DS Forums

 
 

The 'AM death watch' thread...


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 31-10-2012, 00:57
airfix
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: The Kingdom of Nye
Posts: 2,915
Could someone please confirm which AM stations still transmit via Saffron Green?

Is it still just LBC News 1152 and Gold (Greater London)?
airfix is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 31-10-2012, 07:37
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,079
Could someone please confirm which AM stations still transmit via Saffron Green?

Is it still just LBC News 1152 and Gold (Greater London)?

Yes LBC 1152, and whatever the old Capital Radio 1548 service carries now.
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 11:06
shadowplay
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 92
Sorry folks for posting in this thread as i could not locate the other BBC thread concerning AM switch off's. I just wanted to share this link printed in Friday's The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...ium-wave-radio.

There is now going to be a re-think about the future process of MW shutdowns.

Apologies if this has already been posted.

Last edited by shadowplay : 11-11-2012 at 11:07. Reason: Spelling errors.
shadowplay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 11:20
BMR
Guest
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4,240
Yeah it looks as though there are real issues in Liverpool. It would be interesting to know whether the listeners who wrote in were in Liverpool itself or outside the TSA
BMR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 11:22
kev
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: South Notts (Waltham TV TX)
Posts: 20,200
Sorry folks for posting in this thread as i could not locate the other BBC thread concerning AM switch off's. I just wanted to share this link printed in Friday's The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...ium-wave-radio.

There is now going to be a re-think about the future process of MW shutdowns.

Apologies if this has already been posted.
Derailed for 600 listeners? Hmm. I wonder which would be cheaper - providing DAB/Internet sets for those 600 or keeping the old transmitter on air?
kev is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 11:26
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,079
Derailed for 600 listeners? Hmm. I wonder which would be cheaper - providing DAB/Internet sets for those 600 or keeping the old transmitter on air?
My thoughts exactly, though certainly cheaper (and more chance of decent reception) to provide them with FM radios.

It was also said that from about 1980 onwards, it would have been cheaper to give away 625 line TV sets to the remaining 405 line viewers, than keep the two 405 line networks running.
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 12:36
BMR
Guest
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4,240
Derailed for 600 listeners? Hmm. I wonder which would be cheaper - providing DAB/Internet sets for those 600 or keeping the old transmitter on air?
Not much use if they live outside the TSA though is it, kev ?
BMR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 12:42
SouthCity
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,475
There is now going to be a re-think about the future process of MW shutdowns.

Apologies if this has already been posted.
I wonder how many of the complainants realise that there is a fixed budget under DQF and the continuation of AM means less funding for programming.

An internet radio should work fine outside the TSA except for the football commentaries.
SouthCity is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 13:15
kev
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: South Notts (Waltham TV TX)
Posts: 20,200
Not much use if they live outside the TSA though is it, kev ?
Hence the internet radio - and if they live outside the TSA why is it relevant what they think? BBC Radio Merseyside is a service to serve the people of Merseyside - why should they invest money in providing people outside the area with a MW transmitter when there is already DAB and FM overspill plus online listening when that money could be better spent on improving/sustaining programming under the excessive cuts the BBC is being subjected to?

Plus if it really was relevant the internet radio suggestion would cover those people.
kev is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 13:59
BMR
Guest
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4,240
Hence the internet radio - and if they live outside the TSA why is it relevant what they think?
I don't suppose it is.

Just finding this whole process interesting from an anoraky point of view..
BMR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 14:00
crusher19860138
Guest
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,271
Don't know why the BBC persists with the Asian Network on AM,most people i know listen to it on DAB.
crusher19860138 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 14:02
crusher19860138
Guest
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,271
Radio Wales staying on AM is a good move,many ex pats in England tuned in!
crusher19860138 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 14:19
BMR
Guest
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4,240
Radio Wales staying on AM is a good move,many ex pats in England tuned in!
But of course if you continue Radio Wales for Welsh ex pats where do you draw the line?
BMR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 15:40
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,079
Not much use if they live outside the TSA though is it, kev ?
Then tough. Out of area listening should only be a 'nice to have'. Fine if requires no extra expenditure to achieve,. c.f. satellite or internet delivery, but to keep a transmitter running purely to extend coverage beyond the TSA is not acceptable.
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 16:33
BMR
Guest
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4,240
Then tough. Out of area listening should only be a 'nice to have'. Fine if requires no extra exditure to achieve,. c.f. satellite or internet delivery, but to keep a transmitter running purely to extend coverage beyond the TSA is not acceptable.
Would you apply the same logic to Radio Wales, Mark?

