It would have been 1970. Can't remember exactly where but my mom took me to a house and they had a set. Wow, it was amazing to see a colour TV back then, when most still had B+W.

[Richard1978]

Re: Black & White TV's

My parents used rent a TV from Granada with push buttons, that could be turned to tune in a channel.

Cheaper sets had a single dial like a radio, I can remember a few people with them, mostly as 2nd sets.

[staffslad]

Re: Black & White TV's

Sometimes the spare pushbutton would be marked "VR" after video recorders became popular. Speaking of pushbuttons reminded me of the B+W set we had before buying the colour Pye. I can't remember the brand but it was bought secondhand and was about 20"-22" screen size. It had pushbuttons to change channels and the pushbuttons were also used to tune in stations. However, above the pushbuttons there was a rotary knob with numbers marked on it and the knob would click between numbers. I don't know but I presume this set was both UHF and VHF capable, but as I don't know too much about it I stand to be corrected . Also, many of the earlier B+W sets would have worked on 405 lines rather than the later 605 lines system.

[Richard1978]

Re: Black & White TV's

On old TVs the spare channel buttons often used to be labelled with a star rather than just a number, like on the Sony above.

[staffslad]

Re: Black & White TV's

Until my parents splashed out on a new 22" Pye colour TV in late 1973 we had only secondhand B+W sets. I remember a very old Murphy, probably about 14" or a little larger. To turn it on you pressed a catch on top of the TV and a small panel flipped up, turning on the TV and revealing the controls for volume and station selection--both rotary knobs. I also remember an HMV, again around 14" and with rotary controls, plus this one had built in loop and telescopic aerials. The sides were padded with leather-look black grained vinyl. My parents bought me a 14" Ferguson in 1980. It was white with a rotary knob for station selection and one for volume. On top of the TV were 2 sliders for brightness and contrast. Last B+W I had was a radio/cassette player/TV, perhaps 4" or 5" screen size, bought off a workmate in the mid 90s. One thing absent from modern LCD digital sets are the horizontal hold and vertical hold controls generally found on the backs of CRT TVs. You could have a bit of fun fiddling with those .