RTE Radio 1 on 252!

Cork_chick_94

I would be very shocked if rte did a u-turn on this, the 2fm schedule changes last spring got a much much bigger negative response from the public.

Cork_chick_94

The people who have come out of the woodwork in recent days wanting 252 to be kept on air, were campaigning for mw to be kept on 6 years ago, saying at the time that lw was useless in london and that oaps would never be able to find R1 on 252.

former legend

Rock Solid wrote: »

It is essential that 252 be kept on air even at low power, it serves areas where Fm and Dab are weak, I often listen to it when driving around remote parts of the country such as Donegal and Kerry and Cork and mountain areas of Ireland, its clear west of France and north Spain, also shipping rely on it for news and weather reports etc, the elderly are not all upto date with technology and rely on 252LW.

That seems unlikely if there's a transmitter on the north coast of Algeria broadcasting on the same frequency at ten times the power. And even if it is available in France or Spain, why is this something we should be maintaining?

As pointed out, it is of no value to shipping.

Infoanon

former legend wrote: »

That seems unlikely if there's a transmitter on the north coast of Algeria broadcasting on the same frequency at ten times the power..

To confirm RTE can be heard on LW in the West of France - interference is only at night time from Chaine 1 Algeria.

sligojoek

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

I would be very shocked if rte did a u-turn on this, the 2fm schedule changes last spring got a much much bigger negative response from the public.

Congratulations. You got post no.252

Cork_chick_94

That Noreen Bowden one who was on with sean o'rourke this morning seems to be a major crank, here is the guff she was writting about the mw shutdown back in 08 http://www.globalirish.ie/2008/ean-press-release-on-rte-medium-wave-shutdown/

Fuzzy Clam

"FM requires retuning as one travels through the country, which is the type of distraction that has been a proven factor in car accidents."

She's right. FM should be banned completely to cut the carnage on our roads!

Cork_chick_94

Word on twitter is they are kicking the closedown date forward to January 19th. Strange.

former legend

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

That Noreen Bowden one who was on with sean o'rourke this morning seems to be a major crank, here is the guff she was writting about the mw shutdown back in 08 http://www.globalirish.ie/2008/ean-press-release-on-rte-medium-wave-shutdown/

This one is my favourite:

People with limited vision – the FM dial is cluttered with stations. Tuning RTE in on MW is simple.

Very hard to take her seriously after that.

Cork_chick_94

Now that rte have strangely given in to a few complaints (probably all from cranks) and postponed the switch off untill January 19th, What can they really do in that time ? Put R1 on freeview ? give aid to irish oaps in uk to install freesat ? give aid to them to buy a smartphone ?

Cork_chick_94

Funnily enough RTE also postponed the date of launching R1 on 252 a number of times over a decade ago http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=113296

twinklerunner

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

Now that rte have strangely given in to a few complaints (probably all from cranks) and postponed the switch off untill January 19th, What can they really do in that time ? Put R1 on freeview ? give aid to irish oaps in uk to install freesat ? give aid to them to buy a smartphone ?

Why does it seem to bother you that RTÉ have decided to extend the life of its 252 service?
You're obviously not affected, but there are a number of Irish radio listeners in NI, GB, parts of Europe that are .. so long live 252 (if you ask me).

Cork_chick_94

twinklerunner wrote: »

Why does it seem to bother you that RTE

Because i am a tv licence payer.

Mycroft H

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

Because i am a tv licence payer.

So am I. I used to do a lot off commuting north a and south of the border. 252 worked very well for that purpose even in city center Belfast. Otherwise it was BBC.

Infoanon

252 LW switch off postponed to at least January. ..

twinklerunner

Infoanon wrote: »

252 LW switch off postponed to at least January. ..

from The IT http://tinyurl.com/p5xcnbe

Rock Solid

Well watch your T. V. then!

Banjoxed

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

Because i am a tv licence payer.

Cheerio, closed account.

padd b1975

Infoanon wrote: »

252 LW switch off postponed to at least January. ..

Hopefully this will be quietly dropped come January, it's obviously been greatly underestimated just how popular this service actually is.

marno21

Looking at the University of Twente WebSDR tonight and it seems as if Algeria is back on 252, although the interference isn't too bad. What makes listening difficult is carriers on 248 and 249kHz causing whistles, anyone else pick these up?

Antenna

Further letters in the Irish Times yesterday:

http://www.irishtimes.com/debate/letters/on-the-same-wavelength-1.1966308

and I spotted this one in Examiner:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/yourview/longwave-radio-a-lifeline-for-the-forgotten-irish-291664.html

Longwave Listener

The elephant in the room here is nobody living in the uk pays a licence fee to RTE. Running a 300kw longwave transmitter so that a few hundred oaps in manchester can listen to Ceili House is hardly the best use of tax payers money. The protests also have an air of rent a mob about them.

