Microphone fader component used at BBC Radio Northampton
This fader was part of the Mk III mixing desk in BBC Radio Northampton’s Abington Street base from the late 1980s. It controlled Studio One's main microphone and what listeners to the radio station heard from a local, familiar voice. Over the years a variety of well-known presenters used it to broadcast breaking local, national and international news stories to the public, including Martin Stanford, Howard Stableford, Fi Glover, Liz Kershaw, Michael Underwood, Anna Murby and Bernie Keith.
Analogue in design, the fader was made by Penny and Giles Conductive Plastics in Gwent to a bespoke BBC design – the addition of the red Lego tile marked it out to users as the main microphone fader. The company is still in existence –it manufactures Black Box recorders for a range of applications. The multiplug to the rear of the fader enabled engineers to exchange it with a replacement mid-programme if it needed repair.
Thousands of faders like this were used across the BBC. In local radio they were eventually replaced and scrapped as digital broadcasting made them redundant. A Mk III mixing desk is currently held in store as part of the Science Museum’s collection of broadcasting equipment.
Number 94 of the objects selected for the A History of Northamptonshire in 100 Objects exhibition 2025.
© NMAG
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NMAG
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NMAG
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NMAG
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NMAG