I came across this whilst looking for something else on the BNA.

Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal - Friday 11 January 1924
Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

WIRELESS NOTES.

People are asking, will there lie enough radio to round? There is no
wonder at this query when one looks about even in own town, at the large
numlier of aerials which keep springing up, but can assure all
enthusiasts that there is heaps more than enough to satisfy all. fact,
broadcast concerts, etc., are like the widow's cruse, and never reem to
get any less nor any fainter. There is undoubtedly a good lot of
wireless fever about, and dealers appear to be very busy. Now for the
doings of one of our local societies!

The Midland Institute Radio people and lady friends, to the number of
sixty-eight, paid visit last Saturday to the British Broadcasting studio
and transmitting station at Birmingham. After our arrival New-street.
and having climbed lots and lots of stairs, found ourselves on the
fourth storey above Lorelles Picture House. At the end of a small lobby
we halted before a dark and mystic door which, being opened to us,
revealed narrow passage leading into the studio. The party entered
without a sound on account of the padded floor, and in sympathy spoke
only in whispers! It was bit like going into a cemetery chape! or tomb,
until we got used to the strange atmosphere. The first impression of the
studio was rather a mixture photography and "behind the scenes" at a
theatre. The room was about thirty feet square and nine feet high, with
a flat ceiling. It was lighted on one side only by three windows, which
fortunately opened as it was rlather stuffy. When broadcasting, even
daytime, are closed and thickly curtained to keep out all extraneous
sounds. With the exception of the floor, which was thickly carpeted, the
walls and ceiling were covered with a single layer of coarse dark
drapery, this by experiment having been found most suitable and is
sufficient deadening effect to ensure direct sound waves being picked
up. yet with just enough reflection to give brilliance to the
transmission. It took six months to bring the studio to its present
state of perfection. Round the room there are numbers of chairs, and in
certain positions, grand piano, cabinet gramophone, pianola player
piano, and all the impedimenta of jazz band and tympani. "Uncle" Vernon
was busy with fluxite and soldering iron making a portable transmitter
for use at Bournemouth when we arrived, and soon after "Uncle Jack”
Cooper appeared.He is still in the army reserve, and quickly had us all
marshalled for his address, which proved to be very interesting. He
explained the whole broadcasting process and showed how by brass nails
in the carpet each performer knew exactly where to stand or sit. and
also how by signals from a row of little coloured lights instructions
were given without speaking a sound to the performers. lights were the
cause of the studio being christened "Rugby Station" by Uncle Joe. who
declared they looked like that station on a wet night. They each
illuminate small labels which read - speak - wait - re-arrange — move
back - come closer and all correct. Close to the lights is a small
window through which the engineer his ante-room listens in, watches, and
controls the whole show. He is in direct telephonic communication with
London, all other B.B.C. studios, also the transmitting station mile
away, and fills in his spare time with the "national" as well. The most
important instrument, the microphone, hangs on insulated springs from
three-legged iron stand atiout five feet high. It is round, about five
inches in diameter, and an inch and a half thick, and is connected to
the apparatus (which is not on show) by ordinary flex. This circuit is
joined to the transmission station at Lowe’- Loveday-streel by ordinary
land line, where it amplified and fed into the aerial. Uncle Jack was
particularly anxious to aasuie us that all concerts, etc., were ‘sent
out from the studio clear and clean cut. If listeners-in did not get
good he said, it was undoubtedly the fault of their sets, especially
transformers, and warned all again.st the folly of buying cheap rubbish.
Mr. Wallis, on behalf of the party, thanked the officers of the B.B.C.
for their kindness in allowing the visit to be made, also for their
trouble taken to make it so interesting.

