Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Thread Like Summary - Farewell, Longwave (UK)

At 1.00 am this morning, after almost 100 years of its broadcasting on Long Wave, I listened as the BBC’s final flourish was to play the National Anthem before completely shutting down its broadcasting on Long Wave (LW) forever.

As I recover this morning, later I can be found winding up my Gramophone.

Ah the end of another era.

The long wave transmitter station at Wychbold has such a significant history. As a newly recruited BBC trainee I was sent to the Engineering Training dept at Evesham and a course there often involved a trip to Wychbold, which wasn’t too far away, to study the transmitters.

We marvelled at the enormous valve bottles that powered the masts. There were also four (if I recall correctly) ships engines there (English Electric I think) that had been redeployed as back up generators in case of power failure.

Ah yes the memories!
In my case it was 1977, 1981, and 1984 at Evesham, so yes, quite some time ago! There was even a BBC club at the Wychbold site back then.
The old building at Evesham is now a rather nice hotel and most of the site is a retirement village. But there is still a bit of Engineering Training left at the top of the site.

Actually Radio 1 247m was a medium wave frequency - 1215khz I think? It was Radio 2, which was formerly the Light Programme - that initially broadcast on 1500m Long Wave from the mast at Droitwich. I grew up around the area and I recall my dad, who listened to the light programme, telling me that people who lived very close to the mast needed attenuators for their receiver set up as the signal was so strong. How that was accomplished on a portable transistor I was never sure. He worked for the then Midlands Electricity Board who not only supplied mains electricity but also had showrooms selling electrical goods, including radios. Those were the days!