Curriculum Vitae (Broadcast Engineering)
Neil James Carr
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Naionality: English (Born in Oxford)
Present Address: 34 Church Lane, Toddington, Gloucestershire, GL54 5DQ.
Telephone Numbers: 01242 620469, 07816 365257
email: neil@neilcarr.co.uk
Education (From Secondary School Level)
Lord Williams's School, Thame, Oxfordshire. 1977 - 1984
Qualifications attained:
C.S.E Technical Drawing Grade 1
O- Level Mathematics Grade A
O- Level Physics Grade A
O- Level Chemistry Grade A
O- Level Geography Grade B
O- Level Computer Studies Grade B
O- Level English Language Grade B
O- Level Biology Grade B
A- Level Mathematics (Pure & Applied) Grade A
A- Level Physics Grade A
A- Level Chemistry Grade B
University of Newcastle upon Tyne. 1984 - 1987
Department of Electrical Engineering
Qualifications attained:
First class honours degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. BSc. (Hon's)
Awarded the David Inglis Dawbarn prize for academic achievement in the final year.
Current Employment
August 2005 - Present: Self Employed as a freelance broadcast and IT engineer.
Broadcast and IT work:
November 2006:
Novell Groupwise admin and maintenance for Chrysalis Radio.
October 2006:
One month contract for IMD. Installation, cabling and IT work.
Jul & Aug 2006:
Studio installation at City Beat in Belfast for Radio Studio Services.
April 2006:
Studio installation at Palm FM in Torquay for Radio Studio Services.
Mar-Aug 2006:
Cabling and installation work for IMD (Independent Media Distribution).
December 2005:
Site visits and planning work for the move of radio station “The Wolf” on behalf of
the Oxford Sound Company.
.
Previous Employment
(In reverse chronological order)
December 1997 – August 2005 Regional Technical Manager, Chrysalis Radio
Duties:
Initially employed as Technical Manager to 100.7 Heart FM my duties involved managing all broadcast, IT and building services at the 100.7 Heart FM site. I managed the engineering project to expand the business into a second building and to build new studios when Chrysalis bought Galaxy 102.2. Chrysalis then employed a second engineer, to whom I became manager and then later an IT engineer who I also managed. Chrysalis then moved into DAB and I designed and built the systems for The Arrow ( a multi regional automated rock station with local news, weather and travel splits) and also DNN West Midlands. At this time I was promoted to the position of Regional Technical Manager with responsibility for engineering staff and issues at all Chrysalis Radio sites outside of London. During 2005 I have been managing a project to expand the Chrysalis Radio Midalnds business into a third building and to build two new studios and a new CTA for Heart FM. During this time I have built up a good knowledge of current IT practice; including administration of Novell NDS trees and Groupwise e-mail, Windows XP and Microsoft Office, PC's, servers and RCS Master Control XV.
September 1995 – December 1997 Freelance Radio Engineer
Chrysalis Radio: Jun 97 – Dec 97
Installation and maintenance work at Heart 106.2 in London, Galaxy 101 in Bristol and 100.7 Heart FM in Birmingham. I looked after Galaxy 101 for two months shortly after Chrysalis acquired it, completing the installation of the new studios and CTA during this time.
London News Radio: Nov 95 – Dec 97
Initially approached to maintain tape machines and other technical equipment my involvement rapidly expanded to involve operation of their main control room and operation of the radio vehicles. I was later heavily involved in the move to Grays Inn Road, both in a capacity of testing, installation and debugging at the new site and in decommissioning the Crown House site in Hammersmith. I was then regularly called in to undertake small projects and general maintenance at the Grays Inn Road site.
Capital Radio: Aug 96 - Jan 97
Initially employed to overhaul equipment in preparation for the move from Euston Tower to Leicester Square I soon became accepted as one of the engineering team. As the move approached I became station engineer for Euston Tower whilst the permanent staff worked on preparing the new site. I was heavily involved during the move working at both sites and then working for a further month at Leicester square; debugging the new installation and acting as extra engineering effort whilst staff accustomed themselves to the new equipment.
Talk Radio UK: Nov 96
A colleague and I were contracted to install an Alice Air2000 desk and peripheral equipment to form a new production studio. We undertook installation, cabling, testing, line-up and full documentation of the installation. The contract was completed on time and to Talk Radio's full satisfaction.
Taylor Made Films:
I was contracted for several dates as an OB engineer for the rigging and recording of Gardener's Question Time. This involved spending time away with the OB truck, assessing OB venues and the equipment required and liaising with staff at recording venues. I also rigged and mixed a debate for Radio 5 Live using the Taylor Made OB truck.