Infoanon

Longwave Listener wrote: »

The elephant in the room here is nobody living in the uk pays a licence fee to RTE. Running a 300kw longwave transmitter so that a few hundred oaps in manchester can listen to Ceili House is hardly the best use of tax payers money. The protests also have an air of rent a mob about them.

Nobody in Ireland pays a licence fee to the BBC to listen to BBC4 or 5live etc

RTE 1 extra does not have anything close to full coverage while FM is only 98% coverage so its a lot more than 'a few hundred oaps'

padd b1975

Longwave Listener wrote: »

The elephant in the room here is nobody living in the uk pays a licence fee to RTE. Running a 300kw longwave transmitter so that a few hundred oaps in manchester can listen to Ceili House is hardly the best use of tax payers money. The protests also have an air of rent a mob about them.

It's a TV licence we pay for, not a radio licence.

Losty Dublin

Infoanon wrote: »

Nobody in Ireland pays a licence fee to the BBC to listen to BBC4 or 5live etc

RTE 1 extra does not have anything close to full coverage while FM is only 98% coverage so its a lot more than 'a few hundred oaps'

We don't but we have no more right or entitlement to a service from the BBC than people in the UK have to get RTE.

Infoanon

padd b1975 wrote: »

It's a TV licence we pay for, not a radio licence.

Its called a TV licence but is also used to fund radio services.

padd b1975

Infoanon wrote: »

Its called a TV licence but is also used to fund radio services.

If you own a radio but don't own a TV, you don't need a licence.

former legend

padd b1975 wrote: »

If you own a radio but don't own a TV, you don't need a licence.

RTE radio is funded by money collected via the TV licence.

Wasting money on lw is a waste of TV licence money.

I think it's a bit hypocritical for the Irish to be complaining about the British receiving Radio 1 on LW when we've been leeching their TV and radio for the last 60 years.

I was using the RTE Radio Player on a bus earlier. Not long after I entered open country, my phone switched to 2G/EDGE and therefore couldn't buffer the stream due to insufficient bandwidth. More proof that internet radio is not viable for reception on the move.

Fuzzy Clam

Karsini wrote: »

I think it's a bit hypocritical for the Irish to be complaining about the British receiving Radio 1 on LW when we've been leeching their TV and radio for the last 60 years.

Nobody has been complaining about the British receiving Radio 1.:eek:
Nor have anyone here been "leeching" their TV and radio. It's there for all to receive at no detriment to the supplier.
To leech is to attach oneself to another for personal gain or to drain from the source.:rolleyes:

Fuzzy Clam

Karsini wrote: »

More proof that internet radio is not viable for reception on the move.

Nobody said it was.......

As a matter of interest, how was reception on LW on your phone?

Fuzzy Clam

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Nobody said it was.......

As a matter of interest, how was reception on LW on your phone?

RTE seem to think it is. I'm guessing you're picking on me with that last comment. :rolleyes:

In any case, a cheap portable radio could deliver continuous reception where a €700 smartphone cannot.

Fuzzy Clam

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Nobody has been complaining about the British receiving Radio 1.:eek:
Nor have anyone here been "leeching" their TV and radio. It's there for all to receive at no detriment to the supplier.
To leech is to attach oneself to another for personal gain or to drain from the source.:rolleyes:

Do we pay a UK licence fee? No we don't.

Fuzzy Clam

Karsini wrote: »

RTE seem to think it is. I'm guessing you're picking on me with that last comment. :rolleyes:

In any case, a cheap portable radio could deliver continuous reception where a €700 smartphone cannot.

More fool you for buying a 700 Euro smartfone:p

Seriously, show me a quote from RTE where they say you can listen to Radio 1 continuously on the move listening to a stream.

Fuzzy Clam

Karsini wrote: »

Do we pay a UK licence fee? No we don't.

I know we don't. What's your point?

Fuzzy Clam

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

I know we don't. What's your point?

So Infoanon can make the same point as me and not be ganged up on? I know I'm not wanted here so I'm out.

Fuzzy Clam

Karsini wrote: »

So Infoanon can make the same point as me and not be ganged up on? I know I'm not wanted here so I'm out.

You made a couple of points that I don't agree with. There's no been ganged up on.
Infoanon has been challenged on his points by others.

former legend

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

I know we don't. What's your point?

I think the point is that because we don't pay the UK licence fee, we would have no right to tell bbc what they should or should not be broadcasting.