We all walked to the power station at Summer lane, and eventually got
inside. The great feature is the fine aerial of cage or sausage type,
suspended vertically between two huge chimneys nearly two hundred feet
high. undoubtedly a very fine piece of engineering work, and we should
have liked to have seen it put up. Inside the small transmitting station
were found motor generators by Newton Brothers. Ltd.. Derby, which fed
current to four huge dull emitter power valves, tuning being
accomplished by a variometer, and the natural wave length of the aerial
being shortened by a large condenser in series with same.

Mr. Basebe. the engineer in charge, explained the workings fully, and
after a further vote of thanks by Mr. Gelsthorpe. the party dispersed to
finish the evening according to their own desires.

Thanks for this - fascinating!

In message <uihuai$22vmm$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 9 Nov 2023 06:30:41,
JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> writes
>I came across this whilst looking for something else on the BNA.
>
>Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal - Friday 11 January 1924
>Image © Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
>
>WIRELESS NOTES.
>
>People are asking, will there lie enough radio to round? There is no
>wonder at this query when one looks about even in own town, at the
>large numlier of aerials which keep springing up, but can assure all

If I interpret that correctly, it was concern that too many people
receiving were going to sap the signal; an understandable concern among
the not technically minded.

>enthusiasts that there is heaps more than enough to satisfy all. fact,
>broadcast concerts, etc., are like the widow's cruse, and never reem to

Not an expression I've encountered before!

>get any less nor any fainter. There is undoubtedly a good lot of
>wireless fever about, and dealers appear to be very busy. Now for the
>doings of one of our local societies!
>
>The Midland Institute Radio people and lady friends, to the number of
>sixty-eight, paid visit last Saturday to the British Broadcasting
>studio and transmitting station at Birmingham. After our arrival
>New-street. and having climbed lots and lots of stairs, found ourselves
>the fourth storey above Lorelles Picture House. At the end of a small

So it was above a cinema!

>lobby we halted before a dark and mystic door which, being opened to
>us, revealed narrow passage leading into the studio. The party entered
>without a sound on account of the padded floor, and in sympathy spoke
>only in whispers! It was bit like going into a cemetery chape! or tomb,

OCR quite good - I only spotted that (obviously "chapel") and one other.

>until we got used to the strange atmosphere. The first impression of
>the studio was rather a mixture photography and "behind the scenes" at
>a theatre. The room was about thirty feet square and nine feet high,
>with a flat ceiling. It was lighted on one side only by three windows,
>which fortunately opened as it was rlather stuffy. When broadcasting,
>even daytime, are closed and thickly curtained to keep out all
>extraneous sounds. With the exception of the floor, which was thickly
>carpeted, the walls and ceiling were covered with a single layer of
>coarse dark drapery, this by experiment having been found most suitable

Though of course the colour wasn't relevant!

>and is sufficient deadening effect to ensure direct sound waves being
>picked up. yet with just enough reflection to give brilliance to the
>transmission. It took six months to bring the studio to its present
>state of perfection. Round the room there are numbers of chairs, and in
>certain positions, grand piano, cabinet gramophone, pianola player

Acoustic gramophone perhaps in 1924?

>piano, and all the impedimenta of jazz band and tympani. "Uncle" Vernon
>was busy with fluxite and soldering iron making a portable transmitter
>for use at Bournemouth when we arrived, and soon after "Uncle Jack”
>Cooper appeared.He is still in the army reserve, and quickly had us all
>marshalled for his address, which proved to be very interesting. He
>explained the whole broadcasting process and showed how by brass nails
>in the carpet each performer knew exactly where to stand or sit. and
>also how by signals from a row of little coloured lights instructions
>were given without speaking a sound to the performers. lights were the
>cause of the studio being christened "Rugby Station" by Uncle Joe. who
>declared they looked like that station on a wet night. They each
>illuminate small labels which read - speak - wait - re-arrange — move
>back - come closer and all correct. Close to the lights is a small
>window through which the engineer his ante-room listens in, watches,
>and controls the whole show. He is in direct telephonic communication
>with London, all other B.B.C. studios, also the transmitting station
>mile away, and fills in his spare time with the "national" as well. The
>most important instrument, the microphone, hangs on insulated springs
>from three-legged iron stand atiout five feet high. It is round, about

A "meat-safe" one? Interesting that - by the sound of it - there was
only one microphone for the whole studio.

