Dispel doubt and ignorance

One of the jobs of Fusion is to help people understand other people’s jobs. How many, for instance, know just what members of the D. & I. section (development and installation) do? This article by manager alex henner explains it all. If any other sections feel they are misunderstood, unrecognised or otherwise maltreated Fusion will be glad to print their story or even write it for them.

‘What is D. & I? I’ve never heard of it.’ Thus spake the frilly young thing. Sic transit gloria.

We members of D. & I. have become accustomed to this greeting when our section heading is used as the reply to an interrogative: ‘Where are you from?’ or ‘Who shall I send it to?’ Our particular work and resources are probably a little vague to the non-technical sections that we come into contact with infrequently. Remember, not all the engineers come from ‘engineering’ section.

Personnel-wise the section supports and is supported by: one section head, two assistant heads, one manager, nine engineers (one supervisory), four draughtsmen (mechanical + electrical + construction), three prototype electronics wiremen, two instrument mechanics, two typists/secretaries.

Total technical qualifications of these members amounts to: one Ph.D., two M.Sc., one A.M.I.E.E., three Grad. I.E.E., one Grad. Brit. I.E.R.E., seven B.Sc., one City and Guilds Diploma Electrical Engineering (Communications), two H.N.C. (Communications), one City and Guilds Certificate (Telecommunications), five O.N.C. (Engineering and Drawing). Because of the nature of our work the body as a whole is rarely gathered en masse. More likely the operatives will be found, singly or in twos, labouring behind a maze of wire and cable (which has just been uprooted from one of the bays in a studio control room) on a Friday night, after production has ceased, with a deadline for the equipment to be working efficiently on the Monday morning following and the added facilities, or modified, or renewed equipment, tested and working. Or they might be standing predominantly and obviously midwife-like in charge of a 16 mm. telerecording machine which they have cared for since conception, improving, rebuilding, improvising and improving again for the last two years and bringing it to fruition, the end of the process giving results which make it compatible with those from any other similar machine, even in the BBC’s cornucopia of technicians and equipment.

Through the section passes all capital technical equipment which the company purchases, ranging from O.B. vans to zoom lenses, from Image Orthicon cameras to camera pedestals to microphones for sound section.

All these items are obtained after liaison and consultation with the sections involved in their usage; engineering, who will be required to operate and maintain it, and the sections who will be required to operate it where this is not an engineering task.

We are responsible for the purchase, testing and installation of all studio sound and vision equipment, all cabling and wiring involved in fitting in or taking out equipment, videotape recording machines, telerecording machines, film section equipment – film cameras, sound equipment dubbing suites, transcription suites. All work is carried out normally in our own workshops at Television House or Wembley but sometimes at site, usually at week-ends in those periods where there is no production. This means that it may take longer to carry out a seemingly short job than it first appears because, no matter how far the engineer gets with the work, he has to remember that perhaps the equipment he is working on will be required the next day, therefore he can carry out just so much work without interfering with the normal function of the equipment. Temporary arrangements have to be made to enable the equipment to continue working, even in the throes of major alterations.

We are in the process of or intend to carry out: (a) Installation of four new VTR machines at Wembley; (b) Development and installation of a new project, known as Electronic-Camera – E-Cam for short – which will enable a production to be filmed at normal TV production speed using film cameras equipped with electronic viewfinders; (c) Installation of new cameras in Studios 2, 4 and 9 (Marconi Mk V transistorised); (d) Preparatory planning for new O.B. vans; (e) Overhaul and replacement of film section sound recording machines; (f) Investigation into the use of colour in television broadcasting; (g) Installation of two VTR machines for use in colour programmes.

We have at present some 28 projects in hand ranging in size from minor wiring modification of various units to a complete studio refit, all of which are being worked on concurrently. These projects are in various stages of completion ranging from, (a) quotations from manufacturers against our specifications, (b) equipment ordered but on long delivery, (c) equipment on the premises being tested and modified for acceptance to our broadcasting standards to (d) last minute tests and finished diagrams.

Since January, 1965, we have completed 29 projects. Since the beginning of 1964 we have carried out the first, second and third instalments of the first phase of the company’s re-equipment programme, this latter work having been carried out side by side with the normal project list.

All costing and estimating for the work is carried out within the section.

Among the major projects completed in the last year were: 1, Installation of new film dubbing desk in the film dubbing theatre (carried out in one Bank holiday week-end complete with re-cabling – a major feat); 2, Installation of new film transcription desk in the film transcription suite; 3, Modifications to Item 2 to provide special and extra-ordinary facilities for the film section; 4, Installation of new vision mixing equipment in Studios 1, 2 and 4; 5, Installation and development of two Pye 16 mm. telerecording machines rebuilt to the company’s specifications; 6, Installation of complete sound recording facilities for E-Cam and telerecording; 7, Re-outfitting of the film section with new film cameras and ‘location’ sound equipment.