Hedghog L Standards Converter

[Mike Watterson]

All UK colour sets from 1967 to 1969 were 625/405. They didn't do colour on 405 though it would be entirely possible to modify one.

I never saw a colour set before 1970.

Divis became the UHF main station for Belfast and the surrounding area with BBC2 being the first regular service commencing on 18 March 1967. Colour UHF transmitters for BBC1 and ITV came into operation in September 1970.

—Wikipedia
Wikipedia also claims BBC 2 Northern Ireland started 11 June 1966.

We had a mono dual 405-625 TV with a continuous vertical radio-style scale for UHF, maybe since 1962 or 1963. Before that we had my grandparents' old 405 set, the second such passed on. One had doors. Every day after school I'd check if anything was on UHF. Then there were the "trade transmissions" before regular BBC2 started. Unfortunately I can't remember when that was but indeed maybe that was before June 1966.

We watched the first moon landing on it. 20 July 1969.
I guess BBC2 was in England in Mono from 1964 and then colour from 1967. I suspect hardly anyone where I lived in NI got colour till BBC1 & UTV were added. Most colour sets were rented then, as was ours in 1970.
Then from the mid 1970s I worked in the BBC. The transmitters by then did have HW for a 4th Channel. The Politicians claimed it was technically impossible to transmit RTE in NI. They meant politcally and shortly after that claim it happened by accident. RTE had added a new TX at Longford (they'd used 405 in areas where people bought TVs for BBC and 625 everywhere else, launch 31st December 1961, which is why it's PAL-i, because Ireland used the UK audio subcarrier spacing before BBC2). One night BBC closed and RTE had a late film. After feed from BH was cut for the night the Divis system would see if Scotland (Kirk O'Shots?) was live and rebroadcast it before shutting down, but it picked Longford RTE on that channel. The complaints jammed BBC switchboard and congratulations the RTE Belfast one up the road, Fanum House that had AA, near Shaftesbury Sq.

Another time the BBC NI schools was interrupted with RTE test card by accident.

They always blocked Network wide Welsh in NI back then. Can't be appeasing Irish speakers (despite Britain supporting Irish in primary schools before 1922). One day my boss swore and pulled the switch to switch from GB to testcard. I reached over and put it back.
"What do you think you are doing! We have to block the Welsh!"
"But not the Eisteddfod! Check the NI Radio Times."
He looked at it. "Thanks."

Then C4 did start in November 1982 and I left NI in Feb 1983, I probably got the best bits? We were in the MidWest, so no more UK TV till C5 on analogue satellite and then Digital satellite later with S4C only as FTA, so we lost C5 for a while when analogue ended.

A friend of mine moved from BBC Transmitters to RTE Transmitters in 1985, so he got to help turn off 405 in England and Ireland, though this part of Ireland never had 405 and only ended Band I RTE 625 in 1999. The remaining band III RTE1 & RTE2 ended with ASO 24 October 2012 (Even SD is H264 and HD doesn't use DVB-T2). In parts of the Midwest from 1996 when Teilifís na Gaeilge started on UHF, you needed a Band I, Band III and Band V aerial.
Proper 625 sets for the Irish market always had VHF & UHF tuners to suit broadcast and analogue cable.
Limerick City was fringe reception for Band I and Band III till the UHF only Woodcock hill transmitter was added in I think about 1989, but I was abroad 1989-1990. Lots of Limerick City houses still have defunct Log periodics, Band I and Band III aerials. TV3 was the the 4th channel but was meant to be 3rd, so Teilifís na Gaeilge was rebranded TG4.
The Irish channels are all on Sky, for NI or Irish subscription, but occasional programs are blanked on NI viewing cards (but some may have Irish cards). Unusually all the RTE with TG4 are also FTA on 9E Ka band, narrow spot beam. The spots on KA-Sat reuse frequencies so only bits of GB coast can get the Irish channels. Or if you have an Irish viewing sub from Sky, they all work in London.