BBC 2 Closedown to Open University - 1983

[@grahampearson5670]

Just after Newsnight, Clive (father of Gaby Roslin) runs through programmes that will be on the following evening and then signs off over the regular BBC2 clock and then until the start of late night educational programmes the music is played over the Open University clock instead of Test Card F.

[@brucedanton3669]

Thank you for this-it is nice to see it. Well done!!

[@mkbuddy]

You would never get a gap of 9 minutes between programmes now. Long gone are the days of gaps with music

[@ajs41]

It's a shame.

[@eddyjaya9537]

Rock MK

[@grahampearson5670]

No PDC in those days (hence 'Vina Del Mar' from the trade test transmission tape Don Fernando being played over the blue on yellow clock then) and I believe Clive wouldn't be staying on for the brief OU transmission.

[@dvidclapperton]

The old days were far better.

[@clymdodds1020]

It could probably be engineered. Wow! The 70-s and 80's intermission channel! KZbin may not want it but it's what the world needs! Slow all this high speed shit down a bit with some tasteful easy listening jazz. And clocks.

[@zenonifore4912]

This is March 22nd 1983 with Clive Roslin making one of his final outings in NC2 before he moved to Radio 4.

[@endrightwinglunacy]

Gaby Roslin's Dad.

[@debbieparkes3588]

ERL, Really?

[@eddyjaya9537]

Zenon Ifore many more

[@grahampearson5670]

@@endrightwinglunacy yes Clive is the father of Gaby.

[@laptopsorted]

@@debbieparkes3588 nice piece on him here showreel.thetvroom.com/talent-profiles/2368/roslin-clive/

[@steviegTVreturns]

According to Genome this is from Tuesday 22nd March 1983.

[@grahampearson5283]

Although billed in Radio Times as Interval 23.20 to 23.30, the gap between Clive signing off and the start of Open University transmission is around eight and three quarter minutes long and therefore we're treated to Vina Del Mar being played over the OU clock.

[@AlDupres]

It's Vina Del Mar by Lado's Latin Combination, from the trade test tape Don Fernando. It was library (Altaxon AL1008), but looks like it got a release. www.discogs.com/Lados-Latin-Combination-Vi%C3%B1a-Del-Mar/release/3542952

[@christopherwilliams2093]

Did you know that some of the other tracks used on the Don Fernando tape also appeared on this same record?

[@debbieparkes3588]

Al Dupres, Are you an announcer of BBC One Wales?

[@nowster]

@@debbieparkes3588 No, he just plays one on TV (and on BBC Two too) 🤪

[@TheTVRoom]

Nice to see such a good quality recording of the electronically generated OU clock. My memory of the use of this clock is obviously a little hazy. I had thought that the practice of using this clock to fill intervals/gaps had ceased in 1982. Obviously not! Was this clock generated from the same piece of kit as the BBC Two clock - with an ability to switch between the two? Just interesting to note that the clock face is in exactly the same position on both.

[@aidanlunn7441]

There were three or four clock generators built by the BBC Designs Department, all to the same or similar hardware but all to mimic the same clock face but with the ability to change colours and channel idents. So it's not *the* same generator, it's one of several generators built (along with spare units that could be used should one of the clock generators break down when one was urgently needed). So I'm guessing the BBC2 one was built first in 1980 with a spare, then the BBC1 one in 1981 again with a spare and then this OU one (possibly not with a spare owing to it being used for a relative few minutes use every day when compared to the other clocks. It would be only a moment for the duty engineer this night to change the circuit boards that determined the colour schemes and idents. This may be how they managed to change the BBC1 clock so fast on February 18th 1985). For switching the clocks forward or backward an hour on air as in some closedowns from this period, they would require the use of two clock generators, both timed with the second and minute hands in sync with one another but with the second generator's hand an hour forward or backward as the case may be. The BBC1 announcer just cuts from one to the other. (The clock generators were fed by sync pulses from a sync pulse generator to keep in regular time and were timed exactly to time signals from Greenwich Observatory). I don't think a clock generator could have its time switched forward or backward an hour as easily as those closedowns make it seem, it may have required some firmware updates or even some hardware adjustments to make those electronic clock generators go forward or backward an hour.

[@ajs41]

Do you know the exact date the computerised BBC2 clock was introduced? I know it was sometime between 16th August 1980 and 5th October 1980 based on videos on KZbin I've seen. Also I think the BBC1 computerised clock was introduced in December 1981 but I'd like to know the precise date for that as well.

[@grahampearson5670]

The blue on yellow clock was used as a filler at least until 1984 and in this 8 1/2 minute gap it is accompanied by two pieces of music.

[@grahampearson5670]

The TV Room, I remember the OU clock being shown accompanied by music in the likely event of there being a longish gap between programmes in other words one programme finished early and they weren't ready for the next one.

[@davidtownson1476]

Would love to know the names of the tunes.

[@richardburkard9839]

Quite the opposite of U.S. TV, which had "Sunrise Semester" on CBS at 6:30 a.m. for decades. Until, of course, the networks realized they could make a lot more money with morning news.

[@digitalramyun]

I used to really like the music from 1:58, but hadn't heard it since the 1980s (and thought I never would again). I'm surprised how well I remembered it! Any ideas what it's called?

[@christopherwilliams2093]

These two pieces were from the Don Fernando tape.

[@j0hnf_uk]

5 years late, I know, but to answer your question, the 2 pieces of music are Viña Del Mar and Lagrimas Esperadas by Lado's Latin Combination, which are tracks 8 and 10 on Altaxon AL 1008 - The Kenny Bird Orchestra/Lado's Latin Combination Volume 2.

[@dvidclapperton]

The minute hand even moves 4 times per minute.

[@laptopsorted]

Omg he actually pronounces french properly

[@ahmeddhagahofficial9034]

15th March 1983

[@dalekusa]

Any idea which party made the PPB scheduled for the following day?

[@ajs41]

BBC Genome might say.

[@chrishenniker5944]

Why did broadcasting finish so early until recently?

[@funni150]

Bare in mind it’s bbc 2 on a weekday - I can’t imagine an awful amount of people would be watching past 11

[@kostaspolyzos6540]

They didn't finish open university programs followed and I think not a lot of TV viewers would watch the programs so that's why they said good night

[@robertwilson214]

Because people used to have lives

[@davidtownson1476]

Why have both clocks? One would have been fine for the whole 8 1/2 minutes.

[@olliedann]

I think this special clock helped teachers/students find their OU programmes when shuttling through their VHS tape recordings.

[@davidtownson1476]

I now think it was a brilliant idea, but would have liked it to go directly between the two clocks instead of having the 40 seconds of the OU logo.