1959, a whole 25 years. that is a long time when technology was developing so rapidly. so what about inside? the type a is called a ribbon microphone. that s because behind the perforated cover is exactly that, a ribbon of metal. with the help of one of the trusty bbc engineering manuals, we can see that soundwaves come in from either the front or the back and hit the ribbon in the middle. so thin that it flexes and wiggles when the noise vibrations in the air hit it, just like your eardrum. the flexing moves the ribbon through a magnetic field created by two magnets on either side. doing this generates a very small voltage which is unique to the sound it is taking in. the microphone then connects to studio equipment that amplifies this up to a level that you can hear, and because the ribbon is a flat piece of metal, it can interpret vibrations from both sides. finally, of course,
of the kids could come up and sing a song or say a piece of poetry to calm things down. so i go up on stage and they put a box so that i could reach the microphone, it was one of those big bbc microphones, you know. singing petula clark there. so while setting off singing careers and directing the second world war the microphone was clearly doing something right operationally, too. eyes had been on the groundbreaking ribbon microphone invented by rca, the radio corporation of america but it was a little too expensive. so in true bbc form, they made their own for less than 10% of what rca were charging. nice going. the taipei stayed in use by the bbc from 1934
i could reach the microphone, it was one of those big bbc microphones, you know. singing petunia clark there. so while setting off singing careers and directing the second world war the microphone was clearly doing something right operationally, too. eyes had been on the groundbreaking ribbon microphone invented by rca, the radio corporation of america but it was a little too expensive. so in true bbc form, they made their own for less than 10% of what rca were charging. nice going. the taipei stayed in use by the bbc from 1934 1959, a whole 25 years. that is a long time when technology was developing so rapidly. so what about inside?
that taipei is called a ribbon microphone. that s because behind the perforated cover is exactly that, a ribbon of metal. with the help of one of the trusty bbc engineering manuals, we can see that soundwaves come in from either the front or the back and hit the ribbon in the middle. so thin that it flexes and wiggles when the noise vibrations in the air hit it, just like your eardrum. the flexing moves the ribbon through a magnetic field the microphone then connects to studio equipment that amplifies this up to a level that you can hear, and because the ribbon is a flat piece of metal, it can interpret vibrations from both sides. finally, of course, we want to hear a bit more of how the microphone sounds. well we can hear it in use by sirjohn snagge, the bbc voice who made the first annoucement of the d day landings, and who went on to become one of the first
can hear it it is the bbc voice who made the first announcement of the d day landings, and went on to become one of the first bbc television news readers. he recorded with the microphone for this with a bbc ribbon microphone. i ll leave it to you to make your own mind up up on they are called the pips and when you hear them, you will know it is something o clock. i find them quite soothing. but have you ever wondered why they exist? ships. the pips tell ships what time it is and help them navigate. at the height of the british