The Pye Mk6 broadcast television camera - as used by the crew of MCR21

[@UXXV]

Randomly popped up for me to watch and glad I did!

[@matthewpettengale9943]

Same

[@smadaf]

I would love to see it turned on. To me the most interesting surprise was focusing by moving the image orthicon, not the glass in the lenses.

[@jonrome2839]

Zoom out, focus the tube then zoom in & focus the lens. Repeat until satisfied!

[@flyingo]

Fascinating stuff. I got my start in television engineering when I bought my first three tube JVC KY1000 color camera, then a 3 camera system complete with switcher and so on. I built many television stations since my early days in the late 70s and 80s. Of course these days everything those old cameras could do can be accomplished with smart phones in our pockets. What a time to be alive and involved with television technology. I wouldn’t trade my experiences for the world.

[@UpcomingJedi]

Todays cellphones are shit. Try recording accurate color. Try recording the salmon colors of a sunset and all you get is varying degrees of yellow. You also cant control the iris on a cellphone. The machine decides how the picture looks.

[@abgd-co4xy]

@@UpcomingJedi Yes, ok, you are right, but there are not everyone in this planet, with advance photographing skills.

[@graham542]

Great video 👍 A more interesting 10 minutes than thousands of hours of other YT output.

[@PlaywithJunk]

The interior looks like a Tektronix oscilloscope of that time. Very well built!

[@pstonard]

Agree! Tektronix had a leadership position in both engineering design and manufacturing skill.Philips held a similar role based in The Netherlands, both companies highly "vertical" (raw materials in one end, finished product out the other) There were other players building equipment for the broadcast industry, which served few customers, that were very demanding. Firstly, the performance was not spared by the broadcaster, who wanted the best, and most reliable kit. A single failure at the "sending end" would directly affect many customers on "receiving end" (at home watching) Secondly, it was better to produce a robust high quality signal at the broadcaster, and somehow reduce the costs of the TV receiver, which was in much greater volume, and sensitive to just pennies of cost. Thirdly, in the days of analogue video the "product" (ie the broadcast signal) was easily degraded by the many stages it has to pass from camera (or film scanner, or video tape) to home receiver.Digital signals are considered more robust in general, but ultimately fail miserably if degraded enough.

[@StuartJ]

The camera has more features than I would have expected for the early 60s. Clearly built to last, and be in service a long time. Must have cost a fortune.

[@SyntheticFuture]

A lot of forward thinking as well. Expansion options with connectors, easy to service, swappable lenses. It makes sense they kept using these as long as they did.

[@PlaywithJunk]

I worked for Swiss TV in the 1980s and I remember that camera tubes were stored in special containers with cardanic mechanisms that held the tube with it's image face down all the time, no matter how you put the box. They must have been very sensitive (and expensive)

[@pstonard]

Slight correction. When transported the tubes were *FACE UP*. This was to prevent any loose particles from falling onto the inside of the target. Particles would cause permanent blemishes in the picture. At the factory tubes were made in batches and tested for electrical performance and image quality. Tubes without blemishes were graded for broadcast or medical service, lesser performing tubes were sold for much less money to industrial and security camera roles, and the worst of the lot were designated for "Amateur" or hobby use. The tube shown here operates on the photo-emission principle. The faceplate emits electrons proportional to incident light. These are drawn to the internal target and scanned by an electron beam, and deflected electrons (that are proportional to scene illumination) are captured by the photomultiplier section and amplified to become the resulting image (aka Video) signal.This type of tube operated from high voltage (about 16ooV) and produces about 500mV of signal. The sucessor to this type (variously called a Vidicon, Plumbicon, SATicon, or later Newvicon) operates on photo-conduction, and the target is made light sensitive so that in brightness the resistance drops compared to dark portions of the image. A scanning electron beam restores the charge lost in light induced conductive area, and that recharging current carries the picture (video) signal. This type of tube operated from medium voltage (less than 1,000V) and produced a very weak signal output current measured in microamps. Photo-conductive types gave rise to smaller lighter and lower power portable cameras. Colour cameras typically use multiple tubes, for Red, Green, and Blue channels. Consumer grade cameras used a single tube and some clever optical filters at the faceplate, followed by equally clever electronic to "unpack" the signal, shuffle the color sensitive signal, and "repack" them for ultimate use in a television monitor (home receiver)

[@dougtaylor7724]

@@pstonardThanks for a clear explanation.

