ABC Late Night Legends (Merged x7)

[johnh875]

Disaster! I got a set top box today, set it up, tuned it in, and - no bloody ABC! It has picked up all the other channels but not the normal ABC or ABC2. I looked up the Melb ABC digital transmission frequency (226.5MHz) and tried to do a manual tune but it still would not pick up the channel...

I'll have to get onto Dick Smith's & get it sorted out by the time the show is repeated!

[storyline]

Interesting - I had a similar thing with ABC2 - Q for you - is this a HD box you are outputting to an SD TV?

[PVDA]

Originally Posted by johnh875

Disaster! I got a set top box today, set it up, tuned it in, and - no bloody ABC! It has picked up all the other channels but not the normal ABC or ABC2.

I picked up a Soniq SD box and it tuned in fine. Mind you I installed it at a friends place as my Antenna is currently caput and I rely on Foxtel (Analog) for my TV Fix.

[johnh875]

Yes a SD box storyline, I feel a HD would be pointless at this stage without any other HD equipment to complement it, and by that time they should be integrated & all sorts of other improvements.

PVDA, I suspect it might be either a tuning issue (will read instructions fully!) or a reception issue, the signal strength and quality varies a bit but is generally on the lower side.

[marcus]

ive just gone through my EPG and there is no mention of it at all !!!!!!!

question ?
this is available on Austar right ?

I have ABC2 on there , dont watch it that much but all it says for tonight is "late Night Legends" and then station close.

I guess in about an hour I will find out.

[johnh875]

Late night legends is the show all right

[marcus]

Oh great.

thanks John , I hope you get yours sorted

[johnh875]

Oh well, at least I had my tv fix with Top Gear. Caravan conkers, does it get any better than that??? And people bag the Michael Stahl show!

[inpitlane]

It was great stuff! I have the Warwick Farm race on Video but the copy is crap so to see it a touch clearer was terrific. I wasn't expecting the Adelaide race which was the week after the Sandown round which was my first ever live Motorsport experience.
Looking forward to later in the week when the later F5000 races should be in Colour.
Interesting that I approached the ABC about 2 years back asking about old race footage and I was told it had all been destroyed, thrown out. Clearly if this stuff is there what else may lurk in the Aunty's bowells.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by johnh875

Oh well, at least I had my tv fix with Top Gear. Caravan conkers, does it get any better than that??? And people bag the Michael Stahl show!

Isnt the Michael Stahl show the exact same thing, albeit without the conkers??

The Stig = The Chip...

[mtpanorama]

The Chip........Warren Luff

[noodles]

Wasn't that a blast! Some great old footage that takes me back to toddler days.

I had to laugh when the special comments commentator (can't call him the colour man like they do in the US for obvious reasons) was telling us about Chris Amon and his car, "the red Ferrari". At the time, the camera was focussing on Graham Hill anyway.

On the same note, can anyone shed any light on that commentator. I believe his name was Bill Bryce, and something was mentioned about him being a BBC motoring correspondent? I recall my father having a friend with that name living in Melbourne around that period, possibly a few years later, but I don't remember any details of his profession.

[PVDA]

At least Top & 5th Gear do have such blatant advertorials disguised as stories as both Drive or the Car Show have.

[275 GTB-4]

Great TV (for the time)...I was 19 and leaning on the fence at that one....loved the digital TV faithfull reproduction of all the original video tape faults ....had trouble initially getting used to the lack of cameras...laps seemed like 30 seconds for a while and may well have been if it was put together after the event.

Bring on the Tourers....go Big Pete

[Head Rev]

What about the "graphics" when they showed the grid positions, you could even hear the scrolling noise as they scrolled the paper roll down showing the grid positions. Haven't we come a long way from literally hand drawn racing cars and hand writen names and times on a roll of paper to the graphics we have today. Great coverage and wasn't it great to see the F5000's at the new Adelaide International Raceway!! Interesting one of the commentators on the coverage (AIR) is Alan Marks who is still around and on occasions does some commentary at Mallala, especially when the historics are on.

Brilliant television, can't wait to see the tourers tonight.

[Matthew Ronke]

It was terrific racing as well. Amon and Hill put a show on. Although I was confused to which car Hulme was in the commentator kept switching his number between 8 & 1. Looking forward to tonight and the Touring Cars although I hope they shorten Lex intro by about 3 - 4 minutes tonight.

