It All 'Works

eTes | 5 Radio Timea, May 4, 1928, Bouther Edition, EVERY PROGRAMME FROM EVERY STATION§ (May 6-12) tS | ne \ oe ry , —— i a pee- soln ee -} at A ieGert satea BO gue <aSACa $ iF Pm PuNoroa—_— _ hat GL agecow coIMaUaGsadeleee ea aree oe puter eee | , em -—THE «<“ kL tea eReeear “OTR kofa intl Soeipl rs ib "ance TER Renee WOTTINGHAMi | FSSTOaE fi Teta Ksprone se Reale ‘ J = BiRMINCAM ) | a anit Ser asa gmARoIer Leia To P ; The devine of the British Broadeaxtins Corpbraton = — = —eeeeeaeaeaeaeaaaaeeeeeam — =i "Vol. 19. No. 240.Le. eaereusesl “MAY. 4, 1928 Every Friday. Two Pence. eect ae = SE = = - How It All ‘Works. This third article in the series, ‘Savoy Hill with the Lid Off,’ explai ns further m yste ries of the Control Room at the G.H.O. of British Broadcasting. S AVOY HILLis a chrious place. Knowing | whether the Announcer's job is a difficult much else-to be seen at Savoy-Hill Tn a ut ta be the centre of a. vast’ and one, amd so on, We shall come to the corner of the room, facing the door through complicated Broadcasting System, you answers later. Let us. go akead from where which we entered, you-will see, quite close to avould suppose ft to be a sort. of Jules Verne we left off on our last. visit, the second control table, a kind of cabinet, building, the home of much strange fitted with what look lke twelve machinery and many hatlf-hidden TUTTE TTTSa WE drawers, in two sets. of six (see secrets. As A matter of fact this is, . Picture overleaf}, Each drawer-has to all outenle appearances, not the = a handle, above which is a label and case, You come across a tall, red- > on’each side small control knobs. brick. building which, but for the The. top. drawers. on, cither side fact that it belches music all day display ‘the dials of two ‘measuring fone as though it were a sort. of instrume nts, while ,each of the Bedlam “for composers, might be ten drawers beneath havea simi- the offices of any big business lar dial at the top... The whole orpamzation, Yon are received by a cabinet is surmounted by two competent commissionaire, hurtled THE ROOM OF MYSTERY. larger measuring instruments, on aloft in a competent lift, hurty along one of which 15 tlie inscription ~ competent red-floored passages past HOSE who were with ws when last we “Vafted the lid *2L0,' and on the other ‘ 50X.’ numbered doors. You come across off Savoy Hull’ will remember that our travels hed At the back of these instruments a number of busy people—a very taken us to the Control Room, the “nerve centre of is a frame, fitted. with a_wooden Brrish Groadcusting,, where we saw more than could te large number, for the o ganization board, with a hole m the centre, is far more intncate’ than: is explained on one short visit, We examined the control tables, which, since music emanates from imagined by the old ladyat Surbt- the purpose of which is fo receive the programmes, whether it, you will guess to be a loud- ton who beheves that everyone who from the studio or elsewhere, and pass them on at the correct speaker, strength for either direct transmission or distribution over works for the B.B.C. #musi be an Look closer at the labels on. the ‘uncle’ or an‘ aunt,’ The distant the 3.B, (stminudlancous broadcasting system to’ the anos drawersof the cabinet and we see provincial stations ; noise of music mingles. with the the tlwminated indicator boards, with the words, “receiver,’. “modulation louder clatter of typewriters. their ved and green panels, which shine the engineer's when TELE amplifier,’ “house phones,” ‘check Thére seems to be a great deal fo connect Wp the microphone and to switch on the AREA phones,’ and‘ loudspecakers,’ which of the’ business-like” and. rather red or blae lights outside a studio, tndicatin® thal a irans- describe the functions of the various inission- OF -rehie“aFsal ts wi progress (and vice-versa) * aman thie units, Teach side of the cabinet is less of the “artistic.” That side marceious: 3.8) board, whitch Hinks ap the Control: Roam ERUVUAALIUAAAUAAL is hidden. ‘Studios, rehearsals, identical; except that cone half with provincial Shitions. functions for 2LO and the otherfor eae 3, transrhissions, etc... they POUGTUA AUTONET are “ail in the backeround, where SX. What isthe purpose of this ¥6u who: accompany me on: this complicated cabinet ? tour will preSently see them. There are | - We have only avshort time in which to | Up till now, in everything we have seen of Tany «questions which: the: interested hstener conclude. our inspection of the “Room of | the transmission of programmes, we have Will haye asked~ himself: Pri wonder how Mystery, We cannot afford to devote another concerned ourselves only with what. takes they perforin a radio play,’ “I wonder ofour visits to-the Control Room, as there is place between the studio and the point of RADIO TIMES ALAY i, 1926 he ee = Broadcast) radiation. Thereafter the programme who waste no time in seine thertele device, where all 0.8. (Outside DECOMES vote paper ly, 25 1f Were, Tt 1 the phones and calling up Savoy Hill, should lines terminate—more than two hundred fished ‘product, the culmination of the the tadiation of any particular propramme pairs of them, running between Savoy Hill effortsoi many people, the-result of much care appear a little ‘off colour.’ and practically all the important places m andexpense. But how are you receryme it 7 It we ask one of the engme érs to explaim London: fron where PROETaARIIMNeS are relivwed We may see in the Control Room that every- ihe working of the- second drawer inc the same of these lines are used very frequently, thing appears to be working properly, but cabinet—tit i marked * Modulation Ampiiher * such as those inom Westminster Abbey, —he will talk affectionately about volume in- the Queen's Hall, the People’s Palace, hotels, cication. Weshall gather that this 1s a cunning cinemas and clubs. Only-asimple operation | device to enable the instantaneous readings Is necessary to connect up-the-terminal pomt | of meters at the transmitters, which may be with one of the control tables, many miles away, to be visible to the control | We have spent quite a long time sin the engineers. Should we ask why it is. not Control Room, but there are one or two other | possible to run wires from the transmitter, ‘gadgets’ you will want to see before we he would tell us that these would probably continue, Come over to another corner and have to handle as much a5 10,000 volts, so look at these insignificant-looking boxes that other means have to be employed to ! attached to the wall {Picture 2) I say judge what 1s called, the depth of modulation, insignificant, because while their sjze is such both visibly by the readings of the meters that they might escape attention, each being and ‘orally. little more than ‘a foot square, yet they Beneath these drawers are amplifying wnits provide: the means for millions of listeners ior operating a system of headphones and hearing the chimes of Bie. Ben, or bemg i E faite ‘i loud-speakers in different parts of Savoy able to set their watches and clocks to Hill, The loud-speakers are mostly used for the dead accuracy of the Greenwich time ia entertamment purposes in various waiting- signal, rooms, and also by officials; such as the In the case of Big Ben, a microphone, Productions Director dunng rehearsals of enclosed in a water-hght, though not sound- ei plays requiring the simultaneous and compl- proof, container, is suspended in the Clock cated employment of several studios. The Tower of the Houses of Parliament af an circuit enables officials to hear performances appropriate distance from the bells. When 8 and rehearsals in which they are individually the chimes are about to be broadcast this interested on either headphones or loud- microphone circuit is energized and con- ———————— speakers, though rehearsals are ‘of course nected to the chain of transmission by & l. The cabinet referred to at the beginning at not rachated. process of switching. This Ime is, of course, thes article, Tit ia a complete recerving. ane checking eysters by which the engineers are The small distributing board seen on the permanently available. able to tell whether the programme is‘ coming left of the cabinet shows how any programme, The Greenwich time signal operates in a aver’ sntiatnatordy. rehearsal or audition can be switched through different way, because in this case no micro- to the various sections of Savoy Hill. phone is employed, Contact is made on the we must be absolutely sure. In addition Nowlet is move over to the centre of the escapement wheel of the master standard to the many points at which the trans- roam: and see what ts called the corrector clock at the Observatory, which by operating mission is checked on its way from thestudio board, another exceedingly important part through a relay makes the final connection im to the transmitter, a final watch 1s also kept of the simultaneous broadcast system. “In the circuit of a valve oscillator.. The famous by wrreless, so that the engmeers are assured outward appearance it resembles somewhat ‘pips ' are available for broadcasting every that it can be received satisfactorily. the *S.B." board itself, though I do not thirty minutes, This cabinet, then, is really a receiving unit, think wé need go so deeply into the manner Before we finally leave the Control Room, incorporating other necessary or useful of its working.

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