Marconi AXBT Microphone & matching desk stand

Made:
circa 1946 in United Kingdom
BBC Marconi ribbon radio microphone
    The Marconi ribbon

BBC Marconi ribbon radio microphone The Marconi ribbon
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Marconi AXBT microphone Type A, manufactured by Marconi, c. 1944. BBC ribbon microphone with stand.

The Marconi ribbon microphone was first made in 1934 in Britain, and used by the BBC until 1959.

The tiny pressure changes, caused by the aluminium ribbon which is less than a thousandth of a millimetre thick, vibrate between the poles of a large magnet. These generate currents which mimic the sound wave. A radio microphone is a transducer, which is a device that translates voltages and currents into sounds, lights or forces.

Details

Category:
Television
Object Number:
2001-5038
Materials:
metal (unknown) and aluminium (metal)
Measurements:
overall: 405 mm 200 mm, 6.44 kg
type:
microphone
credit:
The National Media Museum, Bradford