A
former Post Office/BT employee, Jim Crockett, has provided the
following explanation of the purpose of the Boghall Installation:
"Back in 1964, when I was a GPO Youth in Training (engineering apprentice) I
spent a period of time with the Edinburgh Survey Officer (based at Hopetoun
Street). One of the tasks we took on, was to survey the Boghall site for pole
erection. Back in those days, the GPO had a high level of community spirit, and
offered to erect the poles for Edinburgh University to allow them to set up a
tuned receiving aerial, for an early design of radio telescope. The site was
selected as it was well shielded from City electrical pollution. If I remember
correctly, the poles were recovered from an old GPO HF radio site, transported
to Boghall, erected, and handed over to the University for their own use -
probably all free of charge. How they were fed, I don’t know but suspect they
were used to feed a radio receiver at a remote University location."
Jim Crockett responded to my request for information posted on the website of Bill Rees www.btpensionersreconnect.co.uk
