Broadcast Clocks

According to Wikipedia (yes, I know), BBC Midlands had a COW-era clock generator, the only English Region to have one. I wonder if that ever made it on air or if it was just there as for the Disaster Recovery scenario?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Originated_World

Which ITV companies never had an electronic continuity clock ?

I'll open the batting with Thames?

Not quite the same thing, but BBC South routinely provided regional annos over network clock during the COW era.

Yes, I think you're right, I certainly remember BBC South showing an electronic clock during that era

Yes, there's a clip on TV Ark from 1990 with the mechanical clock superimposed over a 1989 generic background, which seems bizarre. You'd think Thames, being the "flagship" ITV region would have upgraded to an electronic clock quite early, not still be using a real one into the 90s!

Was it always a physical clock? I can understand it being one at the start as apparently it was a late decision to have one - as Breakfast Time had one they had to too. But surely by the late 80s they had a different solution?

I'm not convinced it was physical. Many examples on YouTube from the footage where if the hands are in the right place you can see the so-called "jagger" where the lines that make up the clock aren't straight. Surely if it was physical you wouldn't see that effect?

The Breakfast Time clock probably suffered the same, but the colours played down the "jagger" to an extent?

Or that could be an artefact of the rudimentary DVE shrink effect of the day?

One thing to look at is was it always in the same position every day, or was it slightly adrift from one day to the next? If the former, then it's very unlikely it was a physical clock.

Very probably it was equipped with a clock simply because of its role in maintaining network presentation should the centre be evacuated (I don’t recall the phrase Disaster Recovery really coming into being until y2k).

Incidentally, I believe the COW era clock was known as GNAT - Generator of Network Analogue Time.

And here is GNAT

It was seen on @BBCOne for the first time, 35 years ago this week. Here’s some announcer geek with the surviving computer originated world and clock... and they both still work! pic.twitter.com/a72IF8FkaI

— Duncan Newmarch (@DuncanNewmarch) February 20, 2020

I remember being on holiday in the Lake District in 1990 (I think) and thinking that Border’s clock was something from the Sixties. Never twigged that back home, things weren’t that much different on Thames!