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Remember that B&W WCBS TV Test Pattern?

J

Jockeyboy35

Does anyone remember staying up watching the "Late Show" Movie's on WCBS TV Ch 2; and then the station signed off
at 5AM during the the 1960's and 70's? I can remember seeing that b&w WCBS TV Test Pattern on Ch 2 sometimes sounding like
the F music key. So during the 1960's and 70's this Test Pattern was sometimes accompanied by a 341.3Hz. :)
 
I remember the program that came on immediately after the test pattern on Saturday mornings...

"The Patchwork Family"!
 
The test pattern itself reminded me somewhat of an abstract of an LP record, held together by duct tape on all four sides (and what looked like a headphone on the left and right edges).

As for when the station first had a 23.5/7 (average) broadcast schedule and 24/7 transmission, that started around the late winter/early spring of 1963.
 
I remember seeing the test pattern, when I'd wake up as a kid and turn on the TV before my parents were up.

And, as mentioned above, it filled the gap between the last movie of the night and the first show of the morning... Often "Sunrise Semester" which I suppose was a CBS program offering college credit. Since nobody realized in those days that anyone would watch TV that early, I suppose it was a public service. Now 6 different NYC TV stations have local news beginning at 5 A.M. on weekdays and 3 stations including WCBS-TV have news starting at 6 A.M. on weekends.

And I wonder why whoever was programming Channel 2 didn't take more care in timing the last movie so that it would end sometime around Sunrise Semester. Why run a 90 minute movie at 4 A.M. when the first show of the morning started at 6 A.M.? Why not put in a 2 hour movie?

I think they needed 5 - 10 minutes for the national anthem, the FCC licensing details and a sermonette... although we know those things aren't seen anymore on most TV stations that now broadcast around the clock.

Sometimes the Test Pattern would run for more than 30 minutes, making me wonder why Channel 2 couldn't find an old My Little Margie or Life of Riley or something to squeeze in there.



Gregg
[email protected]
 
Gregg said:
I think they needed 5 - 10 minutes for the national anthem, the FCC licensing details and a sermonette... although we know those things aren't seen anymore on most TV stations that now broadcast around the clock.

Sometimes the Test Pattern would run for more than 30 minutes, making me wonder why Channel 2 couldn't find an old My Little Margie or Life of Riley or something to squeeze in there.
Click to expand...

There's always room for infomercials! :D
 
Gregg said:
I remember seeing the test pattern, when I'd wake up as a kid and turn on the TV before my parents were up.

And, as mentioned above, it filled the gap between the last movie of the night and the first show of the morning... Often "Sunrise Semester" which I suppose was a CBS program offering college credit. Since nobody realized in those days that anyone would watch TV that early, I suppose it was a public service. Now 6 different NYC TV stations have local news beginning at 5 A.M. on weekdays and 3 stations including WCBS-TV have news starting at 6 A.M. on weekends.

And I wonder why whoever was programming Channel 2 didn't take more care in timing the last movie so that it would end sometime around Sunrise Semester. Why run a 90 minute movie at 4 A.M. when the first show of the morning started at 6 A.M.? Why not put in a 2 hour movie?

I think they needed 5 - 10 minutes for the national anthem, the FCC licensing details and a sermonette... although we know those things aren't seen anymore on most TV stations that now broadcast around the clock.

Sometimes the Test Pattern would run for more than 30 minutes, making me wonder why Channel 2 couldn't find an old My Little Margie or Life of Riley or something to squeeze in there.

Do you ever remember the WCBS TV Test Pattern sounding like the F key?

Gregg
[email protected]
Click to expand...
 
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