[BC] unreliable old equipment query

[Milton Holladay]

Since I've never worked in television, I can only speak as a viewer.
Starting in the early 50s, I can recall a few times when there was a 
total off-air resulting in snow and white noise,  and a few projector 
jam-ups which usually got fixed in a matter of minutes.
But the worst was the infamous program loss and the slide which said 
CABLE TROUBLE.  Sometimes there would still be audio but no picture. 
These cable trouble incidents would usually last for quite some time, 
often the better part of an hour, while the techs at AT&T or whatever 
their carrier was, got network video restored.   Much rarer were the 
times when only the audio failed.
How often the cable trouble slide was used when there was actually some 
local  studio problem; I obviously can't say...........
M

P. S.: WCOS-TV was the first TV station to get on the air in SC, in 
1953. It only lasted ~three years; one of the main contributing factors 
to its demise was that it cost  $ 1500 every month in 1953/4/5/6 dollars 
to get the network from AT&T downtown to the station. (IIRC, $1500 would 
buy a medium priced car back then.)  Another form of cable trouble, you 
could say.

On 12/27/2011 13:55: VIRUS ALERT!, Donna Halper wrote:
> I am posting this message to several lists, in hopes of getting some
> information.  My Canadian friend Art, who is writing a book with a
> backdrop in late 1940s or early 1950s broadcasting, asked this of me,
> and since technology is not my strong suit, I thought I'd ask you nice
> folks.  I'll pass along your replies to him.  He was reading some old
> articles about technical failures in TV equipment:  "Everyone who was
> working in TV at the time recalls how temperamental and unreliable the
> electronics were, but exactly how temperamental and unreliable is not
> spelled out.  So I am trying to find comprehensive and detailed
> information about the extent of it:  what were the most common component
> failures that would lead to loss of service (not necessarily loss of the
> signal altogether, which was quite rare.)  Essentially anything that led
> to the "We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties" slide appearing fits
> the definition, with the exception of component failure from external
> causes:  a burst water main that shorted out the electronics, or a
> lightning bolt that fried the transmitter don't count.  What were the
> most common components to fail, how long on average would it take to fix
> them, and what percentage of the broadcast hours would the average
> station expect to lose over the course of a month?"  Any guidance you
> can offer will be appreciated!
>