[Peter Henderson]

I hope this doesn't happen:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...cnradio124.xml

DAB is truly awful in NI. We still can't get Virgin on DAB and the BBC multiplex seems to be on reduced power. Are there any other parts of the UK as bad as here ? I hope Ofcom are reading this !

Don't worry...it won't happen for a good while yet...if at all.

What the radio companies want and what they get are two different things.

If they want an analogue switch-off then they had better get their acts together and make DAB signals stronger,increase the audio bit rates and make sure ALL existing AM and FM stations will be available on DAB before they even think about it!

I seem to be having a peculiar feeling of deja-vu while posting this

[Gerry1]

Forget it - it's just kite flying by an industry lobby group that has been given free publicity by a so-called journalist who clearly wasn't selected on the basis of her technical knowlege...

"The nation’s network of terrestrial TV transmitters is due to be shut down in just four years’ time."

That’s news to me… It’ll also surprise a lot of people who have just bought DTT set top boxes !

"... only 16 per cent of radio listening is via a digital platform. These include DAB, which is broadcast through aerials, the internet, and radio over the TV."

She won't have heard much DAB if she uses a collapsed telescopic aerial tilted to 60 degrees...

[THE MIXER]

Originally Posted by Peter Henderson

I hope this doesn't happen:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...cnradio124.xml

DAB is truly awful in NI. We still can't get Virgin on DAB and the BBC multiplex seems to be on reduced power. Are there any other parts of the UK as bad as here ? I hope Ofcom are reading this !

Yes as said in previous posts on this, DAB is the most dreadful radio system ever built/designed, once the switch off is made my program/radio station choice will be absolutley dreadful, there will be a host of stations here that I wont be able to recieve on DAB, but never mind OFCOM and GCap have replaced them with Jukeboxes so all is well in the world that I wont be able to listen to BBC Essex's commentry on cricket matches here in Cambridgeshire but I will be able to listen to Smash Hits, Life and Core, fantastic cant wait

[television2004]

If travelling long journeys by car the beat reception is provided by medium and long wave radio. On VHF even with RDS you loose the station you are listening to.
Medium and long wave have no monetary value to the government due to the vast number of overseas broadcasters that can reach our shores on these frequencies without getting permission from HMG. Remember Radio Luxenbourg.? Switch off the UK based transmitters and you will get overseas (Eire France Luxenbourg etc)companies providing a service, run by the commercial broadcasters who want the BBC off the airwaves. With the BBC gone a station like Atlantic 252 would have made money rather than losing money . The last thing comercial broadcasters want is competition.
DAB is going to go before AM or FM broadcasts are removed from the airwaves. The system used in the UK is already obsolete and DAB is more likely to be gone by 2015!

[kev]

Originally Posted by Gerry1

"... only 16 per cent of radio listening is via a digital platform. These include DAB, which is broadcast through aerials, the internet, and radio over the TV."

She won't have heard much DAB if she uses a collapsed telescopic aerial tilted to 60 degrees...

Actually, she might have well have got a decent signal... - to get BBC National DAB in the kitchen I have to have the aerial collapsed (about half way) and tilted to around 70 degrees..... (just to get the Nottingham multiplex weak enough not to interfere (if only the BBC would add a local tx the power might be high enough to save receivers from being overloaded.)

Digital One have proved with their multiplex that a good transmitter network can beat any of the national FMers hands down in "covered" areas, heck even the Nottingham multiplex spreads it's fuzzyness free signal wider than FM equivalent does (just look for any of the posts mentioning Newark-on-Trent (a town without it's own transmitter) for proof of that). It's just a shame that Digital One have decided to switch some services to mono to allow for TV - argh!

Originally Posted by Daily Telegraph

John Myers, chief executive of GMG Radio, which broadcasts the Saga and Smooth stations, believes the move should happen as early as 2015.

Saga IS Smooth....

[BMR]

The 'broadcast through aerials' statement alone is gibberish.

[Peter Henderson]

but I will be able to listen to Smash Hits, Life and Core, fantastic cant wait

You're lucky ! We can't even listen to those.

