From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

I was watching a bit of the funeral of Diana Princess of Wales on
Youtube. And it set me thinking - how did they get the pictures of the
ongoing journey of her coffin back to the studio? Were satellites for
uplinks as common in those days? Did broadcasters book loads of
satellite uplinks, maybe used in rotation by successive groups of cameras/scanners? Or were there comms helicopters, receiving from
various cameras in an area and sending all the pictures back to a
scanner van for local vision-mixing, with a single vision-mixed feed
back to the studio?

In central London, there are dedicated cables to places like Westminster
Abbey and maybe along some of the major roads, and scanner vans could
connect to those. But after the funeral the hearse travelled about 70
miles through north London and along the M1 to Althorp, and AFAIR there
were live pictures for most of the way.

It must have been a mammoth event sourcing enough cameras, even if some
were able to "hop" ahead of the hearse to be used again further along.

The funeral itself (and the broadcasting of it) was probably rehearsed
many times as "funeral of an unspecified member of the Royal Family" but
the procession and the views of the crowds as the hearse went past would
have been something that could not be rehearsed.

It's something that we take for granted, but to be able to get all that working seamlessly at a week's notice is tremendous organisation.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 14/05/2026 20:31, NY wrote:

I was watching a bit of the funeral of Diana Princess of Wales on
Youtube. And it set me thinking - how did they get the pictures of the ongoing journey of her coffin back to the studio? Were satellites for
uplinks as common in those days? Did broadcasters book loads of
satellite uplinks, maybe used in rotation by successive groups of cameras/scanners? Or were there comms helicopters, receiving from
various cameras in an area and sending all the pictures back to a
scanner van for local vision-mixing, with a single vision-mixed feed
back to the studio?

In central London, there are dedicated cables to places like Westminster Abbey and maybe along some of the major roads, and scanner vans could
connect to those. But after the funeral the hearse travelled about 70
miles through north London and along the M1 to Althorp, and AFAIR there
were live pictures for most of the way.

It must have been a mammoth event sourcing enough cameras, even if some
were able to "hop" ahead of the hearse to be used again further along.

The funeral itself (and the broadcasting of it) was probably rehearsed
many times as "funeral of an unspecified member of the Royal Family" but
the procession and the views of the crowds as the hearse went past would
have been something that could not be rehearsed.

It's something that we take for granted, but to be able to get all that working seamlessly at a week's notice is tremendous organisation.

A lot of that programme used mobile micrrowave links to base stations
and Broadcasting House. These were also often used for news and sports
event coverage, so were a known reliable solution.
--
Tciao for Now!

John.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 07:56, John Williamson wrote:

A lot of that programme used mobile micrrowave links to base stations
and Broadcasting House. These were also often used for news and sports
event coverage, so were a known reliable solution.

Did they not use a second helicopter as a relay?

I remember on some programmes (Treasure Hunt?) you would sometimes see a second helicopter being used as a relay.

For an event like the Funeral, there would be no limit on costs and no difficulty in getting Air Traffic Control priority for several helicopters.

I saw some of the OB set up for Charlie's Investiture in 1969. There
were multiple OB links and even a high power 200 watt UHF link in use.
And multiple RT channnels including a Domesday one that was never
powered up in advance to reduce the possibility of it being found and
jammed by the Nationalists.



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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 08:17, JMB99 wrote:

I remember on some programmes (Treasure Hunt?) you would sometimes see a second helicopter being used as a relay.

That was for voice comms with Anneka rather than video. I always
wondered whether video (maybe not in broadcast quality) was fed back to
the studio without it being used in the programme (or whether the
cameraman or video recordist or someone in the comms helicopter was
providing voice commentary) because there were occasions when Wincey
seemed to know more about what was going on and where Anneka was than
Anneka was saying in her report to the studio.

Nowadays Anneka would be wearing a GPS receiver and the
studio/contestants would know exactly where she was at all times. But
this was - bloody hell! - 44 years ago (TH started in 1982).
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 09:26, NY wrote:

That was for voice comms with Anneka rather than video. I always
wondered whether video (maybe not in broadcast quality) was fed back to
the studio without it being used in the programme (or whether the
cameraman or video recordist or someone in the comms helicopter was providing voice commentary) because there were occasions when Wincey
seemed to know more about what was going on and where Anneka was than
Anneka was saying in her report to the studio.

Nowadays Anneka would be wearing a GPS receiver and the studio/
contestants would know exactly where she was at all times. But this was
- bloody hell! - 44 years ago (TH started in 1982).

True but don't things like Marathons use a video link via helicopter.

Though anything is possible, I was told about one military aircraft
crash in a mountaineous area. Someone commented about the RAF MRT having
good comms when everyone else was struggling, they had a Nimrod overhead acting as a radio relay!




