Narrow-bandwidth Television Association
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Denis Asseman

Dear friends,
I have been informed yesterday by Kate Yanczer about Denis death. It has been
a very sad new for me, as Denis and his wife Jacky where good friends, despite
we met only once. We had kept constant contact, sharing our common passion
for mechanical television. I am sure you guys feel the same as me, regarding
this tragedy.
Anyway, I wish you good luck for the coming NBTVA convention. Perhaps I will
have the pleasure to see some of you at the Espace Ferrie museum near Rennes
in France, http://www.espaceferrie.fr where the TV exhibition began up to
2009.
My regards,
Roger
http://la-radiovision.fr
Building a Televisor Video
Following on from the beginners video I am hoping to produce a video showing
a step by step guide to building a simple televisor using the standard PCB
available from the club shop. For those in the UK it will follow the Blue
Peter "Here's one I made earlier" format by showing video all stages
from construction of the platform to constructing the PCB's and testing. I
would appreciate anybody's help in this venture.
Chris Lewis
Beginners Video
I have just completed a short video for beginners to NBTV. It can be viewed
on Google Video by clicking here.
Please note is is highly compressed to fit into an easily downloadable format.
Getting a good stable image from the Televisor was achieved by adjusting the
shutter rate on the standard home DV camera. Contact me if you would like
a higher definition copy. Also please find a link here
to a Adam Hart-Davis History Channel video CO-staring our own Peter Smith.
Chris Lewis
NBTVA Handbook
I have been reading on the forum that the original handbook is becoming outdated.
I think we will discuss this further at the convention. Those of you that do
not know, the original idea was that the handbook would be a central hard copy
for constructors containing extra sections whilst the WEB based one acts as
an appetizer for new members. I am impressed with Andrew Davie's Wikipedia type
format and, perhaps this is the way to go. What we have to watch however is
that publishing everything on the WEB there would be no advantage of becoming
a club member. If anybody has ideas please pass them on to me.
Chris Lewis
IEE Lectures
Here are details of two lectures in Chelmsford, Essex that
may be of interest to NBTV club members.
http://local.iee.org/essex/ under the more events link
Date: Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Title: The History of Television
Speaker: by Dr Geoff Towler (Broadcasting Consultant)
Venue: Telford Lecture Theatre, BAE SYSTEMS, Great Baddow, CM2 8HN
Synopsis: Was there television in the nineteenth century? Did John Logie Baird
really invent television? What role did other inventors play? Was the United
Kingdom the first country to have television? What role did other nations
play in the development of television? These are some of the questions that
the speaker will endeavour to answer in his talk. Spanning the entire 20th
Century from the mechanical age, through the analogue electronic age, to the
digital age of the 21st century.
Time: 6.00 for 6.30 pm
Second one:
Chelmsford Engineering Society
http://ces.50webs.com/ under talks and visits
Wed April 9th The Future of TV Broadcasting CES
Peter Weitzel, Siemens Systems Ltd
7.30pm Telford Lecture Theatre
For both the above may be worth checking the web site nearer
the time for any alterations.
NBTVA Convention 2008: April 19th
Click here for details.
Memorial service

I have just viewed the tribute to Douglas Pitt on the NBTVA website and found it
very touching. I feel that I know him a bit better, and I liked the shot of him
asleep with a cat on top of him!
Iain tells me that he made it down to Derby last Saturday despite being held up
by a missed connection. The occasion was a sad one but it did give him a chance
to meet with the NBTVA members.
There is a new TV History book coming out later this year under the title "Images
Across Space". It is by Dr.Douglas Brown who is Director of the Strathclyde
Science and Technology Forum in Glasgow. It covers the early work of my father
in the context of the other TV pioneers and it also focuses on the company Baird
Television Ltd.(1930-39) and the later impact of BTL and its staff --- in
electronic as well as mechanical technology. It is based mainly on Douglas's
research for his Masters and Doctoral degrees at Strathclyde and it contains a
lot of material that has not hitherto been published. Iain and I will soon be
putting a news item about it on the website www.bairdtelevision.com.
Sincerely, Malcolm Baird
Thanks to all that attended the service . A tribute to Doug can be seen by clicking
here.
The latest from Dave Gentle and Jeremy Jago
The very best wishes to you for 2008. The NBTVA Annual Convention
is being planned at the moment. It will take place, as in previous years,
at Loughborough University, on a Saturday during late April this year. The
precise date will be announced in the next newsletter, and on the club website
www.nbtv.org or phone Jeremy on 0115 9621 453.
Contributions to our newsletter are welcome as always - they don't necessarily
have to be full-length articles. Shorter items - reports, hints, ideas, queries
etc are just as keenly appreciated by readers.
Send contributions (written
matter or pictures) to
Jeremy Jago at jeremy@nbtv.org or by post to him at
1 Lucknow Avenue, Nottingham NG3 5AZ.
Club membership fees are due this month and a renewal form is enclosed. The
annual sub is unchanged at £5 for UK members.
You may pay via our website
using PayPal if you wish. To do this, log on to www.nbtv.org and on the Home
Page click on 'Membership'. Then follow the on-screen instructions for Pay
Pal. To cover incidental costs an extra 50p is needed, making the sub £5.50.
Don't forget, if renewing this way, to include your postal address as well, i.e.
complete the on-line membership form fully.
Best regards,
Jeremy Jago
Dave Gentle
Tribute from Malcolm Baird
Although I never had the privilege of meeting Douglas Pitt face to
face, we corresponded quite frequently . His airletters would arrive
neatly written and courteously worded, but also showing an acuity and
thoroughness in dealing with NBTVA affairs. It is obvious that
Douglas was one of the most dedicated contributors to the NBTVA since
its formation. The technical history of television is being
overshadowed in the public mind by the history of television
programmes, but Douglas was one of the stalwarts who could still
speak the language of mechanical scanning, He will be sadly missed by
serious students of television history.
Malcolm Baird.
Club Membership Subscriptions 2008

Joining the NBTVA couldn't be easier, just
fill in the
on-line application and either send cheque in sterling or pay safely
through paypal. No more expensive bank charges. Any problems or constructive
criticism about the system please contact me at chris@nbtv.org and we will
resolve as soon as possible. Please note due to the way PayPal is set up for
club subscriptions if you wish to leave the club after a year you must cancel
your subscription otherwise this will be deducted annually from your paypal
account.
Members paying by PayPal please advise any
change of address as we assume the one supplied with the initial paypal payment
is still valid.
Click
here for details.
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