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Coordinates: 51°30′43.6″N 0°07′6.2″W / 51.512111°N 0.118389°W / 51.512111; -0.118389
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox radio station
⚫
[[File:Blythe House Science Museum stores tour 01.JPG|thumb|Part of the 2LO transmitting equipment.]]
| name = 2LO
⚫
[[File:Blythe House Science Museum stores tour 99.JPG|thumb|More of the 2LO transmitting equipment.]]
| city = [[London]]
⚫
'''2LO''' was the second [[radio station]] to regularly broadcast in the [[United Kingdom]] (the first was [[2MT]]). It began [[broadcasting]] on 11 May 1922, for one hour a day from the seventh floor of [[Marconi House]] in [[London]]'s [[Strand, London|Strand]]. This building, opposite [[Somerset House]], was demolished in 2006, apart from the [[listed building|listed]] façade, which will be incorporated into a new hotel complex.<ref>[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/MarconiHouseStrandAldwychLondon.htm Marconi House, Strand / Aldwych, London] The Music Hall and Theatre Site</ref> A first hand account of a broadcast from 2LO is given in ''[[The Spell of London]]'' by [[Henry Vollam Morton]].
| frequency = 857&nbsp;[[Hertz|kHz]]
| airdate = {{start date and age|1922|5|11|df=y}}
| last_airdate = {{End date and age|1930|3|9|df=y}}
| erp = 100 [[watt]]s
| coordinates = {{coord|51.511994|N|0.118383|W|}}
| licensing_authority = [[General Post Office]]
| owner = [[British Broadcasting Company]] Ltd. <small>(from 14 November 1922 to 31 December 1926)</small><br>[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] (BBC) <small>(from 1 January 1927 to 2LO split-off into the [[BBC Regional Programme|BBC Regional]] and [[BBC National Programme|National]] programmes on 9 March 1930)</small>
}}
{{Listen| filename = 2LO Calling - 1922.mp3 |title = 2LO Calling |type = speech |description = Unidentified male announcer, speaking the 2LO [[call sign]] }}
'''2LO''' was the second [[radio station]] to regularly broadcast in the [[United Kingdom]] (the first was [[2MT]]). It began [[broadcasting]] on 11 May 1922, for one hour a day from the seventh floor of [[Marconi House]] in [[London]]'s [[Strand, London|Strand]], opposite [[Somerset House]].


==History==
⚫
Initially the power was 100 watts on 350 metres (857&nbsp;[[Hertz|kHz]]). 2LO was allowed to transmit for seven minutes, after which the 'operator' had to listen on the wavelength for three minutes for possible instructions to close down. On 14 November 1922 the station was transferred to the new [[British Broadcasting Company]] which in 1923 took up the nearby [[Savoy Hill]] for its broadcasting studios. In 1927 the company became the [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]]. On 9 March 1930 2LO was replaced by the [[BBC Regional Programme]] and the [[BBC National Programme]]. The letters LO continued to be used internally as a designation in the BBC for technical operations in the London area (for example the numbering of all recordings made in London contained LO). The code LO was changed to LN in the early 1970s.
Initially the power was 100 watts on 360 metres (832&nbsp;[[Hertz|kHz]]). 2LO was allowed to transmit for seven minutes, after which the "operator" had to listen on the wavelength for three minutes for possible instructions to close down. On 14 November 1922 the station was transferred to the new [[British Broadcasting Company]] which in 1923 took up the nearby [[Savoy Hill]] for its broadcasting studios. At midnight on New Year's Eve 1923, the twelve chimes of [[Big Ben]] were broadcast for the first time to mark the new year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Macdonald |first=Peter |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56657409 |title=Big Ben : the bell, the clock and the tower |date=2004 |publisher=Sutton |isbn=0-7509-3827-7 |location=Stroud |oclc=56657409 |quote=A few days earlier a microphone had been set up on the roof of a nearby building, No. 1 Bridge Street, just opposite the Houses of Parliament. As the time approached midnight the chimes of the Great Clock ringing out the old year were followed on the hour by the twelve deep strokes of Big Ben ringing in the new, and broadcast, by means of a temporary line running to the control room at Savoy Hill, to listeners tuned to 2LO, the BBC’s first radio transmitter, then barely a year old. |via=www.worldcat.org |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref>


⚫
In 1927 the company became the [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]]. On 9 March 1930 2LO was replaced by the [[BBC Regional Programme]] and the [[BBC National Programme]]. The letters LO continued to be used internally as a designation in the BBC for technical operations in the London area (for example, the numbering of all recordings made in London contained LO). The code LO was changed to LN in the early 1970s.
The 2LO transmitter now belongs to the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]], having been donated by Crown Castle International on 7 November 2002.
<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/11_november/03/2lo.shtml Gift to nation marks BBC's 80th anniversary] BBC Press Office, 3 November 2002</ref> It is now on show in the Information Gallery on the second floor of the museum.


