2LO
Encyclopedia
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
to regularly broadcast in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(the first was 2MT
2MT
2MT was the first British radio station to make regular entertainment broadcasts.Transmissions began on 14 February 1922 from an ex-Army hut next to the Marconi laboratories at Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex...
). It began broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
on 11 May 1922, for one hour a day from the seventh floor of Marconi House in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
. This building, opposite Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
, was demolished in 2006, apart from the listed façade, which will be incorporated into a new hotel complex.
A first hand account of a broadcast from 2LO is given in The Spell of London by Henry Vollam Morton
Henry Vollam Morton
Henry Canova Vollam Morton, was a journalist and pioneering travel writer from Lancashire, England, best known for his prolific and popular books on Britain and the Holy Land...
.
Initially the power was 100 watts on 350 metres (857 kHz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
). 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
British Broadcasting Company
The British Broadcasting Company Ltd was a British commercial company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom and licensed by the British General Post Office...
, which was itself replaced in 1927 by the British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
The radio station was replaced by the London BBC Regional Programme
BBC Regional Programme
The BBC Regional Programme was a UK radio network which operated from the end of the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.-Foundation:...
and the BBC National Programme
BBC National Programme
The BBC National Programme was a BBC radio station from the 1920s until the outbreak of World War II.-Foundation:When the BBC first began transmissions on 14 November 1922, the technology for both national coverage and joint programming between transmitters did not exist – transmitter powers were...
.
The 2LO transmitter now resides at the Science Museum
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
, having been donated by Crown Castle International on 7 November 2002.
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
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. The station, 3LO, still has this callsign allocated to it but, since 2000 it has used the on-air name 774 ABC Melbourne
774 ABC Melbourne
774 ABC Melbourne is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. Originally known by its callsign 3LO, it began transmission on 13 October 1924 – Melbourne's second radio station after 3AR.-History:...
.
The amateur radio callsign G2LO is currently held by the staff association at Arqiva, formerly Crown Castle International, formerly the BBC Transmitter Department.