AWTV Magazine – Retro Tech, TV Repair, Photography & Cultural History

  A lot has been said about the schools where Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison attended. John Lennon went to Quarry Bank, which gave the name to his first band, The Quarrymen. Paul and George attended the Liverpool Institute. But which school did Ringo go to? Ringo Starr Attended Here 1950s Dingle Vale While the schools where the other Beatles attended have been knocked down or changed beyond recognition, Ringo's former school Dingle Vale is still very much as it was when Ringo was there in the 1950's as we can see in the above drone photo which you can click on to enlarge. The original building took on a rectangular shape with a corridor through the centre which formed two square courtyards. When Ringo attended, the building was split into two halves, D section was to the left of the chimney at the centre which was for the girls, and V section to the right for the boys. The school itself is named after the road it is on, the school being on one side and ...

  The Liverpool - Leeds Canal is over 200 years old and covers a distance of 127 miles. Originally, it served as a vital transport route for industry, but now serves a different purpose providing a place for walkers, joggers, cyclists, canoeists, nature watchers and... barges - well it is a canal after all! The area surrounding the Liverpool end of the canal has undergone many changes over the past few decades so I sent the drone up to get an aerial view of how it all looks, especially now it has a new neighbour with Everton Football Club building their stadium at Bramley Moore Dock. Eldonian Village Branch Boundary Street Boundary Street, Liverpool. It begins from Kirkdale Road (continues into Scotland Road) Everton's new stadium is at the other end Boundary Street is so called because it was the boundary separating Kirkdale and Liverpool which were originally separate towns. Eldonian Village near Boundary Street Where Did The Canal  End? Where The Old Route Ends The Bridge P...

 Liverpool’s history is a story that reaches far beyond the city itself. From the rise of the Beatles and the Merseybeat era to iconic TV moments, historic streets, transport routes and maritime heritage, this section explores the people, places and cultural milestones that shaped one of the world’s most influential cities. Whether you’re discovering Liverpool for the first time or revisiting familiar memories, these stories bring the city’s past to life. The 'Peters' painting 1682 Liverpool Maritime Museum What You’ll Find in This Section Beatles stories — clips, photos and cultural moments that defined the band’s connection to Liverpool. Landmarks & streets — iconic locations, buildings, and the evolution of Liverpool’s urban landscape. Culture & people — Scouse identity, local legends, and everyday life across the decades.

  Early 80s – Started working for Colorvision on Smithdown Road (Remember them?) There were three television shops near the corner of Nicander Road –  Colorvision, Kolortron and Crazy Eddy’s (no-one by the name of Eddy there, but a few crazies.) It looked like they were in competition with each other, but all owned by Colorvision. 1984 – Went freelance, looking after service for some Colorvision franchises as well as building my own customer base repairing televisions and Video Recorders. 1984 – Formed Carefree TV along with another exe employee of Colorvision. This was mainly a slot TV rental business. 1986 – Moved into premises in Eaton Road , West Derby, adding TV sales to the business. 1987 – Carefree TV moves to County Road, Walton (opposite Walton church) benefiting from a busy shopping area. 1994 – Started Anfield and Walton TV  to re-establish my own customers and concentrate on the local area. (It was also helpful having a name beginning with “A” as this g...

 Portable consumer video cameras had been around since the early 1980s. These had to be paired with portable video recorders that were carried over the shoulder. A thick lead would tether the video and audio from the camera to the recorder, which would have had a full size VHS cassette, mostly made by JVC or Ferguson. The sensor in the camera was a vidicron tube, a bit like a CRT in reverse. Effectively, it was a 'picture valve', just like the CRT was a valve. Camcorders This arrangement was cumbersome and inconvenient. The answer was to combine the camera with the recorder which had already been achieved on a professional level with Sony's Betacam and the like in the late seventies. There was actually industrial action that took the ITV network off air for many weeks in 1979 because of these 'electronic news gathering' cameras. Unions were worried that the transition from 16mm film to the new electronic format would cost jobs. That's another story and we digres...

 Retro Tech explores the technology, gadgets, broadcast equipment and cultural moments that shaped the past. From vintage cameras and VHS to classic TV production and early computers, this section dives into the tech that defined generations. Why This Section Exists With decades of hands‑on experience in electronics and media technology, I break down how older tech worked, why it mattered, and how it shaped today’s digital world. TV Repair Section  Home

  Have you moved into a new place and found that the aerial doesn’t work, or has no aerial at all? Or your TV suddenly says ” No signal received, check your aerial” – almost certainly due to your aerial blown down or the coax downlead has snapped or has water inside. Coax outer sleeve stripped away Make Your Own TV Aerial Grab yourself a length of coax, between 1-2 m long, and put a coax plug on one end. You should be able to use the one that is already in the TV if you already had an aerial. If not, have a look and see if there’s a coax fly lead lying around. Usually they have a male plug on one end and female the other. Keep the male plug, it will connect to the TV. You can cut the plug on the other end off. You should have a length of coax with a plug on one end, we’ll call this A, and nothing on the other, (B). Cut back about 6″ of sleeve off end B, exposing the outer braid. Some poor quality coax may only have a few strands of braid. However you do this, be careful with those...