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The 'AM death watch' thread... |
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#26 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
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Orion has committed itself to AM for the next few years as it has renewed its AM licences for the Midlands with Free Radio 80's occupying it.
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#27 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
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Has 1485 in Merseyside gone silent now forever?
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#28 |
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 949
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My only worry about the present DAB system is still prone to issues in certain city/town centres there are still issues regarding reception as well as in rural areas.
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#29 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Newtownabbey, Co.Antrim Northe
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Quote:
Has 1485 in Merseyside gone silent now forever?
Interestingly, it always amazes me how much A.M is still being used in places such as Spain. Loads of A.M stations receivable when I visted Salou in July. It's just a pity DRM seems to have died a death rather than A.M., although I moticed in last Month's Radio User there's a new (and affordable) receiver now available. That was always the problem with DRM. A lack of affordable receivers. No point in having high fidelity digital technology if no one can listen. I suppose things might have been different if the Japanese had taken up the technology. |
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#30 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Newtownabbey, Co.Antrim Northe
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Quote:
My only worry about the present DAB system is still prone to issues in certain city/town centres there are still issues regarding reception as well as in rural areas.
Stil no Digital One after all this time. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR ![]() ![]()
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#31 |
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 1,476
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Quote:
That was always the problem with DRM. A lack of affordable receivers. No point in having high fidelity digital technology if no one can listen.
The two do actually go together quite well! |
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#32 |
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Essex
Posts: 3,858
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Quote:
D.A.B. reception is xcellent here. It's just a pity there are so few stations on it here in NI.
Stil no Digital One after all this time. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR ![]() ![]() ![]() If you looks at the OFCOM D1 coverage maps from their recent coverage level consultation you can see that D1 have already planned their N.I. Coverage. |
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#33 |
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Herts
Posts: 6,183
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Quote:
Has 1485 in Merseyside gone silent now forever?
Quote:
Nope, due to return on Wdnesday 26th September as far as I know.
"According to an email I received from Radio Merseyside, they were told 1485 kHz would be switched back on between 9am and noon on Monday (24th)." Quote:
It's just a pity DRM seems to have died a death rather than A.M.
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#34 |
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,108
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Quote:
British DX Club email list posted last night:
"According to an email I received from Radio Merseyside, they were told 1485 kHz would be switched back on between 9am and noon on Monday (24th)." Given that DAB has good reception in Merseyside area, and the MW feed is now on dAB, anyone who needed the opt out sport would probably have bought a DAB radio in the last 5 weeks. I would be intereted to know 1: How many people listened to MW locally before switch off? 2: How many people bought a DAB radio in Merseyside in the last 5 weeks so they did not need to go back to MW for the opt-outs? 3 How many people will seriously go back to listening on MW since they would get better reception on FM and DAB? Anyone who has not bought a DAB radio and listened on MW would by now surely have switched to FM - meaning it is pointless switching it back on as anyone who relied on MW would have bought a DAB radio. The BBC should save a bit more money by leaving the Wallasey transmitter switched off. This reminds me of the frequency change day in 1978, when there was a fuss about people tuning to RAdio 2 on the morning of 23 November, because they were on FM only for 90 minutes or so and the previous night. (Midnight - 2am and 5am-6.30 approx). If anyone was listening on FM, surely they would not have gone back to MW to hear a much poorer reception? |
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#35 |
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Cumbria
Posts: 16,967
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AM ( medium wave) is still a big deal for talk and golden oldies stations in America. As talk radio is particularly popular in more rural parts of America, AM shows no sign of dying over there.
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#36 |
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NW England
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Quote:
AM ( medium wave) is still a big deal for talk and golden oldies stations in America. As talk radio is particularly popular in more rural parts of America, AM shows no sign of dying over there.
Not being sarky, just a genuine question in a vast country like the US. |
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#37 |
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: somewhere in yorkshire
Posts: 42
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bbc radio lincolnshire off 1368khz just checked their web page no mention 1368mw
bbc radio nottingham off 1584khz same as above no mention of 1584mw will keep my ear to the dial
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#38 |
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Herts
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Quote:
bbc radio lincolnshire off 1368khz just checked their web page no mention 1368mw
bbc radio nottingham off 1584khz same as above no mention of 1584mw will keep my ear to the dial ![]() |
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#39 |
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Cumbria
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Quote:
Do these areas not have internet access?
Not being sarky, just a genuine question in a vast country like the US. |
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#40 |
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Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: London
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Quote:
AM ( medium wave) is still a big deal for talk and golden oldies stations in America. As talk radio is particularly popular in more rural parts of America, AM shows no sign of dying over there.
Like the UK, the US is trying to get AM listeners to upgrade to another format, instead of DAB, it's HD radio which uses FM, this enables those AM stations who have poor coverage inside cities to broadcast clearly. Some AM'ers also simulcast on FM to increase their share. |
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#41 |
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Join Date: Jan 2010
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Quote:
As you say, music radio in rural America on AM won't die out, but in urban areas, it's still mainly speech radio, including sports, news/talk and a new format introduced this year Comedy, the first being Matty's Comedy in Boston.
