Faint UBVRI CCD sequences for wide-field surveys - I

We present the first results of a campaign to secure deep UBVRI CCD photometric calibration in all UK Schmidt equatorial fields with galactic latitudes |b| > 50deg. In this paper we provide information on deep BVRI sequences (B<22) in 14 UK Schmidt survey fields centred at declination=0deg. Deep U sequences have been obtained for 11 of these fields.