AUSTRALIAN TV PROGRAMME

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28440, 21 November 1957, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN TV PROGRAMME

Reception On Set At Richmond (From Our Own Reporter) NELSON, November 20. Last night a Richmond resident, Mr R. Fairburn, saw an Australian T.V. programme. Signals from the Australian station first came through about 7.40 and were barely audible for about 10 minutes. At 8.40 p.m.. said Mr Fairburn, the signals came in again. He assumed that this was when the station, which he thought to be in Melbourne, came on for its evening transmission at 6.40 p.m. Eastern Australian time. The pictures at first depicted a rather distorted test frame which a television station shows to enable listeners to tune in properly. On the sound channel a 1000 cycle note came through Immediately after 9 p.m. the announcer could be discerned giving news items which could be heard at the same time on the sound channel. The announcer’s hands and shirt cuffs were particularly noticeable as he pointed things out to his audience. Mr Fairburn’s family and several neighbours were present to see the show and Mr Fairburn was able to take some pictures of what showed on his screen From now on until March Mr Fairburn will be keeping a close watch on the air and he hopes to receive the signals more clearly later.

Mr Fairburn uses an English commercial television receiver which has been specially modified to suit the Australian stations. He has had to change the modulation method from positive to negative and the number of screen lines from 405 to 625.