[@OliverWoodphotography]

Very interesting. I'd love to see the camera powered up and operating. I have an old 1960s vintage tube camera that was used for high-end CCTV and I still works well.

[@davidstewart3868]

What a beast of a camera.

[@4nna5]

what a gorgeous bit of machinery

[@user-xd9uw7ss6y]

Thank you Brian for bringing back happy(?) memories of keeping the two I had from you working. I still can't believe how my 1800cc Vauxhall Victor FE made it home with two complete channels & cables (& wife). I wonder if you inherited a tube with an image burnt on? It would be a negative of a marquee at the Dagenham Town Show when, despite my insistence, someone forgot to cap the lens/tube at the end of the first day. I should have checked, of course. Jon Rome

[@Lighting_Desk]

I've always wondered what the workings of these cameras were like. Fascinating.

[@TheHorsebox2]

A friend of mine has one of these vans, here in Ireland. It was imported here from the UK some years ago. It still bears the original green paint beneath the grey it now wears. No equipment inside, of course, but it still has the original wall sockets and other minor fittings from its days with the BBC. No plans at present to restore, but the guy knows what he's got, so, hopefully it's future is safe.

[@bsomers8664]

HI would be interested to know more details about this "van" Nice to know what has survived and what becomes of it? Email me priavtly if you like? regards Brian

[@dougtaylor7724]

What a well thought out camera. Items of this era were actually monuments of achievement. I love to see older electronics that brought us to what we are today. One of my favorite music videos is Dave Edmunds Girl Talk in which they used a very old camera and related components. To keep these running smoothly once required floor personnel that was the overseer and repairman. I’ve heard stories of people coming in at the wee hours of the morning to turn the cameras on to preheat them and get it running for the morning show. The Pye is a handsome piece of workmanship.

[@RodgerMudd]

Well made camera. the parts so nicely laid out under the chasse. It was made to be repaired with ease.

[@FranklyPeetoons]

KZbin suggested this video to me. I watched it and enjoyed it. Well done.

[@stephengorin3059]

A great insite into television studios and the workings from behind the lens.

[@robertpardy1359]

Wonderful work! Thank you for showing this.

[@mainjune]

Very nice explanation of old camera technology. Thanks for kind words on history of camera. Next time I want to see actual operation footage this camera.

[@PATSYQB]

Thank you so much for sharing, an amazing insight. Without generous enthusiasts like yourself much of this history would simply be lost. By the way, did anyone else think he was gonna drop that tube when he was waving it about?

[@neilmossey]

Fantastic. Really great explanation thanks

[@gramule]

Fancinating and interesting. Many thanks for posting this.

[@jonrome2839]

Interesting to see the Buzby sticker on the front that it gained when I had it & its brother at Barking Radio & Electronics Society in the mid 1970s to 1980s. It performed at several Dahanham Town Shows.

[@cromulence]

Very happy this popped up in my KZbin feed. Absolutely fascinating and a great presentation! What a beautifully built piece of hardware.

[@canuhonk7433]

I would love to watch the production of one of those tubes. Thanks for the interesting video.

[@johnrhodez6829]

The English Electric VAlv Co in CHELMSFORD made the tubes. It was fascinating to see them in a lath having the face plates being removed so the bit is microscopic dust, identified during a camera test could be removed. They then had the faceplate replaced, gas jets glass rod welding, re evacuated and sent for further testing.

[@bobkids009]

It was indeed built like a mini tank......! but it was the best and latest available equipment in those days.....thanks for sharing....!

[@video99couk]

Am I right in thinking that these turret lenses were because each has a fixed magnification and they can't zoom? Or do they all have a small zoom range? All this makes my DVW 790WSP Digital Betacam camcorder look like something from another planet, even though that too is totally obsolete.

[@bsomers8664]

That's right each lens offered a fixed angle of view. if the programme required a zoom lens, one could be booked from stores ( BBC outside Broadcasts), but it did mean the other lens positions on the turret could not be used due to the weight and mounting arrangements of the larger zoom lens..