>five inches in diameter, and an inch and a half thick, and is connected
>to the apparatus (which is not on show) by ordinary flex. This circuit
>is joined to the transmission station at Lowe’- Loveday-streel by

(The other OCR - "street" I presume.)

>ordinary land line, where it amplified and fed into the aerial. Uncle

(Obviously the concept of modulation not within the scope of such an
article, or perhaps the presentation.)

>Jack was particularly anxious to aasuie us that all concerts, etc.,
>were ‘sent out from the studio clear and clean cut. If listeners-in
>did not get good he said, it was undoubtedly the fault of their sets,
>especially transformers, and warned all again.st the folly of buying
>cheap rubbish.

Interesting. I presume audio output transformers, as I imagine most sets
would have been directly-rectified mains in those days? What would have
been the problem - oversaturation?

>Mr. Wallis, on behalf of the party, thanked the officers of the B.B.C.
>for their kindness in allowing the visit to be made, also for their
>trouble taken to make it so interesting.
>
>We all walked to the power station at Summer lane, and eventually got
>inside. The great feature is the fine aerial of cage or sausage type,
>suspended vertically between two huge chimneys nearly two hundred feet
>high. undoubtedly a very fine piece of engineering work, and we should
>have liked to have seen it put up. Inside the small transmitting

Interesting that it used - presumably - chimneys that were already
there.

>station were found motor generators by Newton Brothers. Ltd.. Derby,
>which fed current to four huge dull emitter power valves, tuning being

(What is a dull emitter valve?)

>accomplished by a variometer, and the natural wave length of the aerial
>being shortened by a large condenser in series with same.

Interesting that no crystal was involved!
>
>Mr. Basebe. the engineer in charge, explained the workings fully, and
>after a further vote of thanks by Mr. Gelsthorpe. the party dispersed
>to finish the evening according to their own desires.

Sounds like a fun day!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Who's General Failure & why's he reading my disk? (Stolen from another .sig)

On 09/11/2023 08:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> (What is a dull emitter valve?)
>
At the time, bright emitter valves were common, with a tungsten wire
cathode running as hot as a light bulb. We used one at school in the
1060s in our physics lessons to help us understand how electronics
worked. I'd been playing with the by then normal dull emitter valves at
home for a while at the time, and was worried about them burning the
heater out.

Dull emitter valves either had a special coating on the filament
(Directly heated) or a coated cathode surrounded the filament (Indirect
heating) The cathode in these valves ran at a temperature hot enough to
emit a dull red glow, hence the name.

>> accomplished by a variometer, and the natural wave length of the
>> aerial being shortened by a large condenser in series with same.
>
> Interesting that no crystal was involved!

The first use of crystal control was only three years before the article
was written, and the transmitter was probably older than that.
>>
>> Mr. Basebe. the engineer in charge, explained the workings fully, and
>> after a further vote of thanks by Mr. Gelsthorpe. the party dispersed
>> to finish the evening according to their own desires.
>
> Sounds like a fun day!

Certainly educational.

I wonder what they did about sound leakage through the open windows
mentioned as the only ventilation in the studio?

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

In message <kr3krjFro5mU1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 9 Nov 2023
08:50:58, John Williamson <johnwilliamson@btinternet.com> writes
>On 09/11/2023 08:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> (What is a dull emitter valve?)
>>
>At the time, bright emitter valves were common, with a tungsten wire
>cathode running as hot as a light bulb. We used one at school in the
>1060s in our physics lessons to help us understand how electronics

Ah, just before the conquest (-:!

