2BD
| Broadcast area | City of Aberdeen |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 606 kHz : 495 m MW |
| First air date | 10 October 1923 |
| Format | Light music, comedy, news and sport |
| Owner | BBC |
2BD was a local radio station opened on 10 October 1923 in Aberdeen, Scotland, by the British Broadcasting Company (later to become the British Broadcasting Corporation). Operating from a studio at the rear of a shop belonging to Aberdeen Electrical Engineering at 17 Belmont Street and a transmitter located on the premises of the Aberdeen Steam Laundry Company, the station broadcast on a frequency of 606 kHz (495 m) medium wave.
After being appointed managing director of the BBC in 1922, John Reith instigated a programme of expansion of the radio network in the United Kingdom, increasing the number of local stations from three to twenty in a relatively short period of time. Aberdeen was one of the first new stations to be put on air.
The opening ceremony for the station was conducted by the Marquis of Aberdeen at 9pm on 10 October 1923, followed by a performance from the Band of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders. Those attending the launch included the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, BBC MD John Reith, station director R. E. Jeffery, and chief engineer Peter Eckersley.
Inside the studio, broadcasters used a single microphone on a wheeled base, which severely restricted the number of users at any one time. Being transmitted from the Aberdeen Steam Laundry Company building, the signal then travelled to an aerial slung between two Marconi radio masts sited beside some nearby electrical generators (which frequently interfered with broadcasts). Although the transmitter was of low power, it was reported that the first programmes were heard in Norway and, similarly, subsequent broadcasts more than a year later could be heard in the United States during "International Radio Week".
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