BBC radio dial stickers

[WilliamTK1974]

Hi everyone,

Not too long ago, I learned about how the BBC went through a frequency allocation change in the late 70s, which caused a lot of the markings on radio dials to become obsolete. To make up for this, stickers were sent out with markings designed to stick on the radio dial to show the correct location for the updated frequencies.

I can't help but be interested because I'm not aware of anything like that happening over on this side of the pond.

Does anyone have a radio or radios in their collections that might have the stickers still in place? Or even better, have the stickers themselves as they were distributed?

I'm fortunate to own a couple of Roberts radios and a couple of Soviet multi-bands. There is something evocative about reading the place names on the dials. We didn't have such over here because our broadcast industry got off to a different start. Perhaps one day I'll be able to pick up another Roberts or similar that still has the stickers in place. Just seems an interesting part of broadcast history.

Thank you,
-William

[trsomian]

I remember the event well; was quite a shake up at the time

About 15 years ago I acquired a Bush radio cassette recorder from the estate of my wife's great uncle just before my father in law chucked it in the skip (I literally took it out of his hands just before he threw it) which has the remains of these labels. The point is that the glue on them doesn't come off easily. I will take a look at it and see how much of the labels is there.

The radio itself must be early 70s, or possibly late 60s by the style of it, is Japanese rather than British, and still works absolutely fine; the top of the VHF band is missing by modern standards

[mark_in_manc]

They're funny little red or blue diamond-shaped things about 1/4" across the diagonal with numbers 1-4 in the middle of the diamond. There was also a larger rectangular label with more info on it which the enthusiastic could plaster onto their receiver.

Everyone must have been sent them, and because I was under 10 at the time I took great pleasure, as kids still do, in using stickers - so our kitchen radio ended up with a series of slightly squiffy stickers on it, as did most people's. They're still not unusual to find on a radio of the right age - our went on a 'Pye' radio-cassette which was actually something Japanese, as far as I can now tell. I wish I still had it, but my little sister 'had a stomach upset' all over it, as my mother will have euphemistically said...

[trsomian]

As I remember it, the a packet of stickers together with a leaflet stating what was to happen was delivered to each house by hand, not posted.

At the same time all but 200KHz Radio 4 also moved frequency if necessary to be a multiple of 9KHz, for example Radio 1 1214KHz became Radio 3 1215KHz

Presumably the local radio stations had their frequencies adjusted at the same time if necessary, but possibly it wasn't necessary for them because they were all on multiples of 9KHz already

Radio 4 moved from 200KHz to 198KHz some years later

Eventually, Radios 1, 2, & 3 were moved off MW and most of the changes became irrelevant, only Radio 4 remaining as changed

[Cobaltblue]

I spend all my time trying to scrape them off!

Anyway this is a snip straight off the net

Cheers

Mike T

[paulsherwin]

As you see from the photo, they look pretty horrible, and most restorers do remove them - not easy, as they were intended to be permanent. They are very common indeed. Older people in particular were a lot more deferential to authority in those days, and if the BBC told you to do something then you did it. It may have been something to do with the wartime and immediate postwar experience, which was not history but memory to everyone over 40 at that time.

Occasionally restorers do leave the stickers in place, being part of the radio's history.

[teetoon]

I remember them well and recently found this one in my collection. They were sent to my Gran's house and only the Radio 4 stickers were used.
Enjoy.

David.

What a wonderful item from the beeb, now all you get is a thing on your telly or DAB radio (which I like) saying "This service is no longer available".

I think it was a lyric from Joe Jackson "We've got HBO, 200 channels and nothing to watch", four was enough (TV and radio).

[jb332]

Despite searching online, I'm still not overly sure why Radio 4 and Radio 2 swapped bands in 1978 since both had nationwide coverage - is there a definitive reason?

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

I think it was a lyric from Joe Jackson "We've got HBO, 200 channels and nothing to watch", four was enough (TV and radio).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57_Cha..._Nothin%27_On)

On topic please

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by jb332

Despite searching online, I'm still not overly sure why Radio 4 and Radio 2 swapped bands in 1978 since both had nationwide coverage - is there a definitive reason?

Wonder if it was to do with the cessation of the BBC Radio 4 Welsh, N.Irish and Scottish nations' 'opt-outs' and their replacement by BBC Radio Wales, Ulster and Scotland, as well as the introduction of Cymru and Gaelic programmes on regional MF?

Geneva frequency plan, increase in MF transmitters and focussed local coverage may have had something to do with it too.

[russell_w_b]

The BBC Yearbook of '78 mentions the Geneva plan, and just says that with the addition of 227kHz and a new LF station at Burghead on 200kHz, by allocating both these frequencies to Radio 4 it will be possible, for the first time, to achieve almost complete coverage of the UK for this important network...'

Whether it was the Government of the day or the BBC who decided on the importance of 'this important network', I don't know. Radios and spare batteries in biscuit tins buried in the fall-out shelter, perhaps?

[Synchrodyne]

The background to the 1978 BBC LF and MF frequency changes was provided in an article “The UK Wavelength Changes” in Wireless World 1978 November, page 44ff, available here: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/...d_Magazine.htm.

This table, excerpted from that article, provides a summary of the before and after coverage situation:




Apparently a “do nothing” choice (other than alignment with the new MF multiples-of-nine channelling) would have, in the face of the pan-European changes in the wake of the Geneva Plan, resulted in a general deterioration of coverage.


Cheers,

[Synchrodyne]

Additional comment on the 1978 changes is available in this document:

http://www.bbceng.info/Technical%20R...m_tx_nw_6a.pdf

Cheers,

[Synchrodyne]

As part of the memorabilia from that 1978 change, I kept a copy of the “Radio Times” pullout supplement that covered the frequency changes as they affected the southeast, scan attached.

Radio Times Supplement 197811.pdf

I don’t have the exact date of issue, as I did not keep the whole magazine, but it would have been late October or early November. I recall tuning around quite early on the morning of November 23; Brookmans Park 909 kHz was not yet up, so other 909 kHz transmitters were coming in at lowish level, more than one by the phasiness of the sound. It was up though on a second check just before L left for the office.


Cheers,

[Grubhead]

I remember the ILR Radio Stations had a field day at the expense at the BBC. With loads of jokes by the score!

[dsergeant]

Note that Droitwich remained on 200kHz at this stage and did not move to 198kHz under the Geneva plan until February 1988. Many of you on here will presumably have already seen this but there is a fascinating story about Droitwich at http://www.bbceng.info/Operations/tr...ch_calling.htm

Dave

[crackle]

Radio dial vandalism, hell of a job to get them off, they seemed to weld to the plastic dial.

Mike

[Rubberfingers]

There was a record as well, by the Kings Singers, (at least you don't have to scrape a record of the dial glass!)

Edit: Found it on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbSMMNVOT0o

[Andrew2]

I still come across them, stuck to the dials of transistor radios in house-clearance shops. They are the very devil to remove, they seem almost to have 'become one' with the perspex dial material!
But should they be removed? They are after all part & parcel of the radio's history and form a record of the shifts in broadcasting at the time.

Re the record. How simply spiffing! Those were the *proper* King's Singers as I remember them. Didn't they set several of their novelty offerings to the same tune?