Bass Point, The Lizard, Cornwall |
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GB4MBP Bass Point, once known as Beast Point, lies close to the most southerly point of England (Lizard Point). Thanks to the National Trust, there will again be operations during IMD 2006 from this original Marconi building. Nearby is the Housel Bay Hotel, where Marconi and his team stayed during the periods of their HF experiments early in 1901. The site has been carefully restored to its original state by the National Trust and was opened to the public early in 2001 amidst considerable radio, TV and press coverage. Day-to-day management of the site is now the sole responsibility of the National Trust, who are dedicated to maintaining sites of national historical interest, including Marconi's early radio experiments.
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Bass Point circa 1910 |
The operating position at Bass Point |
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Transmissions by Marconi on 23rd January 1901 from the site at Niton on the Isle of Wight were received 186 miles away at Bass Point, setting a new distance record, proving that communications could be conducted "over the horizon". The experiment paved the way for the first transatlantic communication between Poldhu and Cape Cod two years later. A Special event station (GB2GLD) operated from Bass Point on 23rd January 2001 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this first transmission. The Bass Point site finally closed in 1920. |
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This event and others carried out by Marconi from the Lizard Penninsular in Cornwall are described in an exceptionaly interesting book written by historian, Courtney Rowe and published in January 2001. (ISBN 0 904040 49 6) |
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And now, to bring things a little more up-to-date, a few photographs of the GB4MBP operation in IMD 2004 |
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