CONTENTS Page htrodustion I Television 2 Radio 5 ExternalServices 6 TransmissionGroup 8 Productioncentres and Regions 10 Conclitionsof Service 11 welfareand Oualifications 12 Howto apply 13 Introduction Inits various technical departments partof thisgroup, and this boot<let theBBC employs over 6000 specialist explainssomething about the areas staff,whose expertise isvital both to wherethey are employed, the work programmequaliW and to the theydo, and the three years' training maintenanceand ooeration of its whichthey undergo to qualifyas BBC equipment.Trainee engineers form engrneers. I Television Thetwo nationaltelevision networks, BBCIand BBC2, between them providingupwards of '10000 hours of broadcastoutout a vear. oriqinate from TelevisiohCentre in We--st London.Their programmes are drawn froma variety of sourcesincluding the BBC'sRegional Production Centres andoutside broadcast locations, as wellas the studios and recording channelsof theTelevision Centre itself. Alignlnga cameratube CentralApparatus Room, TV Centre Pluggingup an O.B van Workon graphicsequipment at C.A P C Televisionstudio BroadcastingHouse and the Palace of engineering Westminster.During transmissions Traineeengineers inthis department traineeengineers assist with the areemployed mainly in production operationof certainequipment. studiosin or neartheTelevision Centre inWest London. Their duties include CurrentAffairs elementaryfault diagnosis, repair, ProductionCentre modificationand some construction Housedin the BBC's Lime Grove of equipmentinvolving the use of a studios,near Television Centre, the comprehensiverange of testand CurrentAffairs Production Centre is measuringinstruments They also involvedwith programmes such as carryout the operational alignment of "BreakfastTime" and "Newsnight". thewide range of equipmentfound in TraineeEngineers undertake a moderncolour television studios, rangeof dutiesincluding studio line- suchas cameras, vision mixers, video upand maintenance, the routing of effectsdevices, lighting control signals,and routine service and fault systems,electronic colour graphics diagnosison a wide range of complex equipment,sound control desks and electronicbroadcast eq u ipment, taperecorders. togetherwith maintenance of productionoffice viewing and Televisionrecording computerfacilities. There is also Thework of thisdeoartment is involvementinlocation news concernedwith providing technical gathering,including radio links and facilitiesfor the recording and settingup line inserts into playbackof programmematerial. programmes. Traineeengineers are employed in bothTelecine (reproduction of film) andVideotape Recording sections at Televisionnetwork theTelevision Centre. Thev are Networkeng ineers are responsible for involvedin the maintenance of ensuringthat the sound and vision recordingand reproduction signalsfed to, and received from, the equipmentusing film and magnetic variousnetworks (BBC1, BBC2, the UK tape.Similar work is carried out at the contributionnetwork, Eurovision and TopicalProduction Centre at the Lime the worldwidesatellite system) are CroveStudios. correctlyidentified and within tolerance.They also provide technical supportin the two network studios, Televisionnews makingprogramme trails, weather Televisionnews is supported by its forecasts,interviews, etc. ownengineering and technical Inaddition, they maintain allthe resourcesand is based at the equipmentinvolved which, as wellas TelevisionCentre in West London. camerasand other studio equipment, Traineeengineers inthis department includesTV standards convertors, assistwith the adjustment and repair synchronisersand the CEEFAX of colourcameras, vision and sound computer. mixingequipment, colour monitors Traineeengineers are involved inthe andboth telecine and videotaoe workof allsectionsofthe deoartment. recorders.Work is also undertaken in the newsinterview studios at Cameramaintenance inNews Studio Televisionoutside Filmengineering broadcasts FilmengineerirlO -ais concerned with Traineeenqineers working in this theservlcing of widerange of film arebased at the BBC's oroductionfacilities. These include department filmand electronic cameras with outsidebroadcast base at Acton, but, videotaPe bvthe very nature ofthe work, spend oortableaudio- and usedfor outside iecorders,used both in studioand on timeat the locations location;and dubbing, transfer, and broadcasts.Both atActon and on ina locationthe work involves the editingequipment which works maintenance,alignment and setting fixedenvironment. The work also upof thewide range of equiPment involvesthe design and construction usedin mobilecontrol rooms and on of soecialfacilitiesto meet radiolinks. In addition to the orobrammeneeds. This work is carried eouivalent of equiPmentfound in outlnthree main