With Robert Copeman It all began when living at my previous location. I was then living in my family home in Marrickville, four miles south west of Sydney NSW Australia. I had just recently installed a CX22 Super Crossfire Antenna, horizontally polarised, with a Channelmaster rotator. This was my first TV DX antenna, I was new into the hobby and it seemed that the DX world was my oyster!!
My first TV signal, noted from the Pye Television Factory, was received on 10/12/71 on channel 6, which displayed a blank Marconi Test Card. My antenna was aimed due east, which was exactly in the direction of the Pye Television Factory in Carrington Road, Marrickville NSW, just down the hill from my house. Unfortunately, no photos were taken of this particular transmission at the time.
Sample blank Marconi B/W test card (1971). These transmissions continued throughout the 1970's and signals were eventually received on channels 0, 6, 7, 8 & 10. The extra channels commenced after colour TV was introduced in Australia in 1975.
By the mid to late 1970's, the following patterns could be observed from the Pye Television Factory transmissions:
PYE 0. This channel displayed a blank PM5544 Test Card, except on one occasion when the channel displayed a PM5544 with "PYE" in the top bar and "LABORATORY" in the lower bar. This channel also displayed interchanging white horizontal & vertical lines on a dark background.
Pye channel 0 PM5544 test card (1976). PYE 6 This channel originally displayed a blank Marconi Test Card, before colour was introduced. By the mid 1970's, it displayed interchanging white horizontal & vertical lines on a dark background.
Pye channel 6 horizontal line pattern (1976).
Pye channel 6 vertical line pattern (1975). PYE 7 This channel displayed a blank PM5544 Test Card and only seen, when local ATN 7 Sydney NSW was off air.
Pye channel 7 PM5544 test card (1975). PYE 8 This channel displayed a white Grid Pattern on a dark background.
Pye channel 8 grid pattern (1975). PYE 10 This channel displayed a blank PM5544 Test Card and only seen, when local TEN 10 Sydney NSW was off air.
Pye channel 10 PM5544 test card (1975). The transmissions were all apparently closed circuit, but somehow the signals were escaping through the factory's receiving outdoor antennas and reaching my home up the hill. Amazingly enough, standing outside of the factory in Carrington Road, with a portable Ranger TR-505DU portable TV, no signals could be received, but up the hill on the same equipment, the signals would return.
By the 1980's, the transmissions ceased as the factory was eventually closed down. Since that time, I have not been fortunate enough to see anything like that again. The TV signals from the Pye Television Factory in Carrington Road, Marrickville NSW were unique and certainly added an extra fascination of the endless possibilities in the DX hobby.