I really came into electronics in the '70s, but am pleased that the
Scroggie I used started with valves (about 9th edition I think?).
[Actually I often cite it as an excellent textbook: it actually started
by explaining what a graph was, which I thought was good.]

>worked. I'd been playing with the by then normal dull emitter valves at
>home for a while at the time, and was worried about them burning the
>heater out.
>
>Dull emitter valves either had a special coating on the filament
>(Directly heated) or a coated cathode surrounded the filament (Indirect
>heating) The cathode in these valves ran at a temperature hot enough to
>emit a dull red glow, hence the name.

Ah, so it just referred to the operating temperature of the filament. (I
think most/all of the valves I ever had anything to do with were
indirectly-heated cathodes.)
[]
>I wonder what they did about sound leakage through the open windows
>mentioned as the only ventilation in the studio?
>
Kept them closed, I think! The article did say it was a bit stuffy.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

looking like one who had drunk the cup of life and found
a dead beetle in the bottom. - Wodehouse

JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> wrote:

[...]
> After our arrival New-street.
> and having climbed lots and lots of stairs, found ourselves on the
> fourth storey above Lorelles Picture House.

It was the Lozells Picture House, named after the district of Birmingham
where it was located. It had a well known cinema organ and recordings
were issued of Frank Newman (a famous cinema organist of the time)
playing it. My sleeve notes on the CD re-issue read:

~~~~~~~~~~
Lozells Wurlitzer: originally a Model 160 recovered from a cinema in
Hamilton, Ohio, USA. The company rebuilt it as a Model B Special with a
two-manual console, six ranks of pipes and extra effects.
It was then resold and installed in Lozells Picture House, Birmingham in
January 1927. The cinema and organ were destroyed by enemy action in
1942.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:

[...]>
> >The Midland Institute Radio people and lady friends, to the number of
> >sixty-eight, paid visit last Saturday to the British Broadcasting
> >studio and transmitting station at Birmingham. After our arrival
> >New-street. and having climbed lots and lots of stairs, found ourselves
> >the fourth storey above Lorelles Picture House. At the end of a small
>
> So it was above a cinema!

I don't think it was inside the cinema building, I think it was in a
nearby building which overlooked the cinema. I have seen a postcard of
Lozells Picture House and seem to recall it was a bit squat-looking.
It had a beautiful rose window which made it a landmark at the end of
the high street.

[...]
>>Round the room there are numbers of chairs, and in
> >certain positions, grand piano, cabinet gramophone, pianola player
>
> Acoustic gramophone perhaps in 1924?

Yes, electrical pickups were still in the experimental stage.

[...]
>> The
> >most important instrument, the microphone, hangs on insulated springs
> >from three-legged iron stand atiout five feet high. It is round, about
>
> A "meat-safe" one? Interesting that - by the sound of it - there was
> only one microphone for the whole studio.

That was the norm for quite a long while. Balancing and fading was done
by moving the performers.

[...]
> >station were found motor generators by Newton Brothers. Ltd.. Derby,
> >which fed current to four huge dull emitter power valves, tuning being
>
> (What is a dull emitter valve?)

The earlier valves had tungsten filaments which had to run white hot
(like light bulbs) to give enough emission. Later there were coated and
surface-treated filaments, which gave much more emission at lower
temperatures, so they were 'dull' emitters. The problem was that coated
filaments were much more liable to be stripped by electroststic forces
or be damaged by flashover if pockets of gas were released from the
metal components of the valve during use.

The gas-related flashover was called the "Rocky Point Effect" because it
was first noticed in the transmitter at Rocky Point [USA]. When
transmitting valves were still air cooled and relatively small, powerful
transmitters used banks of them in parallel. This meant that any valve
which flashed-over was destroyed by discharging a power supply that was
far bigger than was needed for a single valve. The 'cure' was to put a
resistor in series with each valve's anode to limit the fault current
until the manin breakers could trip out. (The circuit diagram of 2LO
shows those resistors.)