centres: at the televisionstudios, the work includes TelevisionFilm Studios at Ealing,the mobilepower generation equipment, TelevisionCentre, and the Lime Crove andshf transmitters and receivers ProductionCentre. usedin microwavelink equiPment. Radio BBCRadio programmes have been numberof engineeringdepartments transmittednationallv now for over duringtheir training, with the object 60vears. There are four BBC Radio of fillingan enginger post soon after transmissionnetworks in the British theyqualify. lsles.In addition, Scotland, Northern 0ESRengineers provide 24-hour lrelandand Wales have their own coverfor allthe studio and technical nationalservices and there are over areas(including the music recording 50local radio stations throughout the studios)in radio.Some of thestaff UnitedKingdom but there are no workdays only and others work a traineeengineer posts at these patternof shifts,including weekends stations. andsome nights. There are about 50 studios,20 recording or editing suites Radioengineering services plusthe 11radio continuiW suites and Thisdeoartment looks after all asoects the maincontrol room to lookafter. of thetechnicalequipment needed by Theengineers are specialists inaudio radioin London, and provides acentral engineering,'statewhich, these days, back-upfaciliW for localradio and includes of theart'analogue, soundelsewhere inthe BBC. digitaland computer control Thedepartment consists of three techniques.Although the engineers secuor'rs: do notoperate the equipment on EngineeringHouse Services Radio (for transmission,their knowledge of its heating,power and ventilation), ooerationand use is central to the SupportEngineering Services Radio maintenancetechniques they apply. In (forspecialist engineering taskst and addition,as the broadcast output OperationalEngineering Services stylesvary, so the equipment used Radio(0ESR). needsto bealtered. lt isthe engineers Traineeengineers are recruited into inOESR and Support Engineering the lastsection only and may work in a Serviceswho do this. Workon cartrldgemachtne ExternalServices ExternalServices have been transmitting programmes around the worldfor over50 years and currentlv broadcastin over 30 languages includingEnglish. Premises used by ExternalServices include Bush House (programmeorigination )and KensingtonHouse firanscription Service)in London,and Crowsley and CavershamParks (Receiving Station andMonitoring Service)on the Oxfordshireborder near Readinq. Workon a multi-trackrecorder Linecheck (External Servicesr 10metre satellite dish at Caversham HFsurveillance desk at Crowslev Park BushHouse: External transmissionover their own national SeruicesStuclio centre networKs. Programmecontent, comprising BushHouse, in Central London, isthe music.light entertainment and other headquartersof External Services and public the mainstudio centre. This is where material,isacquired from therecording, control and distribution concerts,radio studios and other facilitiesare concentrated for sources.All the advantages of modern programmesthat are broadcast 24 recording tech nology are exploited hoursa dayto audiencesallover the includingthe use of digitaland world. multi-tracktechniques. Underthe guidance of engineers, Traineeengineers working in this traineeengineers carry out fault unitassist in the operation, alignment diagnosis,repair and alignment of a andmaintenance of a rangeof widerange of equipmentincluding modernequipment. variousstudio mixing desks, mono andstereo tape- recorders, television Receptionand Monitoring receiversand video equipment and Section controlroom equipment such as the Situatedat CavershamPark near computerisedswitching system. Readingand Crowsley Park in South Traineeengineers also carry out Oxfordshire,this section operates and certainooerational duties in the maintainsthe BBC's technical controlroom concerned with routing receivingand measuring station and of programmematerialand its orovidesall the technicalfacilities for distributionto therelevant the BBC'sMonitoring Service. Trainee transmitters. engineersare involved in the Engineersare also responsible for operationand maintenance of the maintenanceof a mini-computer-sophisticatedreceiving, measuring basedsystem for storageand andrecording equipment for both distributionof newsand other terrestriaI and satellite transmission programme material. Trainee svstemsand with distribution svstems engineersin this area assist in the for awide variety of signalsincluding maintenanceof terminals and other bothaudio and video. They will also be computerequipment. concernedwith the maintenance of a sophisticated text- processing TranscriptionRecording Unit computerto beused by the Thisunit, based at KensingtonHouse, MonitoringService to handle producesrecordings to the highest transcriptsof