This is a contribution I never thought I would get to make, but thanks to a recent chance meeting I am finally able too.
Last records of Hemel Hospital Radio broadcasting on 1350 AM to what was then a General Hospital was back in the summer of 2015. Broadcasts in their final years were intermittent due to lack of finance, & the charity that ran the station was eventually amalgamated with Watford Hospital Radio (Pulse Radio), as all in-patient services were being transferred there. On several occasions I had scoured the site looking for an antenna but never found one. Then I met a former hospital electrician who done some work for the station. I mentioned about the antenna they used & it raised a laugh. “They decided to make their own contraption”, he said. I remarked it was a shame I couldn’t see it. “Oh, but you can.” He responded. “It’s still there in the trees at the back of the Veralum wing car park”. So, I got my camera & made the trip over there.
It looks like they have used the base of lattice CCTV tower to which they have fastened a plastic insulator, which is in turn attached a vertical aluminium pole. An induction coil has then been wound around & secured with duct tape. It can’t have been that efficient. I always wondered why their daytime reception was so poor compared to L&D hospital radio several miles away.
It's a very “Heath Robinson” installation, but I think it’s well worth documenting the hard working volunteers DIY efforts to get their services on the air for patients & staff before it disappears completely.
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