ARLA/CLUSTER: 95º Aniversário da estação britânica 2MT

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

95 Years - A celebration of radio station 2MT

February 14, 2017 marks the 95th anniversary of the start of the UK's
first ever regular, advertised broadcast radio station, 2MT, which
came live from Writtle in Essex

To commemorate this anniversary, and to celebrate the young,
pioneering team of engineers, the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society
will be transmitting from the same building from where the original
broadcasts commenced. One of their members, Jim Salmon 2E0RMI, will
also be operating a three-day internet radio service, Radio Emma Toc,
featuring radio related documentaries, vintage comedies and live
programmes from various locations.

The first 2MT broadcast started at 7.15pm on February 14, 1922 from an
ex-army Marconi hut - a 'Long Low Hut' - sited in a waterlogged field
in Lawford Lane Writtle. This famous hut is now on permanent display
at Sandford Mill, Chelmsford, and can be visited during the summer
open days at the Mill.

Members of the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society - CARS - regularly
transmit to fellow amateur radio hams from this historic hut and, for
this celebration, a team from CARS will be making contact with fellow
amateurs on February 12 and 14. A special event call sign, GB95 two
eMma Toc (GB952MT), will be used to mark this occasion
http://qrz.com/db/GB952MT
In the World War 1 RAF phonetic alphabet eMma was used to signify M,
and Toc for T https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_radio_alphabet

Tim Wander G6GUX, Consultant at Sandford Mill and Chelmsford Museums,
describes the original 2MT broadcasts. He says: “The 2MT team offered
its listeners impromptu comedy sketches, the first ever broadcast
radio play, dedicated children’s five minute spots, impersonations,
guest artistes, burlesque entertainments and even parodies of grand
opera.
Nothing like it had been heard before - it was a new type of
entertainment and it made history.

“The power behind the microphone was Marconi engineer, Captain Peter
Eckersley, who as Britain’s first ‘DJ’ brought an amazing
light-hearted spirit and comic skill to the new art of radio
broadcasting. His sheer joie de vivre bubbled across the ether and he
was not only the first, but also talked to his listeners as if they
were in the room with him - and his listeners, estimated at over
20,000 people, loved him and the station.

“Often a one-man show, but always a team effort, 2MT at Writtle wrote
a crucial chapter in the history of radio and broadcasting and
directly led to the formation of the BBC in 1922."

Jim Salmon, of Radio Emma Toc, says: "We will not try to recreate
station 2MT - how could we? We live in a very different age. What we
would like to recreate is the spirit and adventure of 2MT, to be 'born
in laughter and nurtured in laughter'.”

He continued: “If all goes to plan, our online radio station will be
available to a worldwide audience via the internet, and the amateur
radio transmissions will hopefully be beamed across the ether to
distant shores. Of course, as with the best laid plans - there is a
vast potential for things to go wrong, however this would be in
keeping with the pioneering character of radio experimenters of the
time!”

The team is also planning the centenary celebrations of the birth of
British broadcasting in Chelmsford.

For a programme schedule and information on Radio Emma Toc, visit
http://www.emmatoc.com/

For details on the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society and training
courses provided by them, visit
http://www.g0mwt.org.uk/

Sandford Mill will be open to the public on Sunday, July 9 for the
Science Discovery Day: The Great Outdoors!, which will give school
children the chance to experience the Long Low Hut and view Marconi’s
radio technology and TV cameras. To discover more, visit
http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/museums