Photo from Rod Fawcett, no reproduction without permission
A Radio WM outside broadcast in Victoria Square, Birmingham, obviously with a Victorian theme. Thanks to Radio WM engineer, Rod Fawcett for sharing the photograph. In the photo are (left to right) June Harben, ?, Tom Horsfield, Chris Nelson.
Photo from Rod Fawcett, no reproduction without permission
Chris Nelson in Radio WM, with the desk partially dismantled, on the first floor of Pebble Mill.
The following comments were added to the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Andy Walters: ‘That’s gotta be Area 1. The only Studio that was orientated that way. The removed unit will contain the Peak Programme Meters, Red DTX buttons and Talkback as well as master level controls.’
Paul Hunt: ‘I think it’s a very young Chris Nelson and he’s sitting in Area 1. (In Area 2 and 4 the operator had their back to the window) The central module has been removed. It wasn’t uncommon for folk to hit the tannoy or DTX (Direct to transmitter) buttons so hard that they would stick in. These BBC Mark 3 desks were hand built by the equipment department at Avenue House in Chiswick. The last one in service is at Radio Lancashire, not bad considering they were designed in the 1970’s!!’
Andy Marriott: ‘Wow, is Lancashire really the last Mk3 site? Does that mean everyone else is ViLoR’ed now? Or are the post 2000 refurbed ER template sites still in service?
I’ve got one of those centre modules in my garage, ex-Humberside, I think. What I’d like to know is what are those 7 segment LED displays are? Next to the LS3/5. Didn’t WM have some kind of computer controlled CD jukebox system for their music?’
Andy Walters: ‘There was a CD jukebox controlled by Acorn RISC computers with NSM mechanisms. It was originally bought for CWR in Coventry. I remember chucking it in the skip. The hard disk system was called Numisys but I do think it was there for very long. World Service used Numisys a lot. The display by the speaker, I think were timers for the two Gram channels.’
Paul Hunt: ‘We did the trial with Studer Numisys in 1994. As Andy points out the CD jukebox system was moved over in 1996 after the merger with CWR.’
Philip Morgan: ‘Am I correct in thinking that this area was originally the Station Manager’s office (i.e. Jack Johnston’s) in the 1970’s? I believe these areas were originally designated something like studio’s 8, 9, and 10 when Pebble Mill was under construction and the area was reserved for the Midland Region of Radio 4.’
Rod Fawcett: ‘The cart machine on the right is a BE (Broadcast Electronics) triple deck – replaced eventually by the Sonifex Micro HS series… The photo is from the 80s and after Radio WM became stereo (as of course its a Mk III stereo console). I can’t remember when WM converted to stereo exactly, was it 1985??’
Simon Walsh: ‘This is the Late Nights with Adil Ray desk, and was a pleasure to drive.’
Thomas Graal: ‘It looks like Chris Nelson with hair to me. The LP on the desk is 20 Fabulous Hits by Jake Thackray originally released in 1975.’
Paul Hunt: ‘So who do I bump into in the basement of BH today but Chris Nelson. He loved the photo and said it was working with people like Ed Doolan that helped him get on. He now travels the globe directing multi camera programmes for BBC World.’
Andy Walters: ‘Here’s how the same studio looked on WMs last day in 2004. It was the last studio on air as it was used by the Asian Network for six weeks after WM left.’
Photo from Rod Fawcett, no reproduction without permission
Radio WM engineer, Rod Fawcett, standing proudly by the radio car, in July 1983. It looks like the photo was taken in the car park at Pebble Mill, round the back of the garage.
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Keith Butler: ‘I was attached as an engineer to radio WM in 1983, and it was me who went down to Brookmans Park to collect this radio car and drive it back to Pebble Mill.’
Bob Chesworth: ‘UHF transmitter to that aerial on top of the mast, VHF comms (Storno?)to and from base.Air compressor to drive mast up (with safety overides!) No radio mic,just a drum of multi possibly to a Diggles mic (or was that too early?) Probably a 1.6 litre engine (some of the “County” stations had a 2 litre version) A lot of the vehicles had number plates reflecting the transmitter, Lincs was A219 SUL ‘cos we were 219 on medium wave. Joined up thinking from Transport courtesy of Peter Higgins I believe.’
Paul Hunt: ‘I came across the Cortina radio car when I did a stint at Radio Lincolnshire. Bob Chesworth demonstrated how putting the Moseley UHF transmitter into high power doubled the flashing speed of the cars indicators!!’
Keith Brook (Scouse): ‘Before I became a Pebble Mill cameraman, I worked at Radio Merseyside in the late 60s.
Their radio car was a Ford Cortina and the whole of the cargo area filled with very heavy car batteries to power the transmitter.
This made driving the thing great fun especially around corners when we were trying to stay close to a blue light police escort!
Trying to get a signal back was problematic and the car had to be inched backwards or forwards until the signal strength was good enough.
There was a switch at the base of the antenna to inhibit driving with it extended. To perform the ‘inching’ procedure, the switch was over-ridden with an old penny piece wedged between the contacts!!
Great fun!’
Marc Price: ‘I worked at WM from 1989 – 1993. The radio car was an Austin Montego in those days. Just before I left, I drove the Montego down to West London (can’t remember the site name but think it was where all the old broadcast kit went when it was decommissioned). I was only a few miles away from my destination when I managed to crash it! Think the replacement was a Ford Sierra.’