==Preservation and legacy==
⚫
The 'LO' part of 2LO's callsign was adopted in 1924 by the metropolitan radio station in Melbourne which, since 1932, has been a part of the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. The station, [[3LO]], still has this callsign allocated to it but, since 2000 it has used the on-air name [[774 ABC Melbourne]]. The amateur radio callsign G2LO is currently held by the staff association at [[Arqiva]], formerly Crown Castle International, formerly the BBC Transmitter Department.<ref>[http://www.qrz.com/db/g2lo QRZ.com Callsign Database]</ref>
{{multiple image|caption_align=left

| header_align=center
| footer_align=center
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| total_width = 200
⚫
| image1 =Blythe House Science Museum stores tour 01.JPG
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
⚫
| image2 =Blythe House Science Museum stores tour 99.JPG
| width1 = 5164 | height1 = 3456 | alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer =Parts of the 2LO transmitter in the Science Museum, London (2013)
}}
The 2LO transmitter now belongs to the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]], having been donated by Crown Castle International on 7 November 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/11_november/03/2lo.shtml |title=Gift to nation marks BBC's 80th anniversary |work=BBC Press Office |date=3 November 2002 |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 November 2002|title=Science Museum Gets Original BBC Transmitter|url=https://www.culture24.org.uk/places-to-go/london/art14092|url-status=live|website=Culture24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181728/https://www.culture24.org.uk/places-to-go/london/art14092 |archive-date=9 July 2021 }}</ref> It is displayed in the Information Age gallery on the second floor of the museum.

⚫
Marconi House was demolished in 2006, apart from the [[listed building|listed]] façade, which was incorporated into a new hotel complex.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/MarconiHouseStrandAldwychLondon.htm |title=Marconi House, Strand / Aldwych, London |work=The Music Hall and Theatre Site |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref> A first-hand account of a broadcast from 2LO is given in ''[[The Spell of London]]'' by [[H. V. Morton]].

⚫
The 'LO' part of 2LO's callsign was adopted in 1924 by the metropolitan radio station in [[Melbourne]] which, since 1932, has been a part of the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. The station, [[3LO]], still has this callsign allocated to it, but since 2000 it has used different on-air names: as from 2017, it was 774 ABC Melbourne; and it is now [[ABC Radio Melbourne]].<ref>''Radio Melbourne'' was formerly the slogan for commercial station [[3AW]]. Both ''3LO'' and 3AW are considered rivals for the same audience.</ref>

The amateur radio callsign G2LO is currently held by the staff association at [[Arqiva]], formerly Crown Castle International, formerly the domestic part of BBC Transmitter Department.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qrz.com/db/g2lo |title=Callsign Database |website=www.qrz.com |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref>

==In fiction==
2LO is briefly mentioned in the 1928, [[Lord Peter Wimsey]], detective short-story [[Lord Peter Views the Body#The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question|''The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question'']] by [[Dorothy L. Sayers]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sayers |first=Dorothy L. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/947925610 |title=Lord Peter views the body |publisher=Hodder |year=2016 |quote=It was by a continual and personal badgering of the Chief Engineer at 2LO on the question of "Why is Oscillation and How is it Done?" that his lordship incidentally unmasked the great Ploffsky gang of Anarchist conspirators, |chapter=The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question |isbn=978-1-4736-2132-9 |location=London |oclc=947925610 |via=www.worldcat.org |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref>

2LO is also mentioned in Chapter 32 of Anthony Burgess’s “Earthly Powers” 1980 as part of a fictional episode involving the narrator’s brother Tom Toomey.

A 2LO broadcast with a weather forecast and news bulletin is mentioned in Chapter V of sir Arthur Conan Doyle's ''The Maracot Deep'' 1927-28.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

⚫
*H.V, Morton. 1926, 18th Edition 1948, 'The spell of London', Methuen & Co Ltd, London.
==Sources==
⚫
*H.V. Morton. 1926, 18th Edition 1948, ''The spell of London'', Methuen & Co Ltd, London.

==External links==
==External links==
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20100318011520/http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/stories/2lo.aspx The Science Museum: London Calling]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100318011520/http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/stories/2lo.aspx The Science Museum: London Calling]
* [http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/MarconiHouseStrandAldwychLondon.htm History of Marconi House where 2LO first broadcast]
* [http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/MarconiHouseStrandAldwychLondon.htm History of Marconi House where 2LO first broadcast]
* [http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/sounds/2lo_calling.mp3 Audio of 2LO station identification]
* [http://www.radiorewind.co.uk/sounds/2lo_calling.mp3 Audio of 2LO station identification]
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[[Category:Radio stations in London]]
[[Category:Radio stations in London]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1922]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1922]]
[[Category:Radio stations disestablished in 1930]]
[[Category:Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom]]

Latest revision as of 19:46, 26 July 2024

2LO
Frequency857 kHz
Ownership
OwnerBritish Broadcasting Company Ltd. (from 14 November 1922 to 31 December 1926)
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (from 1 January 1927 to 2LO split-off into the BBC Regional and National programmes on 9 March 1930)
History
First air date
11 May 1922; 102 years ago (1922-05-11)
Last air date
9 March 1930; 94 years ago (1930-03-09)
Technical information
Licensing authority
General Post Office
ERP100 watts
Transmitter coordinates
51°30′43″N 0°07′06″W / 51.511994°N 0.118383°W / 51.511994; -0.118383
2LO Calling
Unidentified male announcer, speaking the 2LO call sign
Problems playing this file? See media help.

