Whilst I am very interested in AM & FM radio, one of my favourite pastimes has always been monitoring Outside Broadcast Units, though due to many stations now using Satellite uplinks this isn't quite as easy as it used to be. Nevertheless, you can still come across these from time to time at certain events, and I always try to have a camera with me just in case I come across one by accident. I've managed to photograph a number of these at various public events, and also whilst passing through Manchester City Centre where something always seems to be taking place. Below you will find links to my Fotopics OB Gallery, where you can see some of the pictures of Outside Broadcast Units that I've taken in the past, theer are also several pages in this site showing some general shots of UK radio Stations, and I plan add more of these whenever spare time allows.

For the benefit of any visitors who aren't familiar with the term "Outside Broadcast", a brief explanation would be that the name covers any broadcast that takes place from a location outside of the main TV or Radio studio, often from a mobile unit consisting of a makeshift studio with mixing desk, and some form of VHF or UHF (or higher) radio link to carry the signal back to the main studio. Often when a TV News broadcast is covering a major incident of some sort, you will see a number of vehicles bearing the logo of one station or other, and possibly with a dish or aerial mast of some type on the roof. This will often be accompanied by a 'frontman', who the TV anchorman (main newsreader) at the studio goes across to for updates on whatever is happening in the situation they are covering, and this will be the OB Unit. You will also find them at many sporting events, or county shows, and again these will be working as a type of mobile studio, and preparing segments to be relayed back to the main studios at the station from transmission at various times.

Some of the pictures shown on the OB Pictures pages will give you an idea of what a number of the UK OB Unit vehicles look like, and as you will see, these can vary from a very simple modified car with a pump up mast and a Transmitter in the boot, usually with just a presenter and technician on board, to something much more elaborate, such as a modified double deck bus complete with its own studio for guests to be interviewed in. If these units are known by some other name in your countries please do let me know about it as I unfamiliar with how these things are carried out in other countries. I would be very interested to know if they differ in any way from the UK scene (if you have any photographs of your own you would like to see displayed here please do let me know, I would be very happy to exhibit them for you!).