Mass Radio

ripcord

Hi all,

My father can't manage to get to mass anymore, so he listens to it on the radio. The church transmits the morning mass every day. He paid the church I think 40 euro and they gave him the following:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/aircontrol-m8-airband-radio-46459?_$ja=kw:airband+radio|cgn:Product%7c%7cScanners+and+accessories%7c%7cM8+airband+radio

I think the church still owns the radio and the money he paid was just a deposit. Anyway - the reception is really bad. We've tried it everywhere in the house. You can just about hear the priest - but there is a huge amount of interference.

This is really weird as the church is less than 1 km from our house! They're must be something blocking the transmission.

Can someone recommend another radio that I could buy him for christmas that would receive these frequencies and yield better results? OR is the only option to put a large arial on the roof of the house and connect it to the radio?

Any help appreciated
Thanks!

PauloMN

It's highly likely that the church is using the 27MHz band for their transmissions. The part of the 27MHz band that they are allowed use these days for church broadcasting corresponds to one of the CB bands used in the UK - the range of which is approx 27.6 to 27.99MHz. This was referred to in the UK as the UK FM CB band.

The receiver you have is pretty poor and not much good at picking up anything really. What you could do is try to pick up an old UK FM radio (they had a CB 27/81 type approval marking on them) and use it to receive the broadcasts. A dedicated 27MHz receiver will certainly yield better results than that M8 yolk.

Thing is, even second hand, it's a lot of money to spend trying to pick up the local church - but I suppose it depends on how much use your father would get from it. At less than 1km from the church, you should have no problem receiving the broadcast really (unless there's a lot of tall buildings in the way or something).

Before you spend money on anything, just post in here and some of the regular posters could advise. Something like this is probably most suitable:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Maycom-AH-27-80-Channel-Handheld-CB-radio-/251189820929?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item3a7c147e01#ht_990wt_1397

The nice thing about that is it has the power pack, battery and aerial all included. You could get a mobile (car) type radio, but then you need a 12V supply and a separate aerial, and it all gets a bit messy - overkill for listening to church broadcasts really. Outside of that, your next option is a scanner, but a scanner covering HF and with FM will probably cost a fair bit.

watty

Maybe an aerial is needed?

martinedwards

sorry, but the radio thay charged you 40 Euro for is a total piece of poo.

i had one that I paid £3 for off ebay and I had it straight back on ebay immediately!!

seroiusly it is complete RUBBISH.

even with my 100w of ham radio goodness blasting at it from less than 10m it couldn't pick up diddly squat!

do us a favour, and we'll do you one.

ask at church EXACTLY what they are broadcasting...... AM,FM, CB Channel, frequency, all that stuff. if possible, even ask what sort of radio they are using and what channel they're on.

give us that info and we'll get you sorted.

as you are only listening and not transmitting, it will be really easy to sort out a recieving station and I guarantee it'll cost less than forty euro.

a bog standard CB? £15 inc post.
power pack? £10

antenna? to recieve, a long bit of wire dangled out the window or twisted onto the radiator at bare metal will be a million times better than that pathetic pice of junk masquerading as a radio!

and at a total aside, (and as an active church member) I hate how churches can rip folks off, and then how those folks feel that it isn't the done thing to complain.

If Eirecom or virgin treated you like this would you be on a forum asking or on the phoine to thier customer service demanding a refund?

just asking!!

Antenna

martinedwards wrote: »

even with my 100w of ham radio goodness blasting at it from less than 10m it couldn't pick up diddly squat!

On what band? Those radios do not tune up as far as the 10m ham band.

martinedwards wrote: »

antenna? to recieve, a long bit of wire dangled out the window or twisted onto the radiator at bare metal will be a million times better than that pathetic pice of junk masquerading as a radio!

Another thing to try might be to connect the telescopic aerial on it to the 'outer' of any TV aerial cable coming into the room (with any TVs/STBs powered down as they might interfere)

The multiband radio is receiving as AM in the band concerned, but the church is almost certainly using NBFM, but you can hear it by 'slope detection' (tuning on the edge of the carrier) but tuning is more critical, and you have to fine-tune again if the signal gets stronger/weaker.


There might also be something in the house interfering with it, so try unplugging (not just put in standby) everything (including phone chargers etc) one-by-one and see if there is any effect.


BTW some Irish churches received recently by DXers listed here under Ireland:
http://www.w4uvh.net/dxld1244.txt

martinedwards

Antenna wrote: »

On what band? Those radios do not tune up as far as the 10m ham band.

not sayin!!:o

ripcord

Wow lads - thanks for all the help!

He uses it for mass every morning - so it will be well worth it. Im beginning to get the impression that the radio he has wouldn't be the best quality! And I think that 40 euro is just to rent it!

I'll get down to the church and find out as much info as I can. AM or FM, frequency, CB Channel, type of transmitter. I'll post back here with details.

Also good to know a standard receiver might not cost a fortune! It would make a great christmas pressie!

zg3409

Ideally try to get the frequency such as 27.xxxMhz or so. There are two common types of FM CBs. One is UKFM and the other is CEPT FM. It is more likely that UKFM would be what you want HOWEVER this is no guarantee.

The frequencies churches are allowed to use are not all picked up by a UKFM radio. Some of them are inbