This is a very rough and ready index to the pages which make up the Tech Ops website
Many of the various entries in the website have been collected into one of three main groupings: “Conversations”, “Topics” and “New Pages”. These are all POSTS.
“Conversations” initially covered the many and varied issues discussed in ex-BBC Technical Operators’ emails :
“Topics” then subsequently were produced less frequently and were concerned in the main with technical operations history, procedures and practices rather than with individual contributors opinions and ideas. This trend has continued with the current grouping POSTS “New Pages”, which collect contributions by month or by a group of months: anything concerned with historic operational and technical aspects of broadcasting is included, and comments to do with current TV programming are generally left out.
As each new post is added to WordPress, earlier posts are removed from the Recent Posts Sidebar, and so it becomes difficult to see what has been written in the past.
There are other groupings within the index, and the entries here link to individual PAGES.
You can only open these pages by clicking on the entry in this index (or by using “Search”).
Groupings include:
Life Stories – Bernie encouraged people to write their life story
Lunch Pictures – Memories of the disorganised lunches beloved by Bernie
Crew Christmas Cards – often sent to favourite directors!
This index lists the contents of the complete Tech Ops Website to date: 17.07.2026
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1917 – An apparent single shot 1917 – The Sound of Silence 1950s and 1960s Adventure Series 1951 OB Vehicles and Crew 1951 OB Vehicles and Crew – an Update |
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1953 OBs 1953 Roving Eye 1960s Icons 1966 and all that …. 1968 BBC TV Production Planning Training Film (Excerpt) |
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1990-1991 Cobham Sub-Committees and/or Taskforce Committees 1992 pictures |
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36 volt Power Pack 3-D Photography 3-D Telly |
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405-line TV broadcasts returning |
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50 Shades of Grey 50th Anniversary Stamps 525 lines 60 cycles – Line Standards |
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6 Days 6 days – an update to the Iranian Embassy siege 6 days – The siege of the Iranian Embassy – Film |
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8mm Projector and Film |
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A BBC Library of Tech Ops related materials A Century of Cinema A Dalek Looks at VT A Day Out at Wimbledon A Day with A TV Producer |
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A game of KIM A goodbye TC from the One Show A Lament for TVC A Picture of Crew 14 A pretty nurse is …. |
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A Town Has Turned to Dust A. P. Herbert About (Intro to the Tech Ops site) About DV (Digital Video) Acronyms |
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AER switch on RP2/9 grams deck Aerials – or Masts Aeroplanes and Operations Alan Bermingham: an Appreciation Alan Blumlein |
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Alec Bray – My time at the BBC Allocations Office 1975-ish Ally Pally Ambiophony An Adventure in Space and Time – Errors |
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Aspect Ratios Aspect Ratios – again Aspects of Drama Ationwid Audience Unparticipation“ |
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Audio Fairs August 2024 New Pages August 2025 New Pages Avo Collection |
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Back in Time for … Back In Time For Christmas Back to 1975 Back to the summer of 1986… Bar Counting |
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Barbara Maxwell Bat Out Of Hell Batteries Batteries and Multimeters BBC 2 comes to Southend |
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BBC 2 Opening Night BBC Abbreviations Initials and Jargon BBC Abbreviations: Some Explanations BBC at Lifestyles 2000 BBC Channel Idents |
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BBC Club Application Form BBC Club at Lime Grove Studios BBC Filming in Wisbech BBC Four: Henry V BBC Ident Colours |
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BBC London Premises BBC Monitoring BBC News At 10 21st Jun 2017 BBC News New Look BBC OBs – Golf |
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BBC Pay Grades – 1966 BBC Production Costing BBC Recording Tape BBC Souvenirs and Memorabilia BBC Staff Surveys |
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BBC Staffing and Staff Numbers BBC Stands for … BBC Studios BBC Tech Ops Interviews BBC Tech Ops Starting Salaries |
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BBC Telecine in the 1960s BBC Television Centre 50th anniversary tribute BBC TV Car Park Tickets BBC TV Theatre 1950s – early 1960s BBC TVC Cafeteria |
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BBC Vehicles Diecast Models Beatles Becoming a T.O. Autumn 1962 Bees Bees See TV(C) Before They Were Famous |
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Behind the Scenes: “The Frost Report” 1966 Bells and Whistles Bernard Newnham – My Working Life Bernie’s 1972 USA slides Best of Both Worlds 1964 |
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Bimbi Harris 1966 Health and Safety and a 1978 WIS Bingo – Management Speak – version 2 Birtspeak 2.0 Bits and Pieces Bits of Our History |
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Black & White Minstrels Camera & Studio Blackadder Goes Forth – and Overruns Blimps Blue Peter from 1963 Blue Peter Time Capsule |
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Bob Symes Boomcam Boredom on set? Bough Phone Boxing Clever |
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Brian Balshaw 3 Brian Balshaw 4 Brian Balshaw’s Pictures Brian Blessed Brian White: An Appreciation |
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Bright Eyes Bristol – A Centre Of Excellence Broadcast Quality Broadcasting History Bucks Rigs |
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Bush House |
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Cafe Rest Camera at Henley Camera Cranes and German Tech Site Camera Tower Cameramen at War |
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Cameras Mounts and Cables Canalside Outside Broadcast 1939 Captions Animations and Captain Pugwash Captions: Lunch 21 October 2015 Cars |
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Catch Up on Previous Conversations (July 2015) Cater for the Crew Ceefax and BBC Engineering CGI Backgrounds and Virtual Newsrooms. Chapman Hercules and other cranes |
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Clive Doig – stories from a life in TV Clive Leighton – his working life CLUG Coax Cable Cold Comfort and Condensation |
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Colin Reid – An Appreciation Colour (Separation Overlay) Supplement Colour Camera Tests (Radio 4) Colour Blindness Colour Studio but BW TX |
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Colour Supplement Colour Supplement. Colour Vision. Comely Boom Operators Comics |
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Comics and Cutaways Comments on 2015 and 2016 Programmes. Comments on Current Productions 2015 Comments on Television programmes 2016 Comments on The Olympics TV Coverage – Rio 2016 |
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Crane Training Credits Crew 7 Christmas card 1967 Crew 9 Christmas Crew Christmas Cards |
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Crew Identifiers Crew Lists 1980 Crossed Lines Crossing the Line – Again … CSO Oversights. |
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CSO TOTP Floor Marks etc |
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DAB GTS and segue to Jack Sudic Dad’s Army – in which studio? Dancers on Camera Dancing cameras Dave Buckley Life Story |
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Dave Mundy’s Evesham Pictures Dave Mundy’s Trip to Evesham Dave Mutton and Crew 14 Dave Silk: Appreciation David Attenborough |
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David Attenborough – 2 David Bowie Fisheye (in TOTP page) David Brook sent these pictures – David Newbitt’s Nostalgia Days Gone – Ampex |
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December 2017 Miscellany December 2025 New Pages Destruction at Television Centre Dialogue intelligibility on Casualty Diary of a Young Man (1964) |
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Dick Barton Stereo and Binaural Sound Dick Hibberd’s Memories Dickie Bunn Did you take any schnapps… DIN and SCART |
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Director Training Director’s Viewfinder Dirty Work Discourse on TV Technology over the years: as per BBC practice Discussion on Lighting |
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Disorganised Walk Ditty Box and Dollies Dixon of Dock Green Do What You’re Told Do you recognise this vehicle? |
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Dubbin Duties Day-by-Day |
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Early Animation Techniques Early BBC TV OBs Early Cop Shows Early days at Ally Pally Early Days at TC3 |
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Early Days in TC3 – 2 Early days of ENG Early Days of Home Computing Early Domestic Tape Recorders. Early German Television |
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Early Handheld Colour Cameras Early Portable Tape Recorders for News. Early Stereo Early Use of Studios TC1 TC6 TC7 and TC8 EastEnders begins – a write up by Dave Howell |
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EastEnders Live Quality (Feb 2015) EastEnders Thursday 24th April 2022 Editech Eidophor Election Night 1959 |
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Electricity – Shocking Supply and Demand Elstree Open Days (inc Updates) EMI 2001 Construction Kit Ephemera EQ = equalisation |
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Eurovision – More Eurovision Memories Eurovision 2024 Everyone remembers where they were when … Evesham 1965 Evesham Course Pictures |
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Evesham course pictures and other various things Evesham Handbook 1979 Evolution of microphones within the BBC Exam Questions Exhibition – 6 decades of Dr Who |
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Expenses – and their claims Expenses … when the food is available Extras – ex-Tech Ops style? |
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Falklands – and Noel Edmonds Familiar Face(s) Family Bibles Fanny v Delia Fiction to Fact – and Fact to Fiction |
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Filmed and Directed by … Final Footage from Lime Grove Fiona Martin’s Television Centre Fireworks First Female Cameraperson |
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First TV OB From A Theatre Flashing Lights and Perspex Flight of the Concordes (….and other planes) Flippin Shots Fly Leads and Screening |
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Fly Past Focus Pullers Following Young Dudley For Doctor Who in Memoriam Foreign Powers |
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Forfar 5 – East Fife 4 Forsyte Saga Frame Rooms Framing Frank Wilkins and Crew 2. |
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Fred Johnson’s Photo Collection Freeview and High Pressure disruption From Alec Bray…. From Avenger to Play School From John Barlow |
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From Peter Hider Furniture Future Proof Record and Replay |
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Gallery Directors Gary Cricher’s films Gemini – More about Gemini General Memories Geoff Feld |
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Geoff Feld’s Photo Album Geoff Hawkes George Ageros Get It Right Glastonbury |
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Glastonbury 2022 and Outside Broadcasts Gloucester and Stratford Going live with Softly Softly – comments Going Live with Softly Softly 1966 Going out with a BANG! … or a whimper … |
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Golders Green Hippodrome Golf – and Hoists Golf and following the ball Goodbye Bernie Goodbye to Ally Pally |
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Goodbye to the EMI 2001 Goonhilly Gram Ops Grams and Tape Stories Grams Library Omission |
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Grandstand Memories Great Developing Shots in Cinema Green round the Gills Green Screen Greenwood Theatre |
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Guinness Guns in Productions |
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Hand Held Camera at Oulton Park 1967 Handy Tandy. HD and the Regions Headphones Heard On Talkback |
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Hearing Problems Heart to Heart Hello Dolly High Definition TV – old style Hoists and Cherry-Pickers |
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Horse Names Horses for Courses … and Grandstand Hotels we have known How lucky we were to have the Vinten Hydraulic Pedestal How many uses are there for a Television Centre? |
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How things have changed How to check your Video Bandwidth How We Got Started In The Entertainment Industry Hullabaloo and Custard Hydrofrolicks |
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I Walk the Line Iain McLean: an Appreciation Ian Norman’s pictures Idents and Trails 2017 I’m on my way – where are we going? |
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Improved Technology In the Gallery Induction Courses Information Age Information Superhighway |
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Inlay Overlay and CSO Inside the BBC TVC Inspiration for my Career Interviews with Mohammed Ali Introducing the Conversations and Topics Index |
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Its Christmas Time. |
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Jamming and ASPIDISTRA Jazz at the Maltings October 1968 Jazz on TV 1960 -1969 Jimi Hendrix Joan Williams |
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Jobsworths John Dailley: an Appreciation John Smith : an Appreciation John Summers – My Working Life John Wilson Prom 35 |
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Jude the Obscure (1971) Juke Box Jury Memories Julie Felix Show June 2024 New Pages |
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Kamera-Kharsi Kendal Avenue history and subsequent redevelopment Kevin White Kharkiv – (Please tell me what all this stuff is) KU2015 |
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Landrovers Learn your Lines and Hit your Marks Legal Decent Honest Truthful Len Shorey Lens Charts |
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Lime Grove and its Cameras – early 1960s Lime Grove and Shepherds Bush Market Lime Grove before the BBC Lime Grove May 1950 Line tearing on VHS |
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Lip-Sync: HD and SD differences Live Aid 1985 Location Catering London Telephone Exchanges Long distance radio links |
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Long Live – or possibly not – the BBC TV Theatre Long Wave transmitters VLF FM and DAB Loss of signal on an OB Lost and/or Forgotten Shows Lost Course (and Show) Photographs |
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Lost Goon Show tape Loud Singers and Loud Speakers Loudspeaker LS3 5A Louis Armstrong Lovely Ladies |
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Ma’amalade Sandwiches Mags Vids and Plans Managemental Gobbledespeak Marconi Stille Recorder Marconi Stille Recorder – Updated |
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Maurice Fleisher – his working life May 2024 New Pages Meccano et al Memories of Dame Vera Lynn Mic Boom Experiences |
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Mic Booms Michael (Mike) Bond Michael Bentine Michael Bentine’s Reminiscences Michael Langley-Evans |
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Microphones Microphones -2 Microphones and Mic Placement Mike Bunting Mike Giles – Life at the BBC |
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Mike Winser Miracle! Miscellany : TVC Scenic Artist Workshop: Barbara Maxwell: Strobing: TC8 Miscellany: Ariel TVC Riverside and Kings Theatre Missing Items |
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More about Mic Booms More Cards More Conversations More Crew Christmas Cards More from Brian Balshaw |
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More Z-Cars Morecombe and Wise Scene Morris Dancers MOTD 1974 Mother |
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Mother :Don’t ask me ask MotherMore about Mother Mugs Multi-Coloured Swap Shop Mumbleygate – Again Museum Exhibits Mushrooms |
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Music in TV and Radio Productions My First Electronic Build Mystery Cameraman Mystery Studio Picture |
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Name That Man (and Woman) Nation shall speak at PPM 4 unto Nation National Radio Show But Which One Nationwide Ident Loop Network Feeds |
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Never Twice the Same Color Never Work with Children or Animals Nicknames Nine Lessons and Carols 1964 Noise Loudness and Americans |
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Noises Off Norman Taylor’s Emitron Norman Taylor’s story of Dr Who Nostalgia … Ah! Childhood… Nostalgic paper |
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Not Everyone Likes “Strictly” Not for the oosily effended Now that’s a good spot! Now We’re History – or is it Pretentious Piffle Nowadays – Who does What? |
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Nylon Overalls |
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OBs October 2025 New Pages Off the Subs Bench OGWT Manchester? Oh my aching back |
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Oh to be in OBs Oh! The Irony Oil be oil right Old Magazines Old Shows |
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Old TV Sets OLED TV Olympics Commentary One picture lots of stories… Only Fools and Horses – the Van |
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Paid For TVs Pans people Pathe News – Visit to Television Centre Paul Daniels show Paul Temple and Dick Barton |
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People – The Crew People in Photos Period Pieces – Getting the Details Correct Periscopes Personal Mics |
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Picture Quality (2026) Pictures from David Hadley Pictures from John Barlow and John Hulse Pictures from Mike du Boulay Pictures from Mike Jones |
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Pictures from Peter Goldring Pictures from Richard Broadhurst Pictures from TVC Roof around 1964-ish Pictures from Watford Technical High School Pictures of BBC Television Theatre through the years |
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Pinkoes and Traitors Pips Big Ben Bongs and Digital Delays Planes Play School Play School – 50 years of “Play School” |
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Play School at 40 Years PlaySchool and Playaway Musicians PLUGE Plugs and sockets bonanza Pointless Empty Void |
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Poldark – the original version (1975 to 1977) Pop Group Sound Levels Post Programme Parties Potential Tech Ops recruits EXAM Questions Premises and Phone Numbers … |
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Pres A Pres B and LNLU Present Day (2104) Audio Levels Presentation 1986 Presentation at Work Prince Edward and Blue Peter |
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Producer Choice and BBC Outsource Production versus Young Generation footy match Programme Stories Programmes May to November 2017 Programmes we worked on |
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Proms and Power Sound and Fury Pushing the Wrong Buttons |
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Quatermass Quatermass Quiz Queen Visit to TVC |
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Radio DAB not FAB Radio Interference Radio Microphones Radio Mics and What to do with them Radio Olympia 1956 |
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Radio on iPlayer Railway … Stations Ralph Parrot Recent Animations Recent Feature Films |
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Recording All Cameras Related to History Remembering NICAM Remembering Those who have left us Restaurants round the Bush |
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Retake! That’s a Wrap. Reuse Recycle Repair RF Interference Richard Chamberlain Rising Mics |
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Rolling Stones Beatles and Jimi Hendrix at the BBC Ron Green’s Photo Collection Page 1 Ron Green’s Photo Collection Page 2 Ron Peverall at 90 Ronnie Pantlin Stories |
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Round the Horn Routemaster Moments RP2/9 grams deck – AER switch |
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Sangers Yard School Dimmers Scribble Scripts on Ebay Secrets of the Super Elements |
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September 2024 to April 2025 New Pages Sequels and Prequels: BladeRunner and Star Trek Sex and the Sixties Shakespeare and Music – and workplace bullies Shakespeare Clips |
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Shepherds Bush Market Shepherd’s Bush Market Shifts and Coincidences Shooting “Guests of the National” Shot Card sample |
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Snape – Acoustics – Filter – Sound So long 3DTV Social Distancing Soft or Sharp Quad or Helical – and TOTP – again! Soft Soled Shoe Shuffle |
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Sole-schism Some Alexandra Palace history – the first BBC camerawoman Some Aspects of Technical Operations Some Things Never Change … Something in the Air |
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Sound (Trolley) Stories Sound And Atmosphere Sound and Sound Synchronisation – How it used to be done in the pre-digital Era Sound and Vision Sound Crew List January 1965 |
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Sound in Sync(s) Sound Ladies in Costume Sound Levels circa 1961 Sound Levels since 1961 Sound Management |
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Sound Matters Sound stories Sound? You’re having a laugh! Sounding Off – Again Sounds Effective! |
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Sounds Sensational (and sounds not so sensational) Space – The Final Frontier? Spiel Chuck KO Sports Unit Electronic – and freelancing Spot the Error |
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Spot the errors Spotlight 1962 Sprinkle Sprinkle – and a segue to “Grange Hill” Staff List 1974 Staff Training and ETD Memories |
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Stan Appel Star Trek convention – Oct 2014 Start em young Stills from This is the BBC STC Microphones |
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Steam Powered Tech Ops Steam-Powered Tech Ops Part 2 Stereoscopic Vision Steve Blatchford Stirling Moss |
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Studio Planning Studio Planning Stencils Studio sound and talkback – Eurovision and Dana … Studio Tanks Studio-based Continuing Drama Production Development |
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Subtitles Super Emitrons SYPHER |
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T.O. 16 – Technical Operators Course 16 – Lecture schedule T.O. 16 Course 27th May – 2nd August 1963 T.O. 20 Course Autumn 1964 T.O. 25 Take a Sapphire |
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Tales of the Riverside Tales of TVC Talyllyn Railway OB Summer 1957 Tape Loops Tape Speeds |
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TC Christmas Artwork TC1 B&W 405 and 625 TC7 1967 TC8 Tea 6d coffee 9d |
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Television programming after the death of the Queen Terry Heath’s Intertel History Test Cards That’s not what happened during Rehearsal! That’s lunch studio…… |
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That’s Why we had Cameramen … The Adventures of Robin Hood The Anatomy of a Christmas Promotions Campaign (BBC 1970s to 90s) The AP Shift Pattern The Art of Direction |
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The Art of Direction – 2 The Art of Roger Bunce The BBC Micro The Bedmakers The Blue Peter Book of Television |
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The Box of Delights The Camera is an Actor in the Drama The Case of the Disappearing Image Orthicon The Developing Camera Shot The Fight For Saturday Night |
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The First Outside Broadcast The Good Old Days (the programme) The Grammar of Cinematography The Great Glass Hive The Great Storm of 1987 |
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The Idiot The Joy of Location Accommodation The Joy of Ops The London Studios The Man Outside |
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The Vinten Heron – Stories 5 The Vinten Peregrine – Stories 6 The Wrong Job The wrong type of ears Theme muslc |
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They Made Us What We Are Today This is the BBC – film by Richard Cawston Time Goes by and Technology Changes Tingles Toehold on Sound |
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Topics 6 Spring 2022 Topics 7 Summer 2022 TOTP – Paperback Writer TOTSIs Trails advertising and future BBC Funding |
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Training at Wood Norton Trains and Filming Trainspotting Transmitter Towers – Eagle Towers etc Transport – PAWN and Wood Norton Hall |
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Travelling Backwards Triumphs and failures Trump’s First Few Days in Office TV and Movie Sound Balance Levels TV Pilots |
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TVC – 2017 TVC in Words and Pictures TVC Memories TVC Scenic Artist Workshop TVT Visit 30-01-2018 |
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Typeface |
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Unused and mythical London Underground Stations Updated Marconi Stille Recorder |
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Vinten Publications Vinyl LPs VT Clocks and Film Recording VT Entertainment Tapes VT Stories |
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VT Tea VT Tea Mugs VT Tea Two VTR Formats |
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Walk Pictures Walk Pictures (Covid Lockdown exercise) Wardrobe Malfunction Warm ups Warnings and Notices to put on Machines |
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Was I really in the Studio with… Watership Down We are the Management … We are the Management… – 2 We stop the Mighty Roar of London’s Traffic |
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We Were There – Winston Churchill’s Funeral 50 Years On Weather Blob Weight for it! Welcome What are all these people doing here? |
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What are We Doing? What is the Best Radio to Buy? What is the Best Voice Recorder to Buy? What’s ’is name worked as a … What’s the time |
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When Television was Young and the Audience was Old Where Did The BBC Place Job Ads? Where in TC is this parked? Where is the ……? Which is Real? Location Shoot or Studio mock up? |
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Which Production? Which Studio? Who gets the Credit? Who is the Doctor? Who Nose? Who’s the Dummy? |
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Why has TV Sound got Louder Why MCRs are called Scanners Why MCRs are called Scanners – part 2 Wilkins in the Industry Will Shall Show and Shewn |
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Wimbledon – but When? Wind Ups Winter Olympics Commentary Winters Past With The Beatles |
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Year of the Sex Olympics Yellow CSO You can call it home You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off! Young Dudley |
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Z Cars Z Cars: Behind the scenes 1968 Z-Cars – BP and PEG Z-Cars – Softly Softly Zoom lenses |
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Zooming Around |
Number of entries: 1140
A complete list of all Tech Ops POSTS (not PAGES) An entry is generated whenever a POST is published. Only the most recent POSTS are listed in the Web-page sidebar. Complete List of Posts (autogenerated)
A complete list of all Tech Ops emails An entry is generated whenever an email is distributed to the Tech Ops mailing list. It allows you to retrieve an email if you have deleted it from you own email accounts. Complete List of Tech Ops Tech 1 emails (autogenerated |