Like the UK, the US is trying to get AM listeners to upgrade to another format, instead of DAB, it's HD radio which uses FM, this enables those AM stations who have poor coverage inside cities to broadcast clearly. Some AM'ers also simulcast on FM to increase their share. |
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#42 |
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Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 13,569
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Quote:
Possible, but rural America has poor television and radio reception and some Americans are too poor to have internet radio.
In the cities Sirius XM has terrestrial repeaters and completing with HD. Quote:
Yes very true. The same happen with Worldspace. An interesting broadcasting platform but nobody thought that it would be a good idea to make receivers widely available!:
Seems that in France AM is hardly used now. Quote:
Deutschlandradio stopped DRM transmissions last week, 855 is off, the three hour nightime transmissions on 177 have ended.
Quote:
I suppose things might have been different if the Japanese had taken up the technology.
Quote:
1100-1130 Fri 9760 105 Europe 90 NHK Woofferton English
But they can't get Sony or Panasonic to make the DRM30 sets.
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#43 |
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Shropshire
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For me AM died a while ago. What with all the interference from computer equipment and next-door's CRT television which seems to be on 24/7, I find it difficult to even hear Radio 5, Absolute and TalkSport in my house nowadays.
In the car it's not too bad mind. |
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#44 |
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Join Date: Jan 2010
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Quote:
For me AM died a while ago. What with all the interference from computer equipment and next-door's CRT television which seems to be on 24/7, I find it difficult to even hear Radio 5, Absolute and TalkSport in my house nowadays.
In the car it's not too bad mind. |
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#45 |
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Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: London
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Quote:
So i guess music AM radio is for the poor in rural areas of the US! Those can can afford it have satellite TV and Sirius XM for radio.
In the cities Sirius XM has terrestrial repeaters and completing with HD. You can also listen in-car too which beats that barrier of having to stay at home or listen via on-line streaming which incurs data charging. Although many American's will disagree, they do have a fantastic commercial radio system, which gives their owners the freedom to react to the market a lot more faster than in the UK. If a format no longer works, fine, we'll flip and give those listeners who like the previous format a slot on HD. |
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#46 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Newtownabbey, Co.Antrim Northe
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Quote:
The BBC should save a bit more money by leaving the Wallasey transmitter switched off.
It would be nice if they relayed Gold instead though.
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#47 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Newtownabbey, Co.Antrim Northe
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Quote:
For me AM died a while ago
If you're listening on a mono portable radio, there's really not that much difference fidelity wise between a good FM and AM signal, in my opinion.There's also a certain magic to listening to a distant A.M station (whether on LW, MW, or SW), as there is on FM. I've recently bought a Tecsun AN 200 portable MW loop antenna and it really has enabled me to listen to several more BBC local radio stations that I wouldn't otherwise be able to receive, as well as some continental stations during daylight hours in the summer.A great little device that no serious radio listener should be without (costs around £25 including p & p on Amazon). I for one sincerely hope the B.B.C don't abandon M.W. I really do bemoan the closure of these high power A.M transmitters in this part of Europe, especially when they lie idle or are simply dismatled. It seems a shame they go to waste, especially when there are pirate/internet stations such as Radio Caroline who would love to have an A.M frequency and transmitter. Internet radio is great, and it's fun listening to A.M and F.M stations all over the world e.g. Australia for example. However, the dreaded rights issues nonsense has raised it's ugly head in the U.S. You're also tied down to a good a reliable WiFi broad band connection, and what happens when the power goes off ? You're sunk. I think internet radio has some way to go before it replaces A.M. F.M or D.A.B.Now if we had portable and car internet radios, subscription free, running of the 3G (soon to be 4G) network that might be a different matter. Still, maybe I'm just an old fashioned anorak ! |
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#48 |
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,271
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The Asian Network in the West Midlands uses the former WM AM frequencies of 1458/828 Khz,as this station is duplicated on DAB,they could turn those AM transmitters off,as i suspect the listening on AM is low.
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#49 |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 132
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Quote:
The Asian Network in the West Midlands uses the former WM AM frequencies of 1458/828 Khz,as this station is duplicated on DAB,they could turn those AM transmitters off,as i suspect the listening on AM is low.
I suspect you are wrong. I was in a taxi just the other day where 828 am was on. I would imagine that there are more AM listeners to Asian Network than in the general population, in part due to the lack of Asian stations on FM (RAAJ is fairly recent and patchy in coverage). Also remember that Radio XL was only available on Birmingham DAB until recently. It didn't have the same coverage as on AM |
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#50 |
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Join Date: May 2007
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One or two Asian shopkeepers in Derby listen to the Asian Network during the day on AM, not sure if they are tuning in to Leicester or Birmingham, but reception isn't great. If people are willing to do that here, I would suspect listenership in Brum and Leicester is higher.
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