[racer69]

Masterclass from Jim Clark on how to win a motor race or what? Wasn't Jack having a go.

I was suprised (pleasantly) to see the F5000 race from AIR at the end, quite a cracker. Amazingly covered by just two camera's!

You can see why at the time Open-Wheelers were as popular as saloon cars.

Yes i agree lets hope they contain Lex at the start, better yet why have an intro at all, just go straight to the action.

[Robert Ryan]

You can see why at the time Open-Wheelers were as popular as saloon cars.
When the F5000's died and they went to the anemic Formula Pacific, that was beginning of the end for roadracing Openwheelers in this country.

[XW GT]

The commentators made Leigh Diffey look pretty good

[Head Rev]

Originally Posted by XW GT

The commentators made Leigh Diffey look pretty good

I think they did pretty good considering the primitive conditions they would have worked in. Also, no computers to give them lap times or gaps or other misc information, no communication with 'race control'!!!!, infact very little compared to what they have today.

Don't forget that Norman May was not a motorsport expert, but a general sports commentator for the ABC, he especially covered Rugby in those days (used to watch him commentate the Rugby from the old Cumberland Oval).

Again, brillant coverage from the Golden Years of motorsport. Perhaps an email to the ABC stating out appreciation wouldn't go astray.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by Head Rev

Again, brillant coverage from the Golden Years of motorsport. Perhaps an email to the ABC stating out appreciation wouldn't go astray.

Amen to that Rev....and watch the ABC shops/lobby the ABC shops to release a DVD of the Late Night Legends series

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by Matthew Ronke

It was terrific racing as well. Amon and Hill put a show on. Although I was confused to which car Hulme was in the commentator kept switching his number between 8 & 1. Looking forward to tonight and the Touring Cars although I hope they shorten Lex intro by about 3 - 4 minutes tonight.

Terrific is probably too tame a word Matt

...I could easily discriminate between the two lead Loti because....Clark (5?) was scrunched right down in the cockpit...whilst Hill (6?) was head and shoulders out of the cockpit with his very distinctive dark helmet with vertical stripes.

Piers Courage is the one who impressed me...1600 car monstoring the V8s

Bring on the Tourers

[storyline]

For those that watched the Warwick Farm Tourers (sorry - Improved Touring Cars - wouldn't that upset a few of todays IP drivers?) - comes Trivia Question No 1.

Which incident would have caused the red flag to be used if the race had been run today?

a) The Cortina heading off drivers left?
b) The Cortina and Mini collision?
c) The mini going off drivers right
d) Bob Holdens impact on pit entry
e) The pit crew who were wearing shorts and thongs (Bob Janes car)
f) All of the above

Ansers, written on the back of a stamped self addressed enveloped to be received by CAMS, Dandenong Road, Malvern by close of business Jan 6th, 2007!

[gts300]

Originally Posted by storyline

Which incident would have caused the red flag to be used if the race had been run today?

a) The Cortina heading off drivers left?
b) The Cortina and Mini collision?
c) The mini going off drivers right
d) Bob Holdens impact on pit entry
e) The pit crew who were wearing shorts and thongs (Bob Janes car)
f) All of the above

g) The valiant (charger?) at the causway minus 1 wheel
h) Flaggies working unprotected alongside the track

I'm sure there were many more examples, but didn't both nights telecasts highlight the difference 30 odd years has made to everything;

• depth of the field, there were really only 3 or 4 cars at the pointy end
• quality of the broadcast, Norman May (gold, gold, gold! was only 8 years later) and the rest of the commentry was patchy by todays standards, AIR Tasman was covered with 1 camera.
• safety standards, particularly for trackside officials

Anyway, ABC get my vote for putting this weeks archive to air, its been a real buzz so far.

[storyline]

Regardless of the shortcomings, they were excellent.

Re the Charger - not sure but it didn't look like a wheel off the Charger when it ran downhill - it was more like one of the tyres from the barrier.

And yes - the flaggies wouldn't last a minute by todays standards - but isn't this partly what has improved in motor racing? (and don;t forget - we are looking at this with the benfit of 35 years hindsight!)