My Test Pattern Collection
(and more!!!)
I've been watching test patterns since at least 1957 (see WLW-I below). I've seen test patterns from Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Bloomington (IN), Baton Rouge and New Orleans (LA), and the Phoenix metro area. (Oh yeah, Tokyo, Japan, also.)
I've probably thought about collecting test patterns for a long time, but never had the type of camera that would effectively shoot good pictures from a TV screen....until 1981, and then I found out about shutter speeds, etc.
Fortunately, I did learn how to take pictures from a TV screen and tried again two years later. Alas, I only managed to get one test pattern.
A few years after that I videotaped the sign on of some stations in southern (or western) Japan. I got lots of color bars, and only one test pattern. Oh well.
Now that I've started this web site I have little to show except what I can find from various places. Therefore, if you remember any test patterns that have printed in the newspaper, or have photos of them, please scan them and send them to me. Me, and the other test pattern fanatics, will be very happy.
Thanks.
Station IDs
Test Patterns in Commercials
Academy Countdown Leaders
NOTE: There's an updated JOCX test pattern and station id at More New Pictures
Index
Click On Thumbs To See Larger Picture
(left to right) (left to right) (left to right) (left to right) (left to right) (Left to right) this is from Gerry Wilkinson at broadcastpioneers.com in Philadelphia. this is from KAET, a public tv station in Tempe (Phoenix) Arizona at Arizona State University. this is from an article on someone's web site (I forget where)
showing a test pattern transmitted by DuMont on a UHF channel.
W3XE, Philadelphia
WPTZ (ex-W3XE)
NBC
WABD, New York
(two off air)
WNBT, New York
WPTZ, Philadelphia
Nippon Television, Tokyo
Tokyo Broadcasting System
This one and the next one came out of a Japanese magazine in 1981: KBS, Kyoto and TNN, Niigata Prefecture
The original pictures were the size of an America 25 cent piece!
TV Asahi, Tokyo
Japan Broadcasting System
(NHK)
RETMA Chart.
KECA-TV, Los Angeles (now KABC-TV)
This is copied from the KTLA 40th Anniversary Program. They were showing old ID's
WLW-I, Indianapolis
Since I did not have an original photo I had to settle for :
an off air photo printed in a 1957 newspaper, photocopied from the library film and scanned onto the computer.
WZZZ---This one came out of that TV Video Handbook where I got the information on what test patterns are about. I do not know if this was an actual station.
WCAU-TV test pattern with time and the latest news. This is from 1948.
This test pattern is from the 60's pre-PBS. It's a standard Station Test Pattern with a different background.