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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 09:26, NY wrote:

On 15/05/2026 08:17, JMB99 wrote:

I remember on some programmes (Treasure Hunt?) you would sometimes see
a second helicopter being used as a relay.

That was for voice comms with Anneka rather than video. I always
wondered whether video (maybe not in broadcast quality) was fed back to
the studio without it being used in the programme (or whether the
cameraman or video recordist or someone in the comms helicopter was
providing voice commentary) because there were occasions when Wincey
seemed to know more about what was going on and where Anneka was than
Anneka was saying in her report to the studio.

Nowadays Anneka would be wearing a GPS receiver and the
studio/contestants would know exactly where she was at all times. But
this was - bloody hell! - 44 years ago (TH started in 1982).

The transmitted video and sound for Treasure Hunt was shot on camcorders
for later editing, with a two way voice link to the studio for Anneka's conversation with the contestants. In the '90s, they'd just have used cellphones.

Even the camcorders were pushing the limits at the time.

The studio end did *not* have a live video link.

The USP of the programme was that the only clues the contestants had
were what Anneka described and the reference library in the studio. They couldn't even use Wikipedia or other references we now have on our
phones. The whole idea now would be ridiculous.

(I used to have fun trying to work out the clues in locations I had
visited while not looking at the screen.)
--
Tciao for Now!

John.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

NY wrote:

I was watching a bit of the funeral of Diana Princess of Wales on
Youtube. And it set me thinking - how did they get the pictures of
the ongoing journey of her coffin back to the studio? Were satellites
for uplinks as common in those days? Did broadcasters book loads of
satellite uplinks, maybe used in rotation by successive groups of cameras/scanners? Or were there comms helicopters, receiving from
various cameras in an area and sending all the pictures back to a
scanner van for local vision-mixing, with a single vision-mixed feed
back to the studio?

In central London, there are dedicated cables to places like
Westminster Abbey and maybe along some of the major roads, and
scanner vans could connect to those. But after the funeral the hearse travelled about 70 miles through north London and along the M1 to
Althorp, and AFAIR there were live pictures for most of the way.

It must have been a mammoth event sourcing enough cameras, even if
some were able to "hop" ahead of the hearse to be used again further
along.

The funeral itself (and the broadcasting of it) was probably
rehearsed many times as "funeral of an unspecified member of the
Royal Family" but the procession and the views of the crowds as the
hearse went past would have been something that could not be
rehearsed.

It's something that we take for granted, but to be able to get all
that working seamlessly at a week's notice is tremendous organisation.

https://flic.kr/p/9fqMGt This was my satellite uplink (SNG) that I used
for a pool feed of Diana's coffin travelling thru north London.
--


--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. www.avast.com
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 10:44, Ashley Booth wrote:

https://flic.kr/p/9fqMGt This was my satellite uplink (SNG) that I used
for a pool feed of Diana's coffin travelling thru north London.

Reminds me of a story that a friend from RSRE told me.

They were testing either Terrain Avoidance Radar or Terrain Following
Radar and put a radar transmitter on truck with a large dish antenna
pointing back down the road.

There is a long straight road running out of Malvern, they drove down
that watching the return signal from Malvern Hill.

They had a long stream of cars following them who obviously thought it
was some new sort of police radar speed trap.





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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

John Williamson wrote:

The studio end did *not* have a live video link.

The USP of the programme was that the only clues the contestants had
were what Anneka described and the reference library in the studio. They >couldn't even use Wikipedia or other references we now have on our
phones. The whole idea now would be ridiculous.

(I used to have fun trying to work out the clues in locations I had
visited while not looking at the screen.)

I once saw what might have been a reconnaissance visit for the
programme. I was at Lacock Abbey, and a small helicopter landed
in the grounds, for no clearly apparent reason.

Some time later, this was exactly where Anneka landed.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1

Plant amazing Acers.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 10:36, John Williamson wrote:

On 15/05/2026 09:26, NY wrote:

On 15/05/2026 08:17, JMB99 wrote:

I remember on some programmes (Treasure Hunt?) you would sometimes see
a second helicopter being used as a relay.

That was for voice comms with Anneka rather than video. I always
wondered whether video (maybe not in broadcast quality) was fed back to
the studio without it being used in the programme (or whether the
cameraman or video recordist or someone in the comms helicopter was
providing voice commentary) because there were occasions when Wincey
seemed to know more about what was going on and where Anneka was than
Anneka was saying in her report to the studio.

Nowadays Anneka would be wearing a GPS receiver and the
studio/contestants would know exactly where she was at all times. But
this was - bloody hell! - 44 years ago (TH started in 1982).

