16 April 2026 – Broadcast Engineering by David G4FKI

 

We enjoyed a fascinating talk by David, who took us through the history of broadcasting in the UK.

David G4FKI gave a talk on Broadcast Engineering on 17th April 2026
David G4FKI delivering his facinating talk

He started with 2LO in the early 1920s and talked about the privately funded international shortwave  Empire Broadcasting station G2NM, which Gerald Marcuse built at his home for £10,000. That would be almost £800,000 today.

The BBC was formed in 1927 and started to put pressure on Gerald Marcuse by limiting his frequencies and the hours he was allowed to operate.

The BBC World Service began in 1932, and Empire Broadcasting came to an end.

David went on to explain more details about the mix of commercial, offshore, and mainland BBC services, and how the BBC is rapidly shifting from traditional RF transmissions to an online service delivered over the internet.

A wide range of installations, explained in detail and supported by photos, added great interest to David’s talk.

Enormous coaxial cable
A short section of the enormous co-axial cable, typically used for FM broadcast

Of the physical exhibits which David brought along, the high-power coaxial cable was a real eye-opener, as was a 32kW tetrode and a multi-thousand-pound battery-powered AM broadcast monitor.