[@TheRealHarrypm]

Hello from the decode projects! It would be amazing to preserve some RAW baseband signals off that camara to preserve and decode in the digital file domain.

[@peterking2794]

Wonderful! an amazing camera and a very interesting video. Clear, concise and informative. I assume the power socket on the side was a standard 5 amp type? Cheers!

[@ericrawson2909]

Very interesting. I would love to see videos of the restoration of this, along with detailed review of the schematics. I love old tech like this.

[@richardmattocks]

What a beautiful piece of kit, so glad it survived and is back where it started on MCR21. They really knew how to engineer for heavy duty use in the old days. Just have to also comment on the sensationally smooth spin on the camera mount.

[@AnthonyFrancisJones]

Excellent in all ways!

[@jourwalis-8875]

Would have been very nice if we also could have seen some pictures from it!

[@stupossibleify]

Immediate impression is how can so much be achieved by so few components?

[@JJVernig]

There is almost a whole rack with additional electronics per camera to get everything working. They wanted to keep the camera itself "light weight" and "small"...

[@gunsofsteele]

I miss the days when tech was built correctly and to last. Simple things like Dim or Bright, night or day, are automatic now, but wait till the next software update. 🤣🤣🤣 Thanks for sharing! Great stuff!

[@briansaiditsoitmustbetrue4206]

Superb camera .. Do you have an EMI-2001 in your collection ?

[@bsomers8664]

Sorry for the long delay in the reply, too much to do! Yes there is an EMI2001 in the collection. It is complete but has not been powered for very long time.

[@briansaiditsoitmustbetrue4206]

@@bsomers8664 The much loved EMI-2001 camera was the staple diet of TV studio cameras in the late 1960s and all through the 1970s and ever the 1980s... Used to record the BBC TV show Eastenders from 1985 to 1991.

[@Paul_Wetor]

Maybe somebody can answer my slightly-related question. I was watching _A Hard Day's Night_ on Turner Classics when they showed the scene inside the TV studio control room. There were B&W TV monitors, and each picture tube corner had a "wire" pointing to the center of the tube, so four in all. A knob held each wire in place. What were those wires for? I'm old enough to remember B&W television, but this really has me perplexed.

[@bsomers8664]

If i understand what you are asking, these "lines" were to set the edges of the picture size to be the correct aspect ratio of 4:3. The picture scan size was smaller that on a domestic TV so the edges could be seen.

[@GentilsGarage]

Love old Tv broadcast tech. I know that fro. the 70’s up to teh 80’ & 90’s BBC used Phillips Ob colour cameras. Was this because Philips bought PYE?

[@bsomers8664]

Hello, the BBC, at that time a very large organisation, bought cameras from most British manufacturers, EMI, Link, Marconi, Sony, Ikegami, as well as Philips

[@briansaiditsoitmustbetrue4206]

And they also used EMI-2001 cameras

[@mollyfilms]

Back in the late 80s and 90s I used Ikegami, Sony,Ampex and Philips when in various BBC studios. If memory serves I think I remember a Hitachi being used in News gathering.

[@briansaiditsoitmustbetrue4206]

@@mollyfilms The BBC used EMI-2001 cameras in one studio up until July 1991.

[@philipread7741]

I thought they used Link cameras. Not sure if they were Plumbicon tube type cameras.

[@jourwalis-8875]

The zoom lens began to be used already in the mid to later 60s (1965 - 67)

[@jack_timber]

Fascinating. How much did these weigh, they look heavy and the cost of these?

[@bsomers8664]

HI John the camera weighs in at 77Kg, without lenses, a 4 man lift!. The cost was confidential, but would be a LOT.

[@jack_timber]

@@bsomers8664 TY

[@jonrome2839]

Hi Brian, We managed a two man lift, just, when BT (P.O. Television Service back then) had 4 Pye mk5s & I think we also managed it with the mk6s at my radio club but we were a LOT younger then.

[@greenpedal370]

Broadcasting equipment was fiendishly expensive mainly because there was no economy of scale. Back in the day there may have been a dozen or so manufacturers chasing relatively few broadcasters. The equipment was expected to be very reliable and rugged and to last at least a decade. There as very little replacement going on and growth depended entirely on new technology, techniques and additional networks being licensed.

