Did the BBC 2 Test Card ever have the 1986 "TWO" ident?

I remember being fascinated by Test Card F around 1989 when I was 9 years old, I didn't really understand what it was for at that age, but the famous picture used to interest me. I can always remember how the BBC 1 version had the familiar BBC 1 logo from the 1985 globe, but the BBC 2 version still had BBC 2 in the old pre-1986 style. I read quite a while ago (I can't remember what the website was) that the test card possibly had the TWO ident for a short time after the change. Can anyone remember if it was true, it always seemed a bit odd that the old BBC 2 ident should still be used after the change to TWO.

I can't remember. Mid 80s was about the time the BBC electronically generated the card. Up until then it was an optical 35mm slide with 'BBC 2 Colour' and the test card as seen on BBC 1 was the same slide with a simple electronic BBC 1 caption masking out the BBC 2 ident. There's lots of real, fake, and not that obviously fake versions on Google and You Tube from the last 53 years. The arm of the BBC branding police never really reached the test card.

I know what you mean about BBC branding not really reaching the test card, as I have seen from photos and early 80s TV Ark videos the BBC 2 test card still had the ancient B/B/C/ 2 COLOUR ident from 1967 all the way to when the electronic version was created.

I remember talking on here a few years ago about BBC branding and how it wasn't taken as seriously at one time, like with the different sizes of copyright dates. I also remember some BBC programmes, especially schools programmes, that displayed the copyright date in the same font as the credits, without the BBC squares logo

The stripey BBC1 and BBC2 logos persisted on the test card long after the COW and TWO replaced them.

That said, it's not so many years prior to this that BBC1 had Futura on the globe and the stripey logo on slides in the same junction - corporate branding police weren't such a big thing

Well, now, the test card's legacy (on BBC and ITV, and sort of C4 too) was that it wasn't part of actual licenced broadcast hours, but rather a 'Trade Test Transmission', in fact when BBC 1 or 2 retuned to the test card during the day, it was always refered to as just that. It's because up until 1972 both BBC and ITV were restricted in their broadcast hours, but the test card, colour test films, and some live events (notably moon landings, sports, and royal weddings) were exempt.

There was also the daily transmitter service information, that had many garish colours not conforming to BBC 2's light blue of that era. In this example (from 0:13) the chaps in Net 2 were clearly having a laugh with the colouriser !

Note also, no mention of it being BBC 2 on the clock or caption

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHU6EpHRi1g

To the best of my knowledge - having witnessed countless live airings and viewed many recordings from the period - the 'TWO' logo did not feature on the BBC Two test card in the Mar 1986 - Fen 1991 era. There are mocked up images online that include the 'TWO' logo on the test card.

More on the history of the BBC test card here: https://cleanfeed.thetvroom.com/3528/features/the-history-of-the-bbc-trade-test-transmission/.

I'm sure I remember a version of TCF from the early 90s that was like the BBC1 and 2 ones, with with the OU logo in place of the 1 or 2. I've never seen any recordings of it though, and nobody else seems to recall it so possible it's a false memory.

We've discussed this before I think? There was a telecoms engineering OU course, and the programme that covered PAL coding used an OU idented TCF?

This was used as part of a demo during an OU programme:

https://youtu.be/cI9Oat-s1ds?t=166

I'm sure that's not what I remember seeing, would that programme even still have been repeated by the early 90s? Though I know OU programmes were repeated for years, so it's possible. I'm just guessing my mind's fabricated something I never actually saw.

I know the feeling. YouTube has been great for examples of bonafide presentation material. But there's also nuisance value with some "mocks" that aren't an accurate representation of reality - and sometimes these images linger in our minds and confuse us.

But, from my own archive, there was no alternative version to the stripy 'BBC2' logo on that channel's test card, from Mar 1986 - Feb 1991, that I've ever seen. Nor have I ever seen anything different transmitted live. That's not to say a different version didn't ever air - but if it did, I can only surmise that it would've been short-term or a one-off.

I can remember what you're describing too. I remember asking my Dad what the logo was - it was the shield logo rather than just lettering.



The stripey BBC2 logo was going out as late as 1991?