Vintage Audio Activities...

[NewcastleFalcon]

the full thread (couple of pages) where this comes from is here
https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/sho ... hp?t=88293

Even more to the story of the Falcon brand here in this link here pictured with a TV!

https://www.thevalvepage.com/tvmanu/falcon/falcon.htm

The only other reference I have found to this manufacturer is the interesting story related in the book "The Setmakers", an extract of which is given below :-

"John Street (s) ... break came when he undertook to sell off a job lot of 200 televisions on a commision of £1 per set, and succeeded in getting Currys to take them all. The £200 enabled him to go 50 / 50 with a partner and set up a home-based business assembling radiogrammes with bought-in chassis. The coal-cellar was the office and there was no stockroom, so Street would sell them in ones and twos, to independent dealers, or to Co-ops."

"By the mid-1950's he was producing 500-600 radiogrammes a week ... He mainly supplied multiple stores, who sold the sets either under his 'Falcon' marque, or under their own brand names."

Neil

[CitroJim]

Jim....Are you familiar with Dazzlevision on the UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration forum

Indeed I am He's a regular poster there and its always good to read his posts...

I read the forum every day but rarely post.

[bobins]

The name Anthorn might mean something to one or two bods on here - for everyone else...... nothing to see here, move along now

A short BBC article of no great radio interest, but a pleasant aside all the same.

"Anthorn was abandoned by the military in 1971, left empty.
The village is made up of about 130 houses which were built for servicemen and their families during World War Two.
In 1971, Anthorn was deserted, described as a "ghost village".
Over the following year, young families began moving in - often paying less than £4,000 for their homes.
More than 50 years on, Anthorn is home to a tight-knit community."

Moving pictures on the BBC website, with a few masts in the background
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cn0ll7ld97yo

[NewcastleFalcon]

The name Anthorn might mean something to one or two bods on here - for everyone else...... nothing to see here, move along now

A short BBC article of no great radio interest, but a pleasant aside all the same.

"Anthorn was abandoned by the military in 1971, left empty. The village is made up of about 130 houses which were built for servicemen and their families during World War Two. In 1971, Anthorn was deserted, described as a "ghost village". Over the following year, young families began moving in - often paying less than £4,000 for their homes.
More than 50 years on, Anthorn is home to a tight-knit community."

Moving pictures on the BBC website, with a few masts in the background
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cn0ll7ld97yo

I'll just nudge CitroJim the way of this with a quote from him, before the Vintage Audio Activities thread became the home for such things...

Radio Clock listening to Anthorn on 60KHz:

Now Jim you can't just mention "Anthorn" on 60KHz as if the general public (that's me!) know what you are going on about without looking it up!

So that's what they secretly do in North Cumbria!

I like a curiosity...the site was also known as "HMS Nuthatch"

Neil

[CitroJim]

I used to have a radio clock that worked on 500KHz from Rugby... Sadly, it was rendered useless when Rugby closed and the transmissions ceased...

[myglaren]

I thought that two of mine used the Rugby signal but they still work.

[NewcastleFalcon]

There is a nice meal of such things on wiki...Rugby is dead, Long live Anthorn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL_(MSF)

Neil

[bobins]

I think it's a bit like the legend of what will happen if the ravens leave The Tower, or the apes leave Gibraltar - if the Time Signal ceases, then so will CitroJim

[Peter.N.]

Where the signal come from now? we have a radio controlled clock and sometimes it goes awry but it I lay it flat on the dining room table overnight it regains its composure.

Peter

[bobins]

As the Wiki page Neil linked to says - it now comes from Anthorn but is a very slightly weaker signal that only affects radios that weren't particularly good at receiving a less than perfect signal.

[Peter.N.]

I've got it, near Carlisle. Thanks.

Peter

[CitroJim]

I think it's a bit like the legend of what will happen if the ravens leave The Tower, or the apes leave Gibraltar - if the Time Signal ceases, then so will CitroJim

The way I'm feeling right now, it might be a good idea to check the time signal - it may already have ceased!

[bobins]

Not particularly great photos - granted - but here's a couple of shots of the timeclocks at Rugby radio just as the site was being wound down. The toppermost rackmount kit is a GPS clock, the next one down (and repeated lower) is, I think, a atomic clock..... mainly because it says "Cesium reset" above the dial !

Possibly 1 atomic clock - own work

Possibly a brace of atomic clocks - own work

[CitroJim]

Loving that Bobins! Good to see all clocks agreeing with each other!

Yep, those are the main ones and always two for resilience!

Back in the day, our main transmitting station had a rubidium frequency standard to which all our transmitter drive units worldwide were locked.

We only had one. The resilience was provided by two very accurate and stable frequency standards containing a very high quality crystal in a closely temperature controlled oven. We used to keep all three in check by watching the very slow 'beat' between them on a pair of linear chart recorders which could reveal very small frequency differences over a period of weeks/months. A straight line several weeks long meant they were in perfect harmony; if the line deviated it was then time to make a very tiny adjustment and then another long observation of the chart recorder line!

Happy days

[bobins]

Here's what I presume to be an earlier incarnation of a timepiece sitting on a bench at the same place Made by Venner (?) Electronics in Surrey.

Another clock - own work

And just because I can - a picture of the generator hall there Four quite large noisemakers - an indication of the importance of the place perhaps

Genny hall, Rugby - own work