The Notice Board for
ex-BBC staff puts former colleagues in touch with each other and gives
them a place to exchange thoughts and memories.
The Institute of Broadcast
Sound web site has information about membership and meetings, some useful
related links and a Wiki site hosting the IBS Audio Compendium for historical
information and IBS FAQs for current technical and operational information.
More current info
at Audio Oracle - a sound engineers' forum for broadcast audio and
live sound.
The BBC Heritage
web site has articles about the BBC's history, with archive clips and pictures.
The
site links to BBC Memories which is a part of the BBC's oral history
project, featuring material mostly contributed by retired staff.
The
London Twin-Wave Broadcasting Station at Brookmans Park is described
in a site based on a 1930 souvenir booklet published by the BBC.
The Washford
Radio Museum in Somerset contains photographs and technical information
about the Washford Transmitting Station, many items of early BBC equipment
and a collection of around 150 radios, radiograms and televisions. The site
is still under construction.
BBCeng.info is
a site of recollections of BBC engineering from 1922 to 1997. Among other
treats are downloadable PDFs of copies of Eng Inf, the quarterly newsletter
for BBC engineering staff.
Mike
Jordan's site has stories from BH Lines and Comms Departments and
pictures of the demolition of BH Extension.
A
site linked to a book features Brian Hennessy's "The Emergence of
Broadcasting in Britain". It covers the period from the dawn of
wireless telephony to the granting of the Charter in 1926.
Ray White's site traces
the engineering history of the Radiophonic Workshop at Maida Vale
from its beginnings in the 1950s until its demise in the mid-90s.
Some
photos taken at Bush House in the 1960s feature on Mike Baker's "Bakerlite"
site. Areas shown include the control room, Green continuity and the VoA
suite.
Ian
Richardson's Back to Bush House offers a collection of assorted BBC
World Service publicity material and personal photographs and documents
from about 1950 to 2000.
The Alexandra
Palace Television Society's aim is to preserve the oral and written
history of the pioneers who inaugurated the world's first, regular, public
high-definition television service from Alexandra Palace, North London,
in 1936.
Alexandra Palace
also features in the memories of Bob Taylor. He worked there from 1963 until
News moved to Television Centre in 1969 and describes working practices
in both places.
The Tech Ops Nostalgia
Site features pictures and stories from 40 years of cameras, sound and lighting
at BBC Television.
Another television site
presents a record of BBC VT. Started to mark the 40th anniversary
of videotape in the BBC in 1998 the site has many photographs from the age
of sticky tape to that of digits.
For
a nostalgic look at the BBC Radio programmes of the 1950s visit The Radio
Days site. The Brains Trust, Childrens' Hour, Dick Barton, Down Your
Way, Have a Go, Mrs Dale, Workers' Playtime - they're all here, and many
more.
If you're looking
for used books, magazines and ephemera on all aspects of the history and
technology of broadcasting, hi-fi and audio, visit Kelly Books.
A vast array
of microphones can be seen on Stan Coutant's site.
Of particular
relevance to BBC mics is a page of downloadable pdfs of STC brochures
from 1963.
For
some early history of recording and other articles about 78 r.p.m records
see this page at the Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded
Music site - follow the links in the section headed "Guide to 78s".
Hopefully we'll add some
pages about BBC loudspeakers one day. Meantime, one of the best known designs,
the LS3/5a, is celebrated at the Unofficial LS3/5a Support Site.
There's
also a Yahoo Groups Site devoted to products designed by the late Spencer
Hughes - the Spendor BC-I, BC-II, BC-III and variants. Also covers
BBC speakers built under licence.
Away from broadcasting
equipment, Steve Ostler's Radiocraft site is a useful starting point
if you're interested in vintage radios. Steve provides a restoration service
and the site includes a page (free to use) where radios can be bought and
sold.
"Serving
the anoraks of the world with text and information on the fascinating world
of radio" says Keith Knight of his site Wireless Waffle.
The history of
the UK radio licence is the subject of a site by Mark Jones, with
examples from several decades.
OK,
it's not radio and not even BBC but you might like to visit Bob Cotton's
Lichfield Memories site. If you suffer from acrophobia please avert
your eyes....
