I didn’t realise that tech-ops people were so wide spread. Peter sent this –

“Just thought I might put a word in for other Tech-Ops – at BBC Monitoring, Caversham Park, Reading.

We were involved in providing the signals from different radio stations around the world, and, later, television. We used a considerable amount of sound gear, from communicating with outstations to recording programmes where the monitor was not present. Our title was, in 1974, Technical Operator. This changed later to Broadcast Reception Coordinator, without any change in functions, and I don’t know what it is now.

Television monitoring was added in the early 90s (via satellite) and this continues virtually unchanged. The stations monitored changed all the time, depending on conflict locations, economic changes, improvements in conditions, etc, all round the world. The Monitoring Service began during the Second World War, concentrating mostly on German, but this was expanded after the war with the growth of communism.”