There may be other reasons to keep Radio Wales on AM, just wondering where people would draw the line?
BMR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 16:49
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,079
Would you apply the same logic to Radio Wales, Mark?
Yes, absolutely. If I was an ex pat Welshman, still wanting to hear the station, I'd be using satellite. If I lived in a poor reception spot in Wales itself I'd be doing that, AM is unbearable to listen to, even when it's a decent signal.

I speak as someone in the 1970s who went to great effort to receive a clean FM stereo signal from Capital Radio 50 miles from their transmitter. I'd loved the IBA to have increased the ERP to 50kW to make life easier, but equally understood why they couldn't.

Ironic that today it's dead easy to receive Capital in noise free stereo anywhere in Europe, but who'd bother !
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-11-2012, 16:52
SouthCity
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 4,475
Radio Wales only has 80% coverage on FM in the Principality, due to lack of available frequencies.

The AM service won't be switched off until DAB coverage equates to at least the Radio Cymru FM coverage (94.8%).
SouthCity is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2012, 20:35
882657
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 476
The A M signals of Radio Wales, Five Live, Talksport, Gold and Absolute here in Cardiff are fine and very listenable. They work well at night as well as day time. Turning them off when many people still listen to them is madness.
882657 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2012, 20:55
smorris
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,055
Hence the internet radio - and if they live outside the TSA why is it relevant what they think?
The only problem is football/cricket/rugby commentary which is typically not carried online (usually because clubs and associations prefer to sell this to subscription services).

Of course, there is the argument that they should be paying for the subscription service anyway. It might even be technically illegal to listen to sports commentary outside the TSA. I wouldn't be surprised if it was, given our hardline copyright laws, anyway.
smorris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-11-2012, 07:24
kev
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: South Notts (Waltham TV TX)
Posts: 20,200
The A M signals of Radio Wales, Five Live, Talksport, Gold and Absolute here in Cardiff are fine and very listenable. They work well at night as well as day time. Turning them off when many people still listen to them is madness.
Hmm...

Daytime Five Live and TalkSport are just about audible under the mush - at night time Five Live goes all foreign and TalkSport vanishes. During the day Gold and Absolute are fine, but at night start to vanish!

Yes there may be the odd place where they are all okay - but one would expect the likes of Cardiff to get just as good, if not better, reception on FM and DAB. The places that rely on MW are few and far between and these trials are to judge exactly where those places are. I wonder if the odd case will see a low power FM filler to come on air as a cheaper option?
kev is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-11-2012, 07:45
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,079
Hmm...

Daytime Five Live and TalkSport are just about audible under the mush - at night time Five Live goes all foreign and TalkSport vanishes. During the day Gold and Absolute are fine, but at night start to vanish!
?
Here in North Hampshire, 1215 is unlistenable mush, and has been since the 1960s. 693 and 909 since Nov 78 are better, but still suffer terrible fading, particularly on the move as do 1089 and 1053.

Hopeless. The only clean, strong AM signals we've had here was 647 from Daventry, and 908 from Brookmans Pk up until Nov 78, and of course 200/198 Droitwich..
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-11-2012, 08:48
hanssolo
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 13,572
Here in North Hampshire, 1215 is unlistenable mush, and has been since the 1960s. 693 and 909 since Nov 78 are better, but still suffer terrible fading, particularly on the move as do 1089 and 1053.
1260 was added as a 500w fill in at Guildford to overcome the mush problem of the 1215 transmitters interfering with each other for Virgin, now Absolute, radio, and 1260 should be fine in NE Hampshire, but might get too weak in NW Hampshire?
hanssolo is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 13-11-2012, 08:59
Mark C
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 8,079
1260 was added as a 500w fill in at Guildford to overcome the mush problem of the 1215 transmitters interfering with each other for Virgin, now Absolute, radio, and 1260 should be fine in NE Hampshire, but might get too weak in NW Hampshire?
1260's no good, 1233 from Reading is better, but the point I was making is national radio coverage on synchronised high power networks is generally a mushy mess in many areas,

I suspect another reason why ILR did so well in the 70s, was that it was a nice powerful steady AM signal within the TSAs, compared to a dreadful mess on '247m'.
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 16-08-2013, 18:28
BMR
Guest
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 4,240
990 from Berlin seems to be the next casualty lined up. 3rd September
BMR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17-08-2013, 09:39
dxboy
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 30
I would love to see 648Khz used for high powered use as it would offer excellant coverage from one of the higher powered transmitters.

Like Radio Caroline
dxboy is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply



Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 23:38.