Professor Stanley Unwin on the BBC Type B mixing desk

Folks of my age and older from the UK might remember Stanley Unwin from his appearances in movies and on T.V.
Before any of this he was actually a transmitter and broadcast technician for the BBC.
Here's a rare interview I found where he's describing the, then, new type B mixing equipment in 1959:

https://soundcloud.com/blogmywiki/prof-unwin-on-the-b-type-desk

Stanley

cool interview. I spot a ashtray in the photo.

pucho812 said:

cool interview. I spot a ashtray in the photo.

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In 1959 in the UK, even the doctors and surgeons smoked.  It was probably even BBC policy there be an ashtray within easy reach as you worked the desk in case you missed a cue while stubbing out and lighting another!

Very nice!

Best known in the non-UK world perhaps as the nonsensical narrator on  Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake.

I find those knobs to look quite crazy in pictures, I wonder how they were to operate? 

Winston O'Boogie said:

In 1959 in the UK, even the doctors and surgeons smoked.  It was probably even BBC policy there be an ashtray within easy reach as you worked the desk in case you missed a cue while stubbing out and lighting another!

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yes a different era for sure, when 4 out of 5 doctors preferred "insert brand here" cigarettes

Rotary stud faders. Hand-made with super-expensive studs and hand-soldered resistors. They are about 3" diameter behind the panel and about 3" deep. IIRC they are balanced faders and probably 600 Ohm as well

On tone you could hear each step as a click but they worked well on program and required almost no maintenance

Nick Froome

pvision said:

Rotary stud faders. Hand-made with super-expensive studs and hand-soldered resistors. They are about 3" diameter behind the panel and about 3" deep. IIRC they are balanced faders and probably 600 Ohm as well

On tone you could hear each step as a click but they worked well on program and required almost no maintenance

Nick Froome

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Like to see one next to a standard Daven, with some sort of standard American knob on the Daven for reference.

EmRR said:

Very nice!

Best known in the non-UK world perhaps as the nonsensical narrator on  Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake.

I find those knobs to look quite crazy in pictures, I wonder how they were to operate?

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Ah OK, I had no idea he was known outside the UK.
I also didn't know until today that he was a technician at the BBC.  But there're enough technical half-words and small references thrown in there that an audio recording nerd can pick up.

I've never actually played with a BBC desk of that era so don't know how the knobs were to operate.  I doubt you could do the trick that the US engineers could in being able to adjust 2 or 3 big RCA mushrooms with one hand. 
Apparently these "faders" were removable from the panel simply by pulling on the whole assembly, which enabled a quick handkerchief clean of any dirty switch studs. 

pvision said:

Rotary stud faders. Hand-made with super-expensive studs and hand-soldered resistors. They are about 3" diameter behind the panel and about 3" deep. IIRC they are balanced faders and probably 600 Ohm as well

On tone you could hear each step as a click but they worked well on program and required almost no maintenance

Nick Froome

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Thanks Nick  .  Was the switch assembly a Painton do you know?

I'm dense.  Someone mind mathin out the smith chart PoI for prop Uganda / Afghanistan log roll, sushi sans wasabi extemp the after cringe translation?

boji said:

I'm dense.  Someone mind mathin out the smith chart PoI for prop Uganda / Afghanistan log roll, sushi sans wasabi extemp the after cringe translation?

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That bit was by the non-expert interviewer rather than the Prof. but, no you're not dense.  Simpler times back then and we were probably more easily amused 

His weather forecasts were very funny and about as accurate as the real thing.

Cheers

ian

This brought back memories of my Mum and Dad in fits of uncontrollable laughter when seeing him on TV.  We actually met him by chance when we were on holiday somewhere  in Devon, just walking along the promenade.

DaveP

Hey Ian, not sure I saw any of the weather forecasts but can imagine them being funny.

DaveP said:

This brought back memories of my Mum and Dad in fits of uncontrollable laughter when seeing him on TV.  We actually met him by chance when we were on holiday somewhere  in Devon, just walking along the promenade.

DaveP

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Hey Dave, memories like those are precious things, nice to read this brought them back to you   
I've seen an interview with him where he's talking in plain English (as himself so to speak ) and he seemed just a really nice bloke, I would have liked to have met him too.

Happy holidays to you and yours