The transmitted video and sound for Treasure Hunt was shot on camcorders
for later editing, with a two way voice link to the studio for Anneka's conversation with the contestants. In the '90s, they'd just have used cellphones.

Even the camcorders were pushing the limits at the time.

The studio end did *not* have a live video link.

Sorry, I may not have made myself clear. I wasn't meaning for the
contestants to see, but for the adjudicator and maybe the studio gallery
to see (even if in low quality) to monitor how the treasure hunt was progressing. Even if not video, I think it is highly likely that there
was some feedback from site to studio (reporting by Graham/Frankie/comms helicopter), given the fact that Wincey seemed to know too much at times
that Anneka had not mentioned - eg a map with arrows that included
back-track where contestants had misdirected her).

It was a great achievement that a U-Matic video recorder was rugged
enough to provide stable recording when jogged around as Frankie was
carrying it. Only occasionally did you see a dropout when it was moved
too suddenly if he stumbled or when he got out of the helicopter.
Apparently in one episode (in Staffordshire when they went to a water
park), some water splashed into the VCR and recording had to stop while
a spare was flown in from nearby; luckily they were able to salvage the recording that had been made up to that point. To quote Morecambe and
Wise "you can't see the join" ;-) There was also an episode at a whisky distillery where the weather changed while she was inside and the
helicopter would no longer fly, so they had to resume the following day. Anneka apparently said "the weather's improved while we were inside".

The USP of the programme was that the only clues the contestants had
were what Anneka described and the reference library in the studio. They couldn't even use Wikipedia or other references we now have on our
phones. The whole idea now would be ridiculous.

Interesting, the later Suzi Perry version made by the BBC did allow some
use of electronic reference sources. Maybe it was restricted to
electronic encyclopedias rather then full use of Google which might make clue-solving too easy.

(I used to have fun trying to work out the clues in locations I had
visited while not looking at the screen.)

I know a few parts of the country well - West and North Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire/Berkshire - and when I heard roughly which area the
treasure hunt was in, I drew up a mental short-list of the places that
might be included. Sometimes I was right!

There were a few wonderful clues - "In a Seahawk, in a Seahawk, in a
Seahawk" (the clue was in a model of a Seahawk fighter jet which was in
the cockpit of full-size fighter - not sure what the third Seahawk was),
and "Go to Great British Hospital X-ray Unit" as a bonus outside Skipton Castle. This turned out to be code for the skyrunner helicopter's
registration G-BHXU - in other words "go back to the helicopter to find
a bottle of champagne": Wincey gleefully pointed to the model helicopter (bearing that reg num) that was being used to mark Anneka's position on
a table-top OS map.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 13:05, Chris J Dixon wrote:

John Williamson wrote:

The studio end did *not* have a live video link.

The USP of the programme was that the only clues the contestants had
were what Anneka described and the reference library in the studio. They
couldn't even use Wikipedia or other references we now have on our
phones. The whole idea now would be ridiculous.

(I used to have fun trying to work out the clues in locations I had
visited while not looking at the screen.)

I once saw what might have been a reconnaissance visit for the
programme. I was at Lacock Abbey, and a small helicopter landed
in the grounds, for no clearly apparent reason.

Some time later, this was exactly where Anneka landed.

The "making of" programme, which followed one of the Derbyshire
episodes, was interesting.

I always wondered how much help Anneka was allowed to give. Given that
she was confined to a hotel during the dummy-run rehearsal the day
before recording, she could have done some research of tourist
attractions in the area. She needed to be able to fill dead-air while contestants were thinking, by giving out snippets of interesting info,
while not using too much of her research or her own knowledge of an area.

I loved the Isle of Wight episode. The producers make sure that
contestants are not allocated an area where they live or know well. But
they hadn't bargained for the coincidence of the contestants going on
holiday to the IoW just before the episode, probably after they had
declared all the places that they knew well.
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From Newsgroup: uk.tech.broadcast

On 15/05/2026 10:44, Ashley Booth wrote:

https://flic.kr/p/9fqMGt This was my satellite uplink (SNG) that I used
for a pool feed of Diana's coffin travelling thru north London.

Were the links from cameras to the dish done by radio (eg microwave) or
by coax cable?

I lived in Bracknell at the time and had access to CNN and another US
station through the cable-TV feed to all houses. It was interesting to
see the CNN was using a mixture of BBC and ITN feeds, which they standards-converted from 625/25 to 525/30 for use in the USA. But this
was then converted back to 625/25 for broadcast on the European version
of CNN. The results, especially when the car went past a stationary
camera or the camera panned, were not pretty :-) It was the frame-rate conversion that suffered.

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