Radio Sutch & City - Part 11
Transmitters, Antenna Masts & Bits n Bob's
Page 1 of 2
Issue: 2 Dated: 25th April 2009
Quite wordy but this part of the rolling story includes some interesting historic Radio City documents
Early Radio City Press Picture taken on the Fort
The battery portable was a red Hacker that lasted the duration, the 1st Radio City Sticker design is on side of one of the Ferrographs, seldom both on Fort one usually ashore at the 20a Oxford Street being repaired
The Ferrographs were used to record shows after close down, & later play-out the religious tapes
Initially getting on & off the fort was by leaping to the rusty ladders, scaling the gantry & climbing up through the single man access hatch
Later winching up & down on the 1 ton crane hoist by rope & then on a crude pallet
See Reg Calvert on the ropes & Tony Pine on the pallet & being winched aboard
N.B Red Sands Fort also employed a similar crane hoist system
Audio |
Radio
City Testing, Record Centre (Office) Ad' and Promo for 1st 5x4 Beatles
& Rolling Stones Show |
Plans to erect a 240' mast on Shivering Sands
Some key crew were told it's this months salary or the mast
It was Alan Arnold of Arnold-Harris Mast Erectors who accompanied Reg on that fateful visit to Oliver Smedley's Essex home following the raid on Shivering Sands
Above the raiding party, Radio City crew & police aboard the Fort as the stations supply tender Harvester comes alongside, with Paul Elvey reaching from the crane pallet
Terms & conditions of the rental
We had a lean month, the mast went up
Close up of all the remains of Gun Tower 2 taken in 1965 prior to the Top House being removed by Trinity House
Another picture of the G2 Gun Toppled Tower can be seen in Sutch & City Part 3
Acceptance of agreement
Trinity House Vessel 'Patricia' at Shivering Sands in 1966 removes last of the Top House of the G2 Gun Tower toppled by the Ribersborg collision of 1963, not quite sure why as the legs were left
N.B The unwanted remnants were taken & dumped South East of the Red Sands Fort
The Big Mast on top of the Control Tower said to be 240' giving an overall height above sea level of 357'
The size of the antenna gave Tony Pine the notion to name Radio City 'The Tower of Power'
In fact the mast comprised 20 x 10' sections (200') & was sited on top of the Control Tower
The Towers are 117' from sea bed so in reality 317' & allowing for tides 280' above mean sea water level
Radio
City mechanical & engineers spares on
Gun Tower 1 had previously
been the galley |
G2:
Top House removed, stub legs remain viewed from top of Searchlight
Tower |
It's little known that in 1966 Trinity House conducted a test cutting of the South West leg of the Bofors Tower, it's unclear how deep the cut was made through the leg
The original stress design took into account leg damage & it was said a Tower would stand with just three legs, it's testament that the Towers still standing more or less erect 42 years later
Sailing through the gap between Control Tower & Searchlight Tower 2008
The Searchlight Tower is used by PLA (Port of London Authority)