Good FM radio transmitters and signals which cover the TSA too well

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  • Sesay2000Sesay2000 Posts: 2,291
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    In Barnet in my car I can receive:

    107.8 Jackie
    105.2 Wave 105 - comes through very good on lifts and is audiable through much of north London. It sometimes has fights with Kerrang!.
    96.4 The Eagle - pretty strong signal
    96.7 BBC Kent

    Not managed to yet get...
    96.8 BBC Cymru - but it's regularly received in Oxford and sometimes gets as far east as High Wycombe on the M40.
    Kiss East - I never get this unless I'm around Milton Keynes or when I last heard it, in Bedford.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 371
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    Just about anything from Wales.
  • Si-CoSi-Co Posts: 58
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    As mentioned above, TFM 96.6 from Bilsdale seems to have a very strong signal - I've frequently heard it in West Yorkshire, East Yorkshire (M62) and across the North East and well into Northumberland - I can normally pick it up on the A1 between Alnwick and Berwick much clearer than I can receive Metro from Burnhope. I'm sure I also heard it at Southwaite Services on the M6, but without RDS so I can't be sure it was TFM I was hearing on 96.6.

    I've picked Lincs FM (102.2) up in Catterick, North Yorkshire and Real Radio Scotland on 101.1 (I think) in Otterburn, Northumberland.

    My car stereo has 96.6 as one of the preset channels, but for some annoying reason whenever the signal from Metro on 97.1 is stronger it automatically changes over, despite being 'locked' to 96.6.

    Wire FM from Warrington is normally the first North West station I pick up as I cross the Pennines on the M62 - either that or BBC Manchester from Holme Moss.
  • music is lifemusic is life Posts: 177
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    ive listened to century 105.4 as far north as gretna services & as far south as llanidloes mid wales, can pick it up near holyhead also
  • PemblechookPemblechook Posts: 2,702
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    BRT Belgium 98.5 used to be there all the time.. weak but there..in North Wales but the band is a bit busier now.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 16
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    Since Radio Jackie have increased their power, reception in Hertfordshire has improved considerably. There's no high ground blocking the signal.
    I've driven from SW London and listened to Radio Jackie all the way round the North Circular and up the M1 to St Albans and beyond. I've also listened to it in Hatfield and heading north up the A1(M) towards Welwyn and Stevenage.

    Lincs 102.2 does get out well - I was listening to it recently driving down through Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. On the south side of Cambridge it was beginning to lose out to a poor Smooth Radio signal.

    Fen Radio used to get out well on 107.5 before it was closed down in July - easily receivable over most of West Norfolk and West Suffolk, and down to the outskirts of Cambridge. Not bad for 100W (or thereabouts) from Wisbech / Friday Bridge.
  • fmradiotuner1fmradiotuner1 Posts: 20,476
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    I used to get Wave 105.2 in tropo it used to be one of the first ones to come in and fight with French Info but since Southend Radio has come on I have never heard it.
  • Peter the GreatPeter the Great Posts: 14,225
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    O wow didn't know Kestrel goes off air , very rare for a station these days , i'll have to remember that the next time im DX scanning :rolleyes:
    It's not supposed to but for some reason just lately it goes off air through the night at weekends. It didn't go back on air until 11.00am last Saturday morning.
    No loss really. Most of the weekend is automated and i think Kestrel is a useless station that just can't be bothered. I get my local news from the Gazette.
    I think Radio Jackie is the complete opposite. 1 of the few true independent local stations left.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 705
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    It's not supposed to but for some reason just lately it goes off air through the night at weekends. It didn't go back on air until 11.00am last Saturday morning.
    No loss really. Most of the weekend is automated and i think Kestrel is a useless station that just can't be bothered. I get my local news from the Gazette.
    I think Radio Jackie is the complete opposite. 1 of the few true independent local stations left.

    Ive noticed that with its neighboring stations such as Kick FM , Andover FM and Dream FM but thats Tindle Radio with their worst business strategy ever.

    By the way 107.6 on the FM loop is normally occupied by Touch FM which seems to get out well I have heard it point a beam in that direction from Clee Hill in Shropshire
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 19,409
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    96.8 Radio Borders - gets well down ito the Northumberland North Pennines - its an easy catch on the Alston - Middleton road.

    Ive heard Pirate FM Redruth in the Lake District on a couple of occasions, although that probably had tropo lift helping
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 654
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    In South West Wales, i can't get Radio 1 as clearly as i used to in East Wales.
    The Wave (96.4FM) is also hazy on my radio in the car and house. I think it should have two separate signal frequencies - one for Swansea / Neath & one for Carmarthenshire.
  • WillumWillum Posts: 1,481
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    96.8 Radio Borders - gets well down ito the Northumberland North Pennines - its an easy catch on the Alston - Middleton road.

    Ive heard Pirate FM Redruth in the Lake District on a couple of occasions, although that probably had tropo lift helping

    I've been able to hear Radio Borders as far South as Weirdale, County Durham. Although it wasn't strong enough for RDS where I was.