Ditto people in Britain can't expect to tell RTE how to spend Irish TV licence money.

shaunandelly

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

Now that rte have strangely given in to a few complaints (probably all from cranks) and postponed the switch off untill January 19th, What can they really do in that time ? Put R1 on freeview ? give aid to irish oaps in uk to install freesat ? give aid to them to buy a smartphone ?

"Probably all from cranks" kinda stops any valid points you may have made after that.Shame really. Although....go on. I wonder what the revenue stream would be for r1 on freeview and what is International thinking on maintaining a long distance radio footprint? There must be net benefits. Or is it just a case of short termism above all?

former legend

shaunandelly wrote: »

"Probably all from cranks" kinda stops any valid points you may have made after that.Shame really. Although....go on. I wonder what the revenue stream would be for r1 on freeview and what is International thinking on maintaining a long distance radio footprint? There must be net benefits. Or is it just a case of short termism above all?

What sort of net benefits? I can think of none.

Not sure short termism is a good description,
LW has been on the way out for many years, it's not like RTE are failing to plan for the future.

realistic anorak

At the end of the day Fart TE have only got themselves to blame, Why did they launch a longwave service and purchase longwave Infrastructure in the mid and late 2000s ? It was hardly the way of the future.... As for a few gombeen politicians and lobby groups jumping up and down, Rte most have expected that would happen surely ??? Whenever eircom withdraws a payphone that hasnt been used since 1998, Paschal Mooney or Mattie McGrath will issue a statement calling it another attack on the vulnerable

former legend

realistic anorak wrote: »

At the end of the day Fart TE have only got themselves to blame, Why did they launch a longwave service and purchase longwave Infrastructure in the mid and late 2000s ? It was hardly the way of the future.... As for a few gombeen politicians and lobby groups jumping up and down, Rte most have expected that would happen surely ??? Whenever eircom withdraws a payphone that hasnt been used since 1998, Paschal Mooney or Mattie McGrath will issue a statement calling it another attack on the vulnerable

The infrastructure was already there; RTE were majority shareholders in Atlantic 252.

Agree re gombeen politicians though.

L1011

The replacement will have paid for itself in reduced power costs since it was put in so its not a valid stick for a beating attempt.

realistic anorak

MYOB wrote: »

The replacement will have paid for itself in reduced power costs since it was put in so its not a valid stick for a beating attempt.

I know that but my point is that had they kept the old A252 rigs they would now have a much stronger argument for closing them on environmental/cost/age grounds. RTE say the listenership for Radio 1 on lw is very low. When was it ever not very low ?

L1011

realistic anorak wrote: »

I know that but my point is that had they kept the old A252 rigs they would now have a much stronger argument for closing them on environmental/cost/age grounds. RTE say the listenership for Radio 1 on lw is very low. When was it ever not very low ?

If its not viable now it'd have ceased being viable on the 1980s gear many years ago - so it really is of zero relevance to the debate how long ago the kit was replaced.

realistic anorak

MYOB wrote: »

If its not viable now it'd have ceased being viable on the 1980s gear many years ago - so it really is of zero relevance to the debate how long ago the kit was replaced.

The american woman who has the save RTE LW252 online petition and facebook page is always pointing out the young age of the rig and how the running cost is only 250k per year. I suppose 250k per year is not huge money, but if the cost was 900k in 2011, how is it fallen to 250k now ?

Fuzzy Clam

realistic anorak wrote: »

The american woman who has the save RTE LW252 online petition and facebook page is always pointing out the young age of the rig and how the running cost is only 250k per year. I suppose 250k per year is not huge money, but if the cost was 900k in 2011, how is it fallen to 250k now ?

I've wondered the same. There will have been a saving in electricity due to the power decrease, but not that much. So where are the other savings? Perhaps a better deal with 2RN on maintainence?

munchkin_utd

realistic anorak wrote: »

The american woman who has the save RTE LW252 online petition and facebook page is always pointing out the young age of the rig and how the running cost is only 250k per year. I suppose 250k per year is not huge money, but if the cost was 900k in 2011, how is it fallen to 250k now ?

possibly they were paying off the most of capital cost of the thing over a few years or taking a heavier hit on depreciation, so the first couple of years could include something of the actual upgrade cost, whereas now it might be little or no capital repayments/ depreciation.

If someone would post the accounts then we could have a look at them!

Longwave Listener

realistic anorak wrote: »

The american woman who has the save RTE LW252 online petition and facebook page is always pointing out the young age of the rig and how the running cost is only 250k per year. I suppose 250k per year is not huge money, but if the cost was 900k in 2011, how is it fallen to 250k now ?

Is it just me or is there a kind of an irony in an online petition ?

marno21

RTE R1 252 seemed to be on lower power earlier. Now being wiped out by Algeria here -> http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/