Simon Pattern: ‘Or as we called it at Radio York – the Montenogo.
If I recall, the Sierra replacements were dreadful to drive, the positioning of the technical gear left them with the oddest centre of gravity, which in turn made them act like a tractor pulling a herd of cattle once you got above 30mph!’
Chris Livingstone: ‘Didn’t Manchester have a similar version? I remember having to stand on the sill and pull the mast down for the last few inches so that it could be driven. Also, the mast on the top of Piccadilly plaza had to be rotated from the studio in order to pick up the signal. There were “black spots” too where a signal just couldn’t get through’
Andrew Thorman: ‘I think the car was eventually written off by a newsroom hack on the M5 having been “lent” him to get home.’
Ian Oakland: ‘I remember that being the ‘new radio car’’
Simon Pattern: ‘How can any radio car discussion not mention the Storno “dudderly dups”!’
Marc Clements: ‘The golden age of wm!’
Paul Andersson: ‘Whilst at Cleveland our radio car was a Hillman Hunter estate!’
Chris Bell: ‘very similar to the one we had. If I remember correctly it worked on phantom cue with station output coming from the car radio of all things!!! The mast had a small compressor but the cut out to stop you driving away with the mast up had a habit of failing!!!! Happy days eh?’
Kevin Keene: ‘Some interesting discussion on here. I remember in ’96 taking the vintage Radio Humberside OB van home for an early live at Mappleton cliffs. At 4am I went out to find I’d been blocked in. Spent 15 minutes doing short back and forth movements to get out with the loud reversing hooter coming on each time. The neighbours didn’t block me in a second time.’
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission
The photo shows Radio WM engineer, Rod Fawcett, in the workshop at BBC Pebble Mill.
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook Page:
Paul Hunt: ‘I’m guessing this is about 1988? I joined Dan Cooke as the second engineer there 5 years later with Tom Horsefield as the Engineer-in-Charge. The test set on the upper shelf is an ME2/5 (built by the BBC equipment department). Underneath is a Ferrograph RTS2 test set. On the bench is a DC power supply unit for powering equipment under test. Rod’s holding an AKG D130 which was the “standard” omni reporters mic that would be used with a UHER. The WM engineers workshop, room 104, had started life as the newsroom when Pebble Mill opened. It then moved upstairs to the 2nd floor and then back to the first floor in 1989 to be adjacent to TV news. It’s also worth noting the Dymo tape on the drawers – something very common in Local Radio stations!!’
Christopher Hall: ‘Top shelf, with black meter, is BBC ME2/5 audio test set, below it with white meter is Ferrograph RTS-2 audio test set, below it is an amplifier test rack, to left are two H&H AM8/12 loudspeaker amplifiers, below them is a Farnel power supply, and at the right of the bench is a Telequipment D66 oscilloscope.’
Keith Butler: ‘Isn’t the ‘scope a D66a, I think the earlier D66 was blue.’
Andy Walters: ‘My office for my first three years at WM. Room 104 with it’s views of the River Rae and plague of Ladybirds every autumn.’
George Tatler: ‘All this kit still looks current to me, i wish i had a modern dual PSU like the Farnell one. At the far end of the lower shelf is one of those Glensound Tele Balance Unit boxes with the sloping front that an old tele used to sit on top of – as used in district studios or simple NCA studio setups etc..’
Martin Cox: ‘The grey box lying on its face next to the LS3/5a might be a battery powered Level oscillator’
Susan Hillman: ‘Was just a few weeks ago that we were standing round a Farnell power supply at work and saying that they still looked the same as they ever did. This was in stark contrast to the oscilloscope which had an awful lot missing round the back’
Ian Dyer: ‘I moved an ME2/5 between bays only today whilst rationalising the old MKIII bays in Wiltshire post-ViLoR!’
Andy Walters: ‘The same room on WM’s last day at Pebble Mill in Summer 2004.’
Photo by Andy Walters, no reproduction without permission
Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission
This photo shows Radio WM engineer, Rod Fawcett, during coverage of the Birmingham Superprix. Notice the backpack for transmitting the radio signal.
The Superprix was a motor race meeting, held on the streets of Birmingham, between 1986-1990.
The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:
Andy Shepherd: ‘I was working at Central Television then, although not on the Superprix itself, and would go to the top of Alpha Tower (26 storeys) and watch the race with the guy who manually maneuvered the microwave receiver throughout the race to pick up the signal from the one (and only one) car with an on-board camera.’
Andy Walters: ‘We’ve still got a backpack like that. Usually gets used for the Birmingham Marathon and things like that.’
Emma Taynton-Young: ‘I remember going to this with Dad (John Taynton) but I can’t remember if he was at the Beeb then or still at BRMB.’
Mike Taynton: ‘Pretty much everything I got to experience with, my late father, John Taynton was a joy but getting to go along with him to these races is up there in my all time highlights’
Richard Uridge: ‘Great snap. I remember that day well as a reporter at WM. Nice to see Rod. He was always always smiling.’
Anthony Guy Willcock: ‘Racing up the ring road towards the Mosque, so slow!’
Jim Knights: ‘ It rained!‘
Andy Frizzell: ‘I was involved with the Top Gear coverage (pre Clarkson) Chris Goffey was our presenter.’