[vanyablue]

Quote:
British radio companies are spending £20m a year on digital radio services. But they argue shareholders will withdraw support for that investment unless a cut-off date is named.
/Quote.

You never know your luck. Here may be a chance to ditch Dab version 1 and at the same time wrench the airwaves back out of the grasp of the big guys with their monotonous jukeboxes.

And, yes I have dab, but it only works with an outside aerial, so I can't carry it about. Anyway, both the sound and programming quality are a bit poor and it hardly ever gets used. Mrs VB sometimes listens to oneword, and that's it.

Mind you, I like the idea of a silent AM band. I could listen to all sorts from europe, and a silent FM band would be silent for about 10 minutes before it was filled with pirates everywhere, not just the cities.

On reflection, they've got no chance of this. I agree with RadioNorthSea and Gerry1.

Cheers, VB.

Originally Posted by THE MIXER

I will be able to listen to Smash Hits, Life and Core, fantastic cant wait

That's if those particular stations are still on the air of course!

[Les Wires]

Don't they mean switching off the analogue mode and replacing it with digital, DRM instead of AM on mw/lw and DRM+ instead of FM on vhf bandII.

Why do we have to wait so long?.....8 years seems ridiculous

[THE MIXER]

Originally Posted by RadioNorthSea

That's if those particular stations are still on the air of course!

So basically I will be going from listening to the following

Kiss
Lincs FM
Heart 106.2
Chiltern 96.9
Chiltern 97.6
BBC Essex
BBC Norfolk
Broadland
SGR
Q103
Hereward
Classic Gold
Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
Radio 5
Star
KLFM
Fen Radio
Lite FM
BBC Suffolk
BBC Cambridgeshire

to the following

Q103
Classic Gold
BBC Cambridgeshire
Kiss
Star???????
Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
and
Radio 5

Pretty good this DAB stuff

[MikeBr]

The BBC's response to the Future of Radio proposals, including analogue switch off, has now been published and is, to me, well argued and balanced. They admit coverage problems:

"Our DAB network currently serves around 85% of the population with our national digital radio services and we are exploring increasing this to 90% as part of the new licence-fee settlement. We have concerns, though, that we are already reaching the point where each new DAB
transmitter adds only a relatively small number of people to the total coverage of the network. While around thirty transmitters provide coverage to 65%, we expect to require around one hundred-and-twenty transmitters to extend the coverage from 85% to 90%. It is probable that it will become increasingly uneconomic – or, plainly put, vastly expensive – to provide DAB coverage over the same area as is covered by FM radio. "

They also state that:

"Our view at this time is that the future shape of radio is likely to be a mixed economy of DAB and FM, potentially supported by DRM – but it is far too early to determine this with any certainty."

as well as pointing out that 5 Live has a weekly reach of 6 million on AM and that it is needed for local and regional coverage.

Many of the responses posted so far are against analogue switch off, consultation closes Friday.

The responses can be read at the link below, sections 12 to 34 of the BBC's response deals with possible analogue switch off:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/cond...dio/responses/

[Rakim]

Originally Posted by THE MIXER

So basically I will be going from listening to the following

Kiss
Lincs FM
Heart 106.2
Chiltern 96.9
Chiltern 97.6
BBC Essex
BBC Norfolk
Broadland
SGR
Q103
Hereward
Classic Gold
Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
Radio 5
Star
KLFM
Fen Radio
Lite FM
BBC Suffolk
BBC Cambridgeshire

to the following

Q103
Classic Gold
BBC Cambridgeshire
Kiss
Star???????
Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
and
Radio 5

Pretty good this DAB stuff

One of the purposes of The Rad Auth/OFCOM was to broaden listener choice, not reduce it.

I can't see an UK analogue switch off for a few decades, if at all... How can Community stations, small local stations, etc be able to afford to go digital?? (I won't mention LPAM's, RSL's, etc as I believe they haven't been included in the digital switch off plans).

