Check whether the RDS has a full stop in it, eg BBC.R2 (I think) - that will give a hint as to whether it's lost its feed and gone into rebroadcast standby (RBS) mode. Although I'd expect Taccy to be a NICAM fed site so if Radio2 has gone into RBS all of the BBC national stations should have.
Check whether the RDS has a full stop in it, eg BBC.R2 (I think) - that will give a hint as to whether it's lost its feed and gone into rebroadcast standby (RBS) mode. Although I'd expect Taccy to be a NICAM fed site so if Radio2 has gone into RBS all of the BBC national stations should have.
Radio 1 did this yesterday, when it was even stormier than today!
Check whether the RDS has a full stop in it, eg BBC.R2 (I think) - that will give a hint as to whether it's lost its feed and gone into rebroadcast standby (RBS) mode. Although I'd expect Taccy to be a NICAM fed site so if Radio2 has gone into RBS all of the BBC national stations should have.
It was only R2 none of the others so probably just a TX issue unless the RBS is too noisy in stereo so they switch the TX into mono deliberately? Is Tacolneston RBS feed off-air from Wrotham?
It's always mono in RBS mode. I'm pretty sure that Tacolneston is line fed, but it's done using NICAM so that all of the networks are carried in one digital multiplex, so it should be impossible for Radio 2 to lose its feed without Radio 1,3 and 4 failing too, short of a local fault downstream of the NICAM decoder.
It's always mono in RBS mode. I'm pretty sure that Tacolneston is line fed, but it's done using NICAM so that all of the networks are carried in one digital multiplex, so it should be impossible for Radio 2 to lose its feed without Radio 1,3 and 4 failing too, short of a local fault downstream of the NICAM decoder.
Not 'impossible', I think there is a command in the datastream that tells it go to stereo. If that has the wrong command then it will go to mono. The stereo coders have also been known to switch to mono when there has been lightning. It's funniest when it happens the other way around and a mono station goes into 'stereo' i.e. mono with 19 KHz subcarrier. Lots of people get very excited and can be convinced that they are hearing stereo.
Yep, it's been a bit thundery on and off for a couple of hours, although I haven't seen any lightning where I am.
Not always visible, you can get discharges from clouds to high structures or high ground that do not have the classic bolt of lightning. We often had the worst damage in conditions like that.
Not 'impossible', I think there is a command in the datastream that tells it go to stereo. If that has the wrong command then it will go to mono. The stereo coders have also been known to switch to mono when there has been lightning.
That's not quite the same, your scenario is still using the signal decoded from NICAM. I'm thinking of a failure of the incoming feed and it flipping over to RBS mode, which would affect all networks.
It's funniest when it happens the other way around and a mono station goes into 'stereo' i.e. mono with 19 KHz subcarrier. Lots of people get very excited and can be convinced that they are hearing stereo.
Why would a 'mono station' have a stereo encoder ?
That's not quite the same, your scenario is still using the signal decoded from NICAM. I'm thinking of a failure of the incoming feed and it flipping over to RBS mode, which would affect all networks.
But it was said there had been lightning so it is quite possible that several things could fail.
Because they tend to use a standard FM modulator which is stereo, I doubt whether many mono only ones are made and it makes spares easier.
There are still several mono services being transmitted, look on the BBC lists of VHF FM frequencies = unless they are out of date.
The only BBC mono service I can recall , is the Gt Massingham relay of Radio Norfolk,
which is mono because the RBL feed from Stoke Holy Cross is too weak for a decent stereo signal.
I'm not aware of any others, dunno about commercial radio, the Ofcom Tech Paras doesn't mention whether a service is stereo or mono (for FM)
The only BBC mono service I can recall , is the Gt Massingham relay of Radio Norfolk,
which is mono because the RBL feed from Stoke Holy Cross is too weak for a decent stereo signal)
Not any more - it went stereo back in 2005 or something like that I think.
R4 used to do it a lot I remember back in the 80s, I think with speech only broadcasts. Not sure if they do nowadays?
As others have suggested, it was more a case that the BBC turned *on* the stereo encoders for a stereo broadcast (rather than off for a mono broadcast).