    Still, at the same spot I was getting Galaxy 105 from Emley Moor on 105.1 *with* RDS.

    Now that's a station which covers an enormous area, and is audible over an even bigger one!

    I've picked it up with RDS in places as far apart as the North Nofolk coast, in a village on a hill to the NORTH of Durham and on the North Wales coast road, WEST of the Wirral / Liverpool, heading towards Holyhead.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 705
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    Willum wrote: »
    I've been able to hear Radio Borders as far South as Weirdale, County Durham. Although it wasn't strong enough for RDS where I was.

    Still, at the same spot I was getting Galaxy 105 from Emley Moor on 105.1 *with* RDS.

    Now that's a station which covers an enormous area, and is audible over an even bigger one!

    I've picked it up with RDS in places as far apart as the North Nofolk coast, in a village on a hill to the NORTH of Durham and on the North Wales coast road, WEST of the Wirral / Liverpool, heading towards Holyhead.

    If i aim the beam a little more to the east of the TX's heading (becuase of Kerrang 105.2 from SC) i can hear a noisy Galaxy on 105.1
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 716
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    IS it just me, but all these stations listed are the large clone stations, yet the specialist stuff (which people outside the TSA might want to listen to) barely cover the area...

    Centure 105.4 covers like a blanket.. yet Galaxy, XFM and Rock Radio especially struggler to cover just mnchester.. i know the TSAs are different, but i'm sure there would be many listeners in Oldham, Bolton and Lancashire that might enjoy X/Ro/Gal whoile Century is the same drivel that everyone else outputs...

    Surely haing the specialist at a higher power would be better...
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 196
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    [QUOTE=

    By the way 107.6 on the FM loop is normally occupied by Touch FM which seems to get out well I have heard it point a beam in that direction from Clee Hill in Shropshire[/QUOTE]

    just to the east of Clee Hill village on the A 4117 there is a carpark,massive signals come in from the south and east even under flat conditions,well worth stopping to do a manual search
  • globallsgloballs Posts: 140
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    Re: Radio Jackie - I was told by an employee that the station had an unauthorised tweak a few years back. We used to joke how I could get it in my home town many miles away from the actual transmission area.
  • CraigSteele2001CraigSteele2001 Posts: 971
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    How far does Peak FM on 107.4 get to now as it reached down as far as Twycross Zoo some years ago, which is a long way from Chesterfield.
  • RakimRakim Posts: 870
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    What seems to be forgotten, is that the UK's first FM transmitters were officially switched on back in the 1950s, when radios weren't as sensitive as they are today. Needless to say what was considered back then as a good coverage area was set at a field strength of 54uVdB/m (i.e. a terminated voltage of around 500uV). This figure is still used today, although radio receivers have become more sensitive, meaning stations will appear to cover their TSA too well, etc. ;)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 705
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    Rakim wrote: »
    What seems to be forgotten, is that the UK's first FM transmitters were officially switched on back in the 1950s, when radios weren't as sensitive as they are today. Needless to say what was considered back then as a good coverage area was set at a field strength of 54uVdB/m (i.e. a terminated voltage of around 500uV). This figure is still used today, although radio receivers have become more sensitive, meaning stations will appear to cover their TSA too well, etc. ;)

    Thats slightly incorrect because i get Jack FM at 45dBs and thats with the beam or the loop and the TX is right down the road by 3 miles so they couldn't have set that 54uVdB/m
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 371
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    Thats slightly incorrect because i get Jack FM at 45dBs and thats with the beam or the loop and the TX is right down the road by 3 miles so they couldn't have set that 54uVdB/m

    .....Yes they do, please see for yourself.

    http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/mcamaps/al320.pdf

    TSA's are considerably smaller then the actual coverage that can be acheived in most cases.
  • pje1979pje1979 Posts: 5,647
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    cromerlad wrote: »
    Lincs FM 102.2 gets around a bit, easily picked up in Nottinghamshire (doesn't get across to the west of the M1 though!) I've picked it up well into Norfolk and even in York...

    It's receivable 2 or 3 miles outside of Scarborough.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 705
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    Maxximus wrote: »
    .....Yes they do, please see for yourself.

    http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/mcamaps/al320.pdf

    TSA's are considerably smaller then the actual coverage that can be acheived in most cases.

    O blimey :o but i can receive Jack FM up to Junc 17 M4 where it then has a fight with XFM so to only get 45dBs here is weird
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    Have picked up BBC Radio Shropshire as far north as Bolton and down to just north of Bristol before now on 96.0mhz
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 371
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    ....you may well get more then 54dB if you say take your radio outside into an open area and connect it to an antenna thats 10 metres up. ;)

    What kind of antenna are you using, if its any kind of indoor one that explains it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 705
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    Have picked up BBC Radio Shropshire as far north as Bolton and down to just north of Bristol before now on 96.0mhz

    oooo got that 1 added to the list

    quite strong here as well with a little hiss
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