BBC Wiltshire Sound:
I was contracted for the rigging and mixing/recording of several OB events using the Wiltshire sound recording van. These have included five BBC Children in Need concerts (involving stage shows and orchestras), several quiz programmes and a number of community debates.
April 1995 - August 1995 BBC Bristol IT Support Technician
Duties:
Initially I was employed to upgrade machines and load software for the testing and implementation of Windows 95, for which BBC Bristol was a pilot site. This rapidly developed into a full IT support role where I was involved in the solving of customer problems or requests, installing new software and peripherals and setting up new customer accounts. During this time I developed a good understanding of PCs, DOS, Windows and various other software packages, CAT 5 and ethernet connection. I also gained a limited knowledge of Novell networks.
February 1994 - March 1995 BBC Local Radio Engineer (Wiltshire Sound)
Duties:
I was employed under a rolling contract as an engineer at BBC Wiltshire Sound. My duties were exactly as described lower down this CV, when I went on temporary attachment to Wiltshire Sound, except that due to reorganisation my colleague and I had no immediate superior and therefore held a higher level of managerial responsibility.
September 1990 - August 1993 BBC Radio Engineer
Engineering Operations Centre, Broadcasting House, London
Duties:
Maintenance and repair of broadcast plant; studio desks, tape machines, CD players, DAT machines. Front line repair of on air failures; had to decide whether fault could be repaired on air, worked around until programme had finished, or if it necessitated moving the programme to another studio. Maintenance and repair of digital broadcast transmission equipment, line send and receive amplifiers for outside lines, transmitter control equipment, digital and analogue audio routers. Safety testing of equipment and studio areas. Minor project and design work, modifications to existing plant, advising studio operators as to what was technically feasible for unusual broadcasts. Operation of the main switching position and outside broadcast desk; responsible for checking and adjusting equalisation of incoming temporary lines, reporting line faults to British Telecom, switching lines to studios and studios to lines according to the daily operations schedule, liaising with other broadcast companies both at home and abroad for testing of circuits and establishing communication between studios, operating satellite equipment for outside broadcasts and European link ups, operating and testing ISDN audio equipment of various standards.
October 1991 - March 1992 Attachment to BBC Wiltshire Sound
Duties:
My duties were much the same as in the Engineering Operations Centre in London, but with several additions. Operation and maintenance of the radio car and outside broadcast van. Organisation of building maintenance, communicating with outside contractors, obtaining quotes. Visiting and maintaining several of the station's outside studios, located in the local council offices and other public buildings.
October 1989 - September 1990 Trainee BBC Radio Engineer
During the first year I attended the engineer training course at the BBC Wood Norton Engineering College near Evesham. This training gave me detailed knowledge of BBC engineering practice and specific BBC equipment as well as experience in various engineering areas of BBC radio. Whilst training I accompanied qualified BBC engineers about their duties in several departments of BBC network radio. I also undertook maintenance and small project work on my own.
Areas worked:
News and Drama studio maintenance, Broadcasting House. Engineering Operations Centre, Broadcasting House. Multitrack Recording Studios, Maida Vale.
Qualifications Gained: BBC Radio Engineering ETSI qualified. (Engineering Training Standing Instruction)
Other Relevant Information
I hold a full current British driving licence, including HGV1.
I hold a British passport.
I am in good health and have no medical problems of which I am aware.
I have good sight and hearing and have normal colour vision.
Hobbies and Interests
My main hobby at present involves steam locomotives on a preserved railway. I am currently the Operations Director of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway and a Steam Driver. I was also instrumental in the seven year overhaul of GWR 2-8-0 freight engine 3822 at Didcot Railway Centre, learning many new skills during this work. For instance: I have learnt how to use an oxy-acetylene torch, how to hot rivet using an air powered rivet hammer, how to use lathes and mills, steam fitting, steam loco boiler maintenance and many other engineering skills. www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk www.gwsr.com
I have been involved in the sport of Tractor Pulling and have helped with the preparation and staging of events. Tractor pulling is a motor sport which involves pulling a device, called a Weight Transfer Sledge, as far down a track as possible using a modified farm tractor. There are several classes of tractor and some bear little resemblance to farm tractors, many are fitted with aircraft engines or large supercharged V8 engines and can produce up to ten thousand horsepower. www.tractorpulling.co.uk
I am also a keen motorcycle enthusiast since passing my test in 1996. I regularly visit the Isle of man for the TT races and marshall on the circuit at Sarah's Cottage. www.iomtt.com