I'd like John Myers to keep quiet because (i) all his hot air is adding to global warming and (ii) he'd be better off using his opinions to save an industry thats in decline!

My own view is that we should get scrap DAB (as its already out dated, and as technology is updated, DAB will continue to be left behind), keep analogue AM & FM and have a digital radio system simliar to WorldSpace, but picking up signals off the Sky Digital satellites (i.e. channels 0101 onwards).

[BMR]

Originally Posted by THE MIXER

S
to the following

Q103
Classic Gold
BBC Cambridgeshire
Kiss
Star???????
Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
and
Radio 5

Pretty good this DAB stuff

You can add BBC 6, 7, 1 xtar and the World Service to that and presumably Core, Life, Jazz etc , as well as the 2nd national DAB MUX

Plus you might be able to get DAB MUXs from further afield, just las you can FM stations.

[BMR]

Originally Posted by Peter Henderson

DAB is truly awful in NI. We still can't get Virgin on DAB and the BBC multiplex seems to be on reduced power. Are there any other parts of the UK as bad as here ? I hope Ofcom are reading this !

Once the Republic switches off VHF telly, your choice will improve.

[mike blair]

We have no DAB here in the town of Rothesay in Scotland although other parts of the Isle of Bute on which Rothesay is situated can receive it - so 7,000 of us get no DAB only the 6 BBC FM and 2 local ILR sations on the Rothesay relay. We do get Argyll FM from South Knapdale and U105 AND Cool FM from over the water in Northern Ireland. When the tide is right - honest - we can get the BBC N Ireland DAB MUX as good as 65 from Divis (I think)

p.s. we are not due to get Freeview until Nov 2010 but BBC and Digital one give no date for DAB from the Rothesay tx which has a TSA of at least 30,000.

[hanssolo]

From the ch4radio DAB bid.

We will cover as much of Northern Ireland as is reasonably possible from launch, adding additional transmitters as soon as international agreement to do so is reached.

Originally Posted by mike blair

We have no DAB here in the town of Rothesay in Scotland although other parts of the Isle of Bute on which Rothesay is situated can receive it - so 7,000 of us get no DAB only the 6 BBC FM and 2 local ILR sations on the Rothesay relay. We do get Argyll FM from South Knapdale and U105 AND Cool FM from over the water in Northern Ireland. When the tide is right - honest - we can get the BBC N Ireland DAB MUX as good as 65 from Divis (I think)

p.s. we are not due to get Freeview until Nov 2010 but BBC and Digital one give no date for DAB from the Rothesay tx which has a TSA of at least 30,000.

It's possible you may get DAB when you get Freeview Nov 2010! However broadcasters might find it more economic for a lot of rural UK to get MW DRM or some other system for mobile coverage of the most popular digital radio stations where there is no DAB/DAB+.

[AuralJunkie]

Originally Posted by television2004

If travelling long journeys by car the beat reception is provided by medium and long wave radio. On VHF even with RDS you loose the station you are listening to.
Medium and long wave have no monetary value to the government due to the vast number of overseas broadcasters that can reach our shores on these frequencies without getting permission from HMG. Remember Radio Luxenbourg.? Switch off the UK based transmitters and you will get overseas (Eire France Luxenbourg etc)companies providing a service, run by the commercial broadcasters who want the BBC off the airwaves. With the BBC gone a station like Atlantic 252 would have made money rather than losing money . The last thing comercial broadcasters want is competition.
DAB is going to go before AM or FM broadcasts are removed from the airwaves. The system used in the UK is already obsolete and DAB is more likely to be gone by 2015!

For travelling around the UK DAB is the best platform. Try it with a decent radio and aerial. Also you still have LW/MW & FM as a back up!

