# Television tales



## Corky (Feb 25, 2008)

Always did dread getting the call that th "crowds" TV needed looking at.
One time the resident "expert" A.B. had serviced the telly, and then called me when it did not work. After quizzing him what he had done, he admitted to removing all the valves, and giving a good polish with an old rag...
He told me he was sure he had put all of the valves in the right place! Had to remove the set to compare with the Officers set (no diagrams) - sure enough they were all mixed up. Got them all back, and surprisingly the set did actually work - all except for the sound. Further investigations showed one of the pins snapped off one of the AF output valves. So... because we had no spares, had to alternate the good valve (from the Officers set) with the crew set every couple of days, so that everyone could watch the Walport videos!
Went for months like that, we could get the spare valve. At least I got a couple of beers every time I swapped the valve around.

Anothe R/O told me that he was called to fix the Crew telly, to find a Ketchup bottle sticking out of the screen!


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## sparkie2182 (May 12, 2007)

maybe it was just a saucy film


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Or maybe not saucy enough


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Had they been watching "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" - voted the worst film ever made.

I refused to touch the VCRs when I found a tin of WD40 standing beside them.

John T.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

Our Manchester depot staff were called to a ship in the Canal with a rented TV which "required servicing under the terms of the Agreement", according to the ship's agent. When the technician arrived, he found a fire axe embedded in the TV, almost splitting the thing in two. Obviously someone trying to get to sleep had finally stopped asking politely if the guys would please keep the noise down!


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## BobClay (Dec 14, 2007)

Maybe they'd been watching "Chopper Chicks from Zombie Town".


Believe it or not, that is actuall a film title.

(EEK)


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## M29 (Apr 20, 2007)

I was called down into the Indian crews rec room to a none working TV.
It had no picture, no sound, in fact completely dead. Before proceeding any further, tested the mains socket and found no a.c. so over to our electrician.
When he arrived, he also tested the socket (can't believe anything these R/O's say!!). Not a flicker on the old Avo, so, undo screws and drop the plate of the bulkhead. The removal was accompanied by a cascade of roaches out of the partition, the socket was not attached to any wires, these had been eaten for several inches back from the socket!!


When on "Coventry City" we had hire TV's for our trips around the Great Lakes. One day the mate asks me to look at the crew tv, which appeared to be faulty after a disagreement about the evenings viewing.
The crew TV was on a special shelf about 5 foot above the deck, so as to give everyone a clear view. The "disagreement" had resulted in the tv being pulled off the shelf and falling on the deck. The bosun told me it now didn't work and it "rattled" a bit when they picked it up!!
The "body" was delivered to the radio room for what I assumed would be its "post mortem"
All the valves had jumped out of their sockets and the CRT had been driven into the back of the case, coming out of its steel retaining band that those canadian tv's with a plastic cases all had. Re-fitted the tube and the valves. More in hope than any sort of conviction, retired a safe distance and switched on at the mains, amazingly, got a good picture right away. The sound amp was US but the Bosun extracted some cash from the guilty parties and sent the junior deck hand up the road for a new valve. 
I was certainly impressed how tough that tv was, even the case was not cracked.

Alan


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

TV's What are those. What happened to the projector and a box of Doris Day movies? The only TV I ever had on a ship was on Opalia when we docked in Tranmere, to watch Churchill's funeral! Left before the advent of TV's and all that modern stuff!

Hawkey01.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

hawkey01 said:


> TV's What are those. Hawkey01.


During the 1960s/70s Marconi's (and others) had huge operation renting out TVs to coasting ships. As soon as a ship came in from deep sea, they were on the phone asking for their TV to be delivered and fitted in the crew room etc. When the ships were coasting, they could still receive a picture between ports, but course alterations always resulted in howls of despair from the viewers and someone had to be despatched above deck to realign the TV antenna. 

I know that the TV rental was a massive operation but I can't believe that it was ever profitable because the level of callouts (free) and repairs required to what were only domestic TV receivers, was horrendous. Eventually the shipowners began to provide their own TV sets and VHS video players and the rental business was replaced by the sale of multi-standard TV receivers and video players.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

hawkey01 said:


> TV's What are those. What happened to the projector and a box of Doris Day movies? The only TV I ever had on a ship was on Opalia when we docked in Tranmere, to watch Churchill's funeral! Left before the advent of TV's and all that modern stuff!
> 
> Hawkey01.


Neville, while you were in Tranmere, I was watching the same sad program through a shop window in Bridlington!

John T.


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## hawkey01 (Mar 15, 2006)

Ah Brid, such great memories John. Even before the advent of TV's in pubs. Plenty of darts and the old piano. Oh! how I hated Saturday night sing songs in the pubs. Just had to take more ale - I reckon that is why I really hate Karaoke 

Neville - Hawkey01


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## AncientBrit (Oct 6, 2007)

Strange isnt it, how TV's and what we watch on them have become the modern day milestones of our lives?
Mention above of Churchills funeral....Brest Navy Base, HMS Ark Royal.
JFK assassination..... Just coming out of Subway station London. People gathered round TV in shop window.
Man landing on the moon.......Sex, Maidstone Kent.
Final episode of DallasLOL......Sex, Sacramento California.
Alas! Only the programs were memorable.(Jester) 
Mention any momentous event and people can instantly remember where they were and what they were doing when they saw it on TV.
AB


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## de paor (Apr 14, 2008)

trotterdotpom said:


> Neville, while you were in Tranmere, I was watching the same sad program through a shop window in Bridlington!
> 
> John T.


I was in drydock on the tyne doing the same thing


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