On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:36:25 +0100, Mike J <mikewj@tiscali.co.uk> wrote:


Ah a name to remember - re-built London Switching Centre as well!!


Mike was the Project Engineer for the video installation assisted by
Mike Turner and Keith Sudel. I was the Project Engineer for the audio,
comms and switching installation assisted by Dave Daborn and Graham (?).

I think it was the second time that we'd used a
modular system of desk construction, the first being in Belfast CTA in
the late 60s. Prior to that, every desk panel was custom made for its
application. This was expensive and inefficient in terms of
Engineer/Draughtsman time and effort. Another Engineer, Denis Noble,
who worked for me on the Belfast CTA project, and I decided to go for
a set of standard modules which could be fitted into a desk to fulfil
the operational requirement. We used ISEP frames and modules, decided
that BBC ED24 grey was not a good colour in subdued lighting so went
for a dark green (068 in BS2660?) with yellow engraving, round push
buttons for executive functions, square buttons for non-executive and
the cabling to every panel had to be long enough to allow that panel
to be positioned anywhere in the desk. Roger Jephcott, who was the
Ops. Manager(?) requested a rearrangement one week before the service
date which was very easily accomplished. That would have been
impossible using the old construction method.

I can't remember what we used for the audio matrix but it was probably
Type 25 miniature relays which were in widespread use by then and had
replaced the PO 3000 in most applications. The video matrix would have
been a DD effort. One anomaly, which we had to overcome everywhere
with a married audio/video matrix, was that DD, in their wisdom had
wired the control inputs to the video matrix in terms of the
destinations and our audio matrix was wired in terms of the sources.
This was sorted out on PO tag blocks with the control cables from the
audio matrix being wired to the column tags and the control wires to
the video matrix being wired to the row tags (or the other way round).

Dave Daborn did a brilliant job on this desk. I think it was the most
successful desk that we'd installed up to that time and, probably,
since. Certainly there was a great deal of discussion about the layout
and the fact that it was built virtually in situ helped a lot.

It doesn't surprise me at all. In Manchester you could watch the output
of
the continuity studio in the road outside on a tv set. Talk about 'leaky
feeders'.

You mean like this Alan?

http://www.bostonmanor.plus.com/SWC_Main_Desk.jpg

and stories like this:-

http://www.bostonmanor.plus.com/ExBHComms/SWC.html

The previous re-build was after the first DD solid state matrix came in.
Controlled by 24way yaxley switches with a centre extra concentric
switch to select 1-24 + 25 (P&B) as no-one made 25way break before make
switches!!
That was after the first matrix install which was controlled from the
25way Ledex switches via the old video switching level as the other
levels were still in use for audio and 'marking'

In article <4f190fc97bdave@davenoise.co.uk>,
Dave Plowman (News) <dave@davenoise.co.uk> wrote:
In article <si+YmcaT0q0GFwkx@bancom.co.uk>,
tony sayer <tony@bancom.co.uk> wrote:
Client also needs 6 channels of locally sourced video mixed in with
the distribution. If it was 1 or 2 channels I would just get cheap
modulators, choose a couple of blank channels and mix it in with the
off-air feed. But doing 6 channels worries me. Do I need to worry
about the performance of cheap modulators? Do I need to worry about
intermodulation problems? What else do I need to worry about?

You Haven't a chance in hell of getting that number of channels to work
well. They'll work after a fashion, though.


Yes it will work, you just need the right equipment.

Look up Taylor transmitters in Oldham they do this sort of stuff and
sell it everyday!. A combination of modulators and channel filters is
what's required.

Bill W could no doubt give you chapter and verse on this subject...

I've yet to see one work what I'd consider perfectly. And I've seen plenty
of RF distribution systems in studio complexes. Where I assume cost
doesn't matter.

but, if you've seen them in BBC studio complexes, consider how many Studio
Capital Projects people knew anything about RF. Mike Lyons did - in the
end.

I've yet to see one work what I'd consider perfectly. And I've seen plenty
of RF distribution systems in studio complexes. Where I assume cost
doesn't matter.

but, if you've seen them in BBC studio complexes, consider how many Studio
Capital Projects people knew anything about RF. Mike Lyons did - in the
end.


Suppose they were either SCPD or TCPD ...


There wasn't a RCPD was there?...

tony sayer wrote:

I've yet to see one work what I'd consider perfectly. And I've seen plenty
of RF distribution systems in studio complexes. Where I assume cost
doesn't matter.

but, if you've seen them in BBC studio complexes, consider how many Studio
Capital Projects people knew anything about RF. Mike Lyons did - in the
end.


Suppose they were either SCPD or TCPD ...


There wasn't a RCPD was there?...


Not as I recall.


SCPD = Studio capital projects department, possibly now part of Siemens.

TCPD = Transmitter capital projects department is now a division in
the Warwick based company called National Grid Wireless, was at Henry
Wood house.

RD = Research Department at Kingswood Warren.
DD = Designs Department at Western House
ED = Equipment Department in Chiswick.

These three merged to form BBC R&D based at Kingswood Warren in Surrey.


There were other sections such as Transmitter group, Engineering
information Department, Communications Department ect.

Much of it merged, such as TCPD and Transmitter group merged to form
BBC Transmission.

Jim

tony sayer wrote:

I've yet to see one work what I'd consider perfectly. And I've seen
plenty of RF distribution systems in studio complexes. Where I
assume cost doesn't matter.

but, if you've seen them in BBC studio complexes, consider how many
Studio Capital Projects people knew anything about RF. Mike Lyons
did - in the end.


Suppose they were either SCPD or TCPD ...


There wasn't a RCPD was there?...

Not as I recall.

SCPD = Studio capital projects department, possibly now part of Siemens.

TCPD = Transmitter capital projects department is now a division in the
Warwick based company called National Grid Wireless, was at Henry Wood
house.

RD = Research Department at Kingswood Warren. DD = Designs Department at
Western House ED = Equipment Department in Chiswick.

These three merged to form BBC R&D based at Kingswood Warren in Surrey.

There were other sections such as Transmitter group, Engineering
information Department, Communications Department ect.

"Receiver Capital Projects Dept"

Not quite required for a broadcaster;-)...

tony sayer wrote:


"Receiver Capital Projects Dept"

Not quite required for a broadcaster;-)...

Anything to with the receiver was a EiD matter.

There wasn't a RCPD was there?...


Not as I recall.

Yes!!

Radio Capital Projects Department

tony sayer wrote:
.


There wasn't a RCPD was there?...


Not as I recall.




Yes!!

Radio Capital Projects Department

All renamed from X P&ID = X Planning and Installation Department.

TP&ID/TCPD also dis work for OBs on Vehicles/mastheads and the VERY
illfated C control from Swains Lane

Once SCPD was disbanded, some of those people became Radio
Capital Projects.

"Receiver Capital Projects Dept"

Not quite required for a broadcaster;-)...


Anything to with the receiver was a EiD matter.

(Capital I, please, EID.)

not when it was a BBC Receiver ;-(

Actually there used to be a part of Equipment Department called "Receiver
Section". It looked after all the sets in senior managements houses. One
of my EID colleagues moved to be head of section in the late 70s.

SCP&ID became Studio Capital Projects.