[radiosgalore]

Originally Posted by AuralJunkie

For travelling around the UK DAB is the best platform. Try it with a decent radio and aerial. Also you still have LW/MW & FM as a back up!

for national stations yes. Local radio i'm not so sure. take BBC WM as an example they are loud and clear accross birmingham and wolverhamton on FM but are on two multiplexes on DAB. unless i'm mistaken you would have to scan for the station on the other multiplex. The same for Kiss and other stations. MAYBE AM switchoff but i don't know whether it's more likely they will go DAB or will want to go FM as monopolies like Gcap take control of vasts areas of the country via DAB. I don't think there WILL be a switchoff unless broadcasters are forced to

[Westward]

Stations on different muxes that have the same ID code shouldn't need retuning. I'm not sure if this applies to BBC WM but Kiss & XFM use this.

The advantage for BBC WM is that they can have an opt-out for Wolverhampton on DAB, which isn't possible on FM.

As for switch-off, the BBC's proposal seems the most sensible. They propose delaying a decision until 2010.

[Peter Henderson]

Once the Republic switches off VHF telly, your choice will improve.

I hope so BMR. It really is bad compared to other UK cities like Edinburgh for example, where several dozen stations are available on DAB.

I still reckon they could release more frequencies for NI in at least some areas of the province. The ROI are supposed to be testing DAB from Clermont Carn but I've yet to receive anything in this area, even though I get excellent analogue signals from the transmitter. I'm using a Watson DAB folded dipole mounted on the chimney, by the way.

The government needs to address the problem in NI sooner rather than later. 3C's slot should be replaced forthwith by Virgin Radio at the very least.

[Rakim]

In times of local or national emergencies, DAB will be/is unreliable.

When you look at what is happening across Yorkshire at the moment, the valleys and hills will cause any signals to be weak or non-existent at a distance away from the DAB TX sites. Analogue is best in these situations, due to the fact that with a varying signal strength using analogue broadcasts, a station can still be received. With digital it's all or nothing.

OFCOM should look at these types of situation, and radios use in warming people and keeping people updated.

Other situations include flood warnings and alerts along Britain’s coastal regions, especially down the East side of England, which were devastated in 1953 and 1978.

[West Briton]

Originally Posted by Peter Henderson

I hope so BMR. It really is bad compared to other UK cities like Edinburgh for example, where several dozen stations are available on DAB.

I still reckon they could release more frequencies for NI in at least some areas of the province. The ROI are supposed to be testing DAB from Clermont Carn but I've yet to receive anything in this area, even though I get excellent analogue signals from the transmitter. I'm using a Watson DAB folded dipole mounted on the chimney, by the way.

The government needs to address the problem in NI sooner rather than later. 3C's slot should be replaced forthwith by Virgin Radio at the very least.

RTÉ's DAB service, currently from Claremont Carn (North Co. Louth borders) and Three Rock (Dublin) only is pretty underpowered at the moment. I live sixteen kilometres west of Dublin and I'm fringe reception for Three Rock.

No sign of VHF television switch off here yet, though given the massive take up of $ky here and despite the peculiar non-event that is the "testing" of DTT from again Claremont and Three Rock, a decision on when/if switch off should happen must surely happen sooner rather than later.

RTÉ's exit from Band I television was a non-event a few years ago (or indeed the end of 405 lines in 1978-82) - could the dropping of Band III be as painless?

[hanssolo]

Originally Posted by Westward

As for switch-off, the BBC's proposal seems the most sensible. They propose delaying a decision until 2010.

Seems Virgin and GCAP is keen to switch off 1215 and the various Gold AM stations in favour of DAB asap to save money.
Talksport, LBC,R4 LW and R5 are not so keen on losing AM, but AM is better for speech than music.
Depending on the DRM tests the 1215, gold and BBC local radio AM frequencies might be reused for DRM for either new services or extending existing digital stations mobile coverage in rural or hilly areas where DAB is too expensive.

RTE DTT might properly launch in 2008 when the current trial finishes, the DTG item says they may aim for an analogue switch off in 2012, when this happens the restrictions on band III DAB UK and Ireland coverage will be lifted and powers increased.
http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?...ss=rte&id=1661

Surprised the UK large radio commercial companies latest responses to the Ofcom future of radio have not yet been published on the link Mike posted.
Got a feeling that FM music radio and AM speech radio will last a lot longer than 2015 in the UK.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/cond...dio/responses/