[@jourwalis-8875]

Was the Orthicon also used by the german Fernseh?

[@jourwalis-8875]

What did the Orthicon tube cost?

[@bladder1010]

This is a very engaging and fascinating video. You seem very knowledgeable. Have you considered a career in television broadcasting? 😉

[@kipling1957]

Fascinating. So was it some kind of photoelectric effect in the tube?

[@UpcomingJedi]

Where is the crew of mcr21 now?

[@DesertVox]

This makes me appreciate my $4 ESP32 CAM that weighs a few grams and runs on arduino. In fact, I own a whole fleet of these cameras, and I can operate them on my own using free software and free instructions online.

[@jourwalis-8875]

There were also colour cameras in 1963.....

[@Davyfb75]

Of course it was well thought out just like the Transmitters on which I had a part in. Very chuffed when channel 4 at Sandy Heath was turned off for the last time the EIC said how reliable it was. All digital now might as well of worked in a ship yard all a coal mine we are all just part of history now.

[@basketballjones6782]

Interesting how they used the silver plated ceramic insulators for component mounting, such as what Tektronix pioneered. I wonder if they contracted to get those terminal blocks from Tektronix? If this thing was built anything like the Pye TVT UHF television transmitters, one must wonder how many people this camera killed due to shoddy safety design. Also, I hope it gave a much higher quality output than the transmitters did.

[@bsomers8664]

Life for a camera in OBs was very tough, but the Pye cameras were later deployed in a studio setting were they settled down and were reported to give excellent black & white pictures.

[@stupossibleify]

Does that fan have a brushless motor????!!!

[@philipread7741]

The fan has probably got a single phase induction motor, which is brushless. Either shaded pole or split phase with a capacitor.

[@jourwalis-8875]

So there is no tube in that camera he is demonstrating?

[@bsomers8664]

Correct, the tube has been removed for safe keeping until the camera is ready to operate..

[@Pedro8k]

Strange arrangement on the front of the camera why do the lens not in use look like they are on a slight angle

[@jonrome2839]

The mk5 had a verticle front. I had a couple of wonderful Evershed zoom lenses that went on the mk5 but not the mk6 sadly.

[@bsomers8664]

Yes they do slope away from each other. this is to reduce the likelihood of the lens hood appearing in the picture via an adjacent lens.

[@jackflashvintagemotoring7586]

Pye 1960s engineering built to last, we used Pye Westminster RTs well into the eighties, large heavy but virtually bomb proof, I still have one I converted to HAM use, 👍

[@Klutch58Customs]

When I worry about my missus snooping my watch history, it's this stuff I fear her seeing not the Taylor swift videos!

[@jourwalis-8875]

The camera was brand new when I was 12 years old.......

[@MePeterNicholls]

Why did British engineering never seem to use Phillips or posidrive etc screws. Always always flat heads.

[@philipread7741]

May have got Dzus type quarter turn fastenings.

[@philipread7741]

These cameras were made as bespoke items. Nice construction of the chasis

[@guimbadriver]

This MK6 more compact than the RCA TK 60 in my point of view

[@stigbengtsson7026]

1 orticon camera tube - that means b/v tv 🤔 ??

[@LarryRobinsonintothefog]

Interesting, presume generally apply to American TV cameras of the time.

[@asapfilms2519]

I like this camwera. Specwially frowm this periwod.

[@retrobilly1986]

Very rude. Pull your head in

[@asapfilms2519]

@@retrobilly1986 sorry my friend. I was just joking. Didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings. I apologise again.

[@gunsofsteele]

@asapfilms2519 That was funny! My mother was terribly British and would have laughed herself crazy. Funny how a simple joke can remind you of someone. It's great to be reminded of her. Thanks Mom for my humor.

[@AnselmoKipiaca-v5z]

Anselmo kipiaca

[@basspig]

Get rid of those Fracko capacitors. Those things are a ticking time bomb most of them are bad by this year 2024.

[@AtOddsAlways]

Amazing the size difference between the RCA TK-30A, which I operated in 1965-67, to the PYE although I recognize a difference of 3-inch vs. a 4.5-inch image orthicon was considerable. What I do see, however, is the greatly reduced amount of internal electronics, which I assume was due to the advent of transistor and solid state circuitry over vacuum tubes.