Introduction

For as long as I can remember John Wardle ran the Technical Investigations Laboratory. Its primary objective was to provide a service to any part of the BBC where a particularly detailed investigation of a new, old or modified piece of equipment was needed. The focus was to be on the operational demands of the item. The department was not often called to design completely new pieces of equipment but original test equipment and procedures were par for the course.

Eg Hot Lips

The Lab itself was first located in the Basement of Television Centre underneath Studio 1. The original rooms contained VT Investigations Department. This was in the basement because that’s where the majority of the BBC’s videotape machines were installed. They needed to be there because in the early days the machines needed a stable platform (free from vibration) and a constant cool temperature.

The following staff were members:

Dave Clark, Peter Daniel, Andrew Smith, Daniel Woolley, Peter Calvert-Smith, Matt Goodman, Andrew ?

Steve Sinclair (Administrative Assistant)

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It goes without saying that a department of this nature has to keep abreast of the latest technical developments across all areas of broadcasting. This continuously extending remit meant that the staff had to continuously develop their ideas, procedures and reporting methods. It also follows that they needed to make a lot of measurements. However measurements are only of use if they are done against a set of standards. As their testing was normally with new equipment, for which quite often standards didn’t exist or manufacturers were setting their own standards, frequently the staff needed to be on good terms with their development Engineers thereby both understanding why a particular piece of technology was being used and perhaps influencing how that technology might better be implemented in the live broadcasting environment for which they, and not the manufacturers, had day to day familiarity.

With new technology often new minds need to be employed but not always ! Therefore staff would join and leave as required.