2LO was the second radio station to regularly broadcast in the United Kingdom (the first was 2MT). It began broadcasting on 11 May 1922, for one hour a day from the seventh floor of Marconi House in London's Strand, opposite Somerset House.

History

[edit]

Initially the power was 100 watts on 360 metres (832 kHz). 2LO was allowed to transmit for seven minutes, after which the "operator" had to listen on the wavelength for three minutes for possible instructions to close down. On 14 November 1922 the station was transferred to the new British Broadcasting Company which in 1923 took up the nearby Savoy Hill for its broadcasting studios. At midnight on New Year's Eve 1923, the twelve chimes of Big Ben were broadcast for the first time to mark the new year.[1]

In 1927 the company became the British Broadcasting Corporation. On 9 March 1930 2LO was replaced by the BBC Regional Programme and the BBC National Programme. The letters LO continued to be used internally as a designation in the BBC for technical operations in the London area (for example, the numbering of all recordings made in London contained LO). The code LO was changed to LN in the early 1970s.

Preservation and legacy

[edit]
Parts of the 2LO transmitter in the Science Museum, London (2013)

The 2LO transmitter now belongs to the Science Museum, having been donated by Crown Castle International on 7 November 2002.[2][3] It is displayed in the Information Age gallery on the second floor of the museum.

Marconi House was demolished in 2006, apart from the listed façade, which was incorporated into a new hotel complex.[4] A first-hand account of a broadcast from 2LO is given in The Spell of London by H. V. Morton.

The 'LO' part of 2LO's callsign was adopted in 1924 by the metropolitan radio station in Melbourne which, since 1932, has been a part of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The station, 3LO, still has this callsign allocated to it, but since 2000 it has used different on-air names: as from 2017, it was 774 ABC Melbourne; and it is now ABC Radio Melbourne.[5]

The amateur radio callsign G2LO is currently held by the staff association at Arqiva, formerly Crown Castle International, formerly the domestic part of BBC Transmitter Department.[6]

In fiction

[edit]

2LO is briefly mentioned in the 1928, Lord Peter Wimsey, detective short-story The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question by Dorothy L. Sayers.[7]

2LO is also mentioned in Chapter 32 of Anthony Burgess’s “Earthly Powers” 1980 as part of a fictional episode involving the narrator’s brother Tom Toomey.

A 2LO broadcast with a weather forecast and news bulletin is mentioned in Chapter V of sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Maracot Deep 1927-28.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Macdonald, Peter (2004). Big Ben : the bell, the clock and the tower. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 0-7509-3827-7. OCLC 56657409. Retrieved 1 December 2023 – via www.worldcat.org. A few days earlier a microphone had been set up on the roof of a nearby building, No. 1 Bridge Street, just opposite the Houses of Parliament. As the time approached midnight the chimes of the Great Clock ringing out the old year were followed on the hour by the twelve deep strokes of Big Ben ringing in the new, and broadcast, by means of a temporary line running to the control room at Savoy Hill, to listeners tuned to 2LO, the BBC's first radio transmitter, then barely a year old.
  2. ^ "Gift to nation marks BBC's 80th anniversary". BBC Press Office. 3 November 2002. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Science Museum Gets Original BBC Transmitter". Culture24. 8 November 2002. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Marconi House, Strand / Aldwych, London". The Music Hall and Theatre Site. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ^ Radio Melbourne was formerly the slogan for commercial station 3AW. Both 3LO and 3AW are considered rivals for the same audience.
  6. ^ "Callsign Database". www.qrz.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  7. ^ Sayers, Dorothy L. (2016). "The Entertaining Episode of the Article in Question". Lord Peter views the body. London: Hodder. ISBN 978-1-4736-2132-9. OCLC 947925610. Retrieved 1 December 2023 – via www.worldcat.org. It was by a continual and personal badgering of the Chief Engineer at 2LO on the question of "Why is Oscillation and How is it Done?" that his lordship incidentally unmasked the great Ploffsky gang of Anarchist conspirators,

Sources

[edit]
  • H.V. Morton. 1926, 18th Edition 1948, The spell of London, Methuen & Co Ltd, London.
[edit]

51°30′43.6″N 0°07′6.2″W / 51.512111°N 0.118389°W / 51.512111; -0.118389

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