The feeling back then was that as the stereo "condition" always degraded the S/N ratio (which was more of a problem back in the days when receivers were noisier and the nightmare of Optimod was not even dreamed of!) it was better to broadcast in mono EXCEPT for a stereo programme. Even on Radio 3 it was off for parts of the day - for years the Edinburgh Festival (which in those glorious days was more about music than so-called comedy) was relayed in mono because of the difficulty of getting a stereo signal back to London.
Some of us would wait patiently for the end of OU programmes at 19.30 on Radio 3 for the pleasure of seeing the little red light come on - back in the days when ONLY Radio 3 was in stereo.... Even the first news summary of the day on Radio 3 would be broadcast in mono, with the stereo encoders coming on at 07.05.
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Edit: I have checked 89.7 here and it is is fine - the stereo beacon is lighting up when the signal is strong enough.
Yep. It's back now.
I remember years ago in stormy weather Saxon Radio 96.4 being mono for a couple of days due to encoder damage.
Radio 1 did this yesterday, when it was even stormier than today!
It was only R2 none of the others so probably just a TX issue unless the RBS is too noisy in stereo so they switch the TX into mono deliberately? Is Tacolneston RBS feed off-air from Wrotham?
mb21 reckons Wrotham is indeed the RBS source
http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/gallerypage.php?txid=724&pageid=1662
Not 'impossible', I think there is a command in the datastream that tells it go to stereo. If that has the wrong command then it will go to mono. The stereo coders have also been known to switch to mono when there has been lightning. It's funniest when it happens the other way around and a mono station goes into 'stereo' i.e. mono with 19 KHz subcarrier. Lots of people get very excited and can be convinced that they are hearing stereo.
Not always visible, you can get discharges from clouds to high structures or high ground that do not have the classic bolt of lightning. We often had the worst damage in conditions like that.
That's not quite the same, your scenario is still using the signal decoded from NICAM. I'm thinking of a failure of the incoming feed and it flipping over to RBS mode, which would affect all networks.
Why would a 'mono station' have a stereo encoder ?
And how many 'mono' FM stations are there ?
But it was said there had been lightning so it is quite possible that several things could fail.
Because they tend to use a standard FM modulator which is stereo, I doubt whether many mono only ones are made and it makes spares easier.
There are still several mono services being transmitted, look on the BBC lists of VHF FM frequencies = unless they are out of date.
The only BBC mono service I can recall , is the Gt Massingham relay of Radio Norfolk,
which is mono because the RBL feed from Stoke Holy Cross is too weak for a decent stereo signal.
I'm not aware of any others, dunno about commercial radio, the Ofcom Tech Paras doesn't mention whether a service is stereo or mono (for FM)
Not any more - it went stereo back in 2005 or something like that I think.
R4 used to do it a lot I remember back in the 80s, I think with speech only broadcasts. Not sure if they do nowadays?
Ah, yes, my Feb 1995 BBC Tx guide mentions South Knapdale and Strachur for NanG, are they still mono twenty years on ?
Yes they did, but not any more, too many instances of stereo not being re enabled for relevant programmes. (Pres cock ups are nothing new :-) )
104.4 is still mono.
As others have suggested, it was more a case that the BBC turned *on* the stereo encoders for a stereo broadcast (rather than off for a mono broadcast).
The feeling back then was that as the stereo "condition" always degraded the S/N ratio (which was more of a problem back in the days when receivers were noisier and the nightmare of Optimod was not even dreamed of!) it was better to broadcast in mono EXCEPT for a stereo programme. Even on Radio 3 it was off for parts of the day - for years the Edinburgh Festival (which in those glorious days was more about music than so-called comedy) was relayed in mono because of the difficulty of getting a stereo signal back to London.
Some of us would wait patiently for the end of OU programmes at 19.30 on Radio 3 for the pleasure of seeing the little red light come on - back in the days when ONLY Radio 3 was in stereo.... Even the first news summary of the day on Radio 3 would be broadcast in mono, with the stereo encoders coming on at 07.05.
I'm told (this morning) by someone in the Tx coverage area, it is in stereo, the beacon is lit, and more importantly the audio is indeed in stereo ?