Later there were improvments to the de-gassing and pumping-down methods,
including induction-heating all the electrodes during the process, which
made gas occlusion less likely. Single large valves, rather than
parallel banks of small ones, solved the problem - but they needed water
cooling.

Continuously-pumped valves were another way of overcoming the problem.

>[...]
> >accomplished by a variometer, and the natural wave length of the aerial
> >being shortened by a large condenser in series with same.
>
> Interesting that no crystal was involved!

Crystal control didn't become the norm until the 1930s.

--
~ Liz Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

In article <1qjx9oh.7l2yvxn693k0N%liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid>,
Liz Tuddenham <liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid> wrote:
> JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> wrote:

> [...]
> > After our arrival New-street.
> > and having climbed lots and lots of stairs, found ourselves on the
> > fourth storey above Lorelles Picture House.

> It was the Lozells Picture House, named after the district of Birmingham
> where it was located. It had a well known cinema organ and recordings
> were issued of Frank Newman (a famous cinema organist of the time)
> playing it. My sleeve notes on the CD re-issue read:

> ~~~~~~~~~~
> Lozells Wurlitzer: originally a Model 160 recovered from a cinema in
> Hamilton, Ohio, USA. The company rebuilt it as a Model B Special with a
> two-manual console, six ranks of pipes and extra effects.
> It was then resold and installed in Lozells Picture House, Birmingham in
> January 1927. The cinema and organ were destroyed by enemy action in
> 1942.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as an aside, the Mechanical Music Museum in Brentford, West London, has a
working cinema organ complete with rising keyboard area. It can also play a
grand piano alongside which has been modified tom accept air operation of
the keys.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
> In message <uihuai$22vmm$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 9 Nov 2023 06:30:41,
> JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> writes
>
> >Mr. Wallis, on behalf of the party, thanked the officers of the B.B.C.
> >for their kindness in allowing the visit to be made, also for their
> >trouble taken to make it so interesting.
> >
> >We all walked to the power station at Summer lane, and eventually got
> >inside. The great feature is the fine aerial of cage or sausage type,
> >suspended vertically between two huge chimneys nearly two hundred feet
> >high. undoubtedly a very fine piece of engineering work, and we should
> >have liked to have seen it put up. Inside the small transmitting
>
> Interesting that it used - presumably - chimneys that were already
> there.

I am reminded of:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lots_Road_Power_Station

which used its chimneys for a radio transmitter for early commercial radio,
from 1973 to 2001.

Theo

In article <pGp*zm0uz@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
> > In message <uihuai$22vmm$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 9 Nov 2023 06:30:41,
> > JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> writes
> >
> > >Mr. Wallis, on behalf of the party, thanked the officers of the B.B.C.
> > >for their kindness in allowing the visit to be made, also for their
> > >trouble taken to make it so interesting.
> > >
> > >We all walked to the power station at Summer lane, and eventually got
> > >inside. The great feature is the fine aerial of cage or sausage type,
> > >suspended vertically between two huge chimneys nearly two hundred feet
> > >high. undoubtedly a very fine piece of engineering work, and we should
> > >have liked to have seen it put up. Inside the small transmitting
> >
> > Interesting that it used - presumably - chimneys that were already
> > there.

> I am reminded of:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lots_Road_Power_Station

> which used its chimneys for a radio transmitter for early commercial
> radio, from 1973 to 2001.

There was a BBC Tx at that site on 720kHz carrying Radio 4.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 09/11/2023 16:44, Theo wrote:
> which used its chimneys for a radio transmitter for early commercial radio,
> from 1973 to 2001.

Seems to have been common for some of the first transmitter site and
then many Group H sites used chimneys and some went on to be DF sites.

Why build a tower / mast when there was already a nice big chimney and
of course it did not draw attention to the site during the war.

A BBC engineer died in an air raid whilst he was working at the Hughes
Biscuit factory Bordesley, I suspect that must have been at a Group H
site and it probably used the chimneys.

In article <uij5ms$2ad7v$1@dont-email.me>,
JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> wrote:
> On 09/11/2023 16:44, Theo wrote:
> > which used its chimneys for a radio transmitter for early commercial
> > radio, from 1973 to 2001.

> Seems to have been common for some of the first transmitter site and
> then many Group H sites used chimneys and some went on to be DF sites.

> Why build a tower / mast when there was already a nice big chimney and
> of course it did not draw attention to the site during the war.

> A BBC engineer died in an air raid whilst he was working at the Hughes
> Biscuit factory Bordesley, I suspect that must have been at a Group H
> site and it probably used the chimneys.

Yes, this is mentioned in Pawley p244. 19 November 1940. But is doesn't
seem to have been an H Group station; it is quoted as a "spoiler" for the
European Service on 804kHz. 3 BBC staff were killed

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On Thu 09/11/2023 16:44, Theo wrote:
> J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
>> In message <uihuai$22vmm$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 9 Nov 2023 06:30:41,
>> JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> writes
>>
>>> Mr. Wallis, on behalf of the party, thanked the officers of the B.B.C.
>>> for their kindness in allowing the visit to be made, also for their
>>> trouble taken to make it so interesting.
>>>
>>> We all walked to the power station at Summer lane, and eventually got
>>> inside. The great feature is the fine aerial of cage or sausage type,
>>> suspended vertically between two huge chimneys nearly two hundred feet
>>> high. undoubtedly a very fine piece of engineering work, and we should
>>> have liked to have seen it put up. Inside the small transmitting
>>
>> Interesting that it used - presumably - chimneys that were already
>> there.
>
> I am reminded of:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lots_Road_Power_Station
>
> which used its chimneys for a radio transmitter for early commercial radio,
> from 1973 to 2001.
>
>

BBC Radio Sheffield transmitted MW on 1035Khz using the chimney of
Heeley swimming baths on Broadfield Road. ISTR it was an inverted L with
the long arm extending from the top of the chimney to a pole at the top
of a bank across the yard. It was closed down in May 2021.

In article <uij8or$2avo0$1@dont-email.me>, Woody <harrogate3@ntlworld.com>
wrote:
> On Thu 09/11/2023 16:44, Theo wrote:
> > J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
> >> In message <uihuai$22vmm$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 9 Nov 2023 06:30:41,
> >> JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> writes
> >>
> >>> Mr. Wallis, on behalf of the party, thanked the officers of the
> >>> B.B.C. for their kindness in allowing the visit to be made, also for
> >>> their trouble taken to make it so interesting.
> >>>
> >>> We all walked to the power station at Summer lane, and eventually got
> >>> inside. The great feature is the fine aerial of cage or sausage type,
> >>> suspended vertically between two huge chimneys nearly two hundred
> >>> feet high. undoubtedly a very fine piece of engineering work, and we
> >>> should have liked to have seen it put up. Inside the small
> >>> transmitting
> >>
> >> Interesting that it used - presumably - chimneys that were already
> >> there.
> >
> > I am reminded of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lots_Road_Power_Station
> >
> > which used its chimneys for a radio transmitter for early commercial
> > radio, from 1973 to 2001.
> >
> >

> BBC Radio Sheffield transmitted MW on 1035Khz using the chimney of
> Heeley swimming baths on Broadfield Road. ISTR it was an inverted L with
> the long arm extending from the top of the chimney to a pole at the top
> of a bank across the yard. It was closed down in May 2021.

The St Helier uhf relay is strapped to the top of the power station
chimney.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

Strange grammar back then, though I don't recall hearing it be quite so odd
in other documents from the period.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"JMB99" <mb@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:uihuai$22vmm$1@dont-email.me...
>I came across this whilst looking for something else on the BNA.
>
> Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal - Friday 11 January 1924
> Image � Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
>
> WIRELESS NOTES.
>
> People are asking, will there lie enough radio to round? There is no
> wonder at this query when one looks about even in own town, at the large
> numlier of aerials which keep springing up, but can assure all enthusiasts
> that there is heaps more than enough to satisfy all. fact, broadcast
> concerts, etc., are like the widow's cruse, and never reem to get any less
> nor any fainter. There is undoubtedly a good lot of wireless fever about,
> and dealers appear to be very busy. Now for the doings of one of our local
> societies!
>
> The Midland Institute Radio people and lady friends, to the number of
> sixty-eight, paid visit last Saturday to the British Broadcasting studio
> and transmitting station at Birmingham. After our arrival New-street. and
> having climbed lots and lots of stairs, found ourselves on the fourth
> storey above Lorelles Picture House. At the end of a small lobby we halted
> before a dark and mystic door which, being opened to us, revealed narrow
> passage leading into the studio. The party entered without a sound on
> account of the padded floor, and in sympathy spoke only in whispers! It
> was bit like going into a cemetery chape! or tomb, until we got used to
> the strange atmosphere. The first impression of the studio was rather a
> mixture photography and "behind the scenes" at a theatre. The room was
> about thirty feet square and nine feet high, with a flat ceiling. It was
> lighted on one side only by three windows, which fortunately opened as it
> was rlather stuffy. When broadcasting, even daytime, are closed and
> thickly curtained to keep out all extraneous sounds. With the exception of
> the floor, which was thickly carpeted, the walls and ceiling were covered
> with a single layer of coarse dark drapery, this by experiment having been
> found most suitable and is sufficient deadening effect to ensure direct
> sound waves being picked up. yet with just enough reflection to give
> brilliance to the transmission. It took six months to bring the studio to
> its present state of perfection. Round the room there are numbers of
> chairs, and in certain positions, grand piano, cabinet gramophone, pianola
> player piano, and all the impedimenta of jazz band and tympani. "Uncle"
> Vernon was busy with fluxite and soldering iron making a portable
> transmitter for use at Bournemouth when we arrived, and soon after "Uncle
> Jack" Cooper appeared.He is still in the army reserve, and quickly had us
> all marshalled for his address, which proved to be very interesting. He
> explained the whole broadcasting process and showed how by brass nails in
> the carpet each performer knew exactly where to stand or sit. and also how
> by signals from a row of little coloured lights instructions were given
> without speaking a sound to the performers. lights were the cause of the
> studio being christened "Rugby Station" by Uncle Joe. who declared they
> looked like that station on a wet night. They each illuminate small
> labels which read - speak - wait - re-arrange - move back - come closer
> and all correct. Close to the lights is a small window through which the
> engineer his ante-room listens in, watches, and controls the whole show.
> He is in direct telephonic communication with London, all other B.B.C.
> studios, also the transmitting station mile away, and fills in his spare
> time with the "national" as well. The most important instrument, the
> microphone, hangs on insulated springs from three-legged iron stand
> atiout five feet high. It is round, about five inches in diameter, and an
> inch and a half thick, and is connected to the apparatus (which is not on
> show) by ordinary flex. This circuit is joined to the transmission station
> at Lowe'- Loveday-streel by ordinary land line, where it amplified and fed
> into the aerial. Uncle Jack was particularly anxious to aasuie us that all
> concerts, etc., were 'sent out from the studio clear and clean cut. If
> listeners-in did not get good he said, it was undoubtedly the fault of
> their sets, especially transformers, and warned all again.st the folly of
> buying cheap rubbish.
> Mr. Wallis, on behalf of the party, thanked the officers of the B.B.C. for
> their kindness in allowing the visit to be made, also for their trouble
> taken to make it so interesting.
>
> We all walked to the power station at Summer lane, and eventually got
> inside. The great feature is the fine aerial of cage or sausage type,
> suspended vertically between two huge chimneys nearly two hundred feet
> high. undoubtedly a very fine piece of engineering work, and we should
> have liked to have seen it put up. Inside the small transmitting station
> were found motor generators by Newton Brothers. Ltd.. Derby, which fed
> current to four huge dull emitter power valves, tuning being accomplished
> by a variometer, and the natural wave length of the aerial being shortened
> by a large condenser in series with same.
>
> Mr. Basebe. the engineer in charge, explained the workings fully, and
> after a further vote of thanks by Mr. Gelsthorpe. the party dispersed to
> finish the evening according to their own desires.

Dull emitters were more efficient, as the power was used to heat the cathode
and not produce light, which was a waste of power.
Brian

--

--:
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Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"J. P. Gilliver" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote in message
news:JPbMV9R74KTlFwX7@255soft.uk...
> In message <kr3krjFro5mU1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 9 Nov 2023 08:50:58,
> John Williamson <johnwilliamson@btinternet.com> writes
>>On 09/11/2023 08:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>> (What is a dull emitter valve?)
>>>
>>At the time, bright emitter valves were common, with a tungsten wire
>>cathode running as hot as a light bulb. We used one at school in the 1060s
>>in our physics lessons to help us understand how electronics
>
> Ah, just before the conquest (-:!
>
> I really came into electronics in the '70s, but am pleased that the
> Scroggie I used started with valves (about 9th edition I think?).
> [Actually I often cite it as an excellent textbook: it actually started by
> explaining what a graph was, which I thought was good.]
>
>>worked. I'd been playing with the by then normal dull emitter valves at
>>home for a while at the time, and was worried about them burning the
>>heater out.
>>
>>Dull emitter valves either had a special coating on the filament (Directly
>>heated) or a coated cathode surrounded the filament (Indirect heating) The
>>cathode in these valves ran at a temperature hot enough to emit a dull red
>>glow, hence the name.
>
> Ah, so it just referred to the operating temperature of the filament. (I
> think most/all of the valves I ever had anything to do with were
> indirectly-heated cathodes.)
> []
>>I wonder what they did about sound leakage through the open windows
>>mentioned as the only ventilation in the studio?
>>
> Kept them closed, I think! The article did say it was a bit stuffy.
> --
> J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
>
> looking like one who had drunk the cup of life and found
> a dead beetle in the bottom. - Wodehouse

Dull emitters were indeed more efficient, but before they invented the
technology to make them, valve designers didn't have the choice.

On 30/11/2023 11:15, Brian Gaff wrote:
> Dull emitters were more efficient, as the power was used to heat the cathode
> and not produce light, which was a waste of power.
> Brian
>

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

In message <ksr9caF8ppiU1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 30 Nov 2023
11:18:34, John Williamson <johnwilliamson@btinternet.com> writes
>
>Dull emitters were indeed more efficient, but before they invented the
>technology to make them, valve designers didn't have the choice.
>
>On 30/11/2023 11:15, Brian Gaff wrote:
>> Dull emitters were more efficient, as the power was used to heat the cathode
>> and not produce light, which was a waste of power.
>> Brian
>>
>
>
I doubt there was _much_ difference in efficiency: incandescent
lightbulbs were about 4% efficient in terms of light output (5% in
special cases), the rest coming out as heat anyway, so not emitting
light wouldn't save much. I suspect it's more that initially they _had_
to run white-hot to achieve the necessary temperature to work, before
the technology John mentions was invented. I think the real advantage
would be greater life: white-hot filaments presumably had shorter life
(and were more fragile); they couldn't put inert gas in to reduce
evaporation losses as they eventually did with lightbulbs, as that would
interfere with its functioning as a valve. (I have a vague memory of
Krypton being the preferred one for lightbulbs, and that being about the
only large-scale use for it [that and discharge tubes], but ICBWAT.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

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