British LW being turned off 27th June

since I retired in June of last year I work as a volunteer at the lovely refurbished Droitwich Spa Heritage Centre, any one in the area is more than welcome to call in, as part of our display we have a very good area dedicated to the BBC transmitors in Wychpod, anyone driving down or up the M5 will see them, well BBC have announced Long wave is being turned off on the 27th June, we have a free talk on Wychpold and BBC on that day -

13 Likes

Wish I lived closer to check out the talk. Have driven past those masts for many a year - end of an era. Don’t think I have used LW since tuning in to the test cricket many years ago !

5 Likes

How will we know if WW III has or has not started…….:scream::scream::scream::scream:.

ATB, J

1 Like

Are they leaving the masts up? We can see them lit up at night from where we live. About 20 miles away.

Many years ago I used to work in Malvern. It was always reassuring to see the red lights on the Wychbold masts glowing in the darkness as I headed back down the M5, especially after a long journey, as I knew I was nearly home.

4 Likes

Not sure to be honest, I wil try and find out more

1 Like

There is a campaign lobbying for the preservation of the masts.
ā€œ C20 Society: The Twentieth Century Society has formally called for the listing of two historic radio masts ā€œ

I wonder if they realise the cost of just maintaining them, safety checks, running repairs etc..

PS: …… just had a look at the site on g.maps.
The x2 LW masts are supporting the aerial proper, a horizontal wire and a centre vertical ā€œTā€
There are two other guy supported lattice masts ….. these are a MW pair, radiator and reflector.
Also x2 separate self supporting towers both with cell phone, microwave parabolic and various yagi types. One tower looks like was originally a Decca Navigator.

3 Likes

Probably sell for scrap :frowning:.

ATB, J

I suspect that you may be right.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there were already a property developer involved planning to build houses & apartments on the site.

1 Like

Operating Decca kit at sea umpteen decades ago I probably made use of the signal from there !

Yup those were the days.
I installed the Navigator receivers, military and some commercial and private marine during the ā€˜60’s.

I just looked up the Navigator TX locations and no, it’s not an old Navigator tower.
The Decca system had a TX located between Banbury & Southam that covered what was known as the ā€˜English Chain’

2 Likes

I had an old amateur radio friend who used to be the station operator at the Decca Navigation station in Llancarfan, South Wales. He lived in the station buildings, a neat bungalow with a building next to it that contained the Nav signal generation and transmitters and backup generator. The antennas and ATU buildings were up in a field up behind the bungalow.

I think it eventually closed down around 1998, the old transmitters and Nav units having been modernised a few years earlier with a much less impressive looking container and separate generator.

Radio Society of Great Britain will mark the occasion and have a few pictures. The masts are a beacon of home for those of us who live locally when driving on the motorway or walking in the countryside.

https://rsgb.org/main/radio-sport/rsgb-contest-club/bbc-long-wave-shutdown/

Droitwich Calling by John F. Phillips - BBC Engineering.

1 Like

Quite unacceptable. How on earth can I be expected to stay up to date with the cricket as I drive through northern France?

3 Likes

As a school kid I had an old 50’s valve radio in my bedroom, I have fond memories of listening to Terry Wogan on LW Radio 2 in the mornings, reception was perfect here in Dublin using a long wire as an antenna, I’m guessing it was Droitwich I was tuned to. I still have the receiver but a little scared to turn it on! It’s such a shame the exciting days of radio are over.

1 Like

I’m told there’s this new thing called the internet.

Some say it may be the next ā€˜big thing’……

1 Like

Droitwich covered most of Ireland. Full coverage all over the east as far as the west midlands and partial further west depending on hill shadow.
A relative in Co.Galway set up a tree rigged aerial each summer to get the cricket.

2 Likes

It’ll never catch on.

3 Likes

brillant article, thanks

1 Like

Spoken like a man who’s never driven through Northern France.

You get very familiar with the word ā€œEDGEā€ and not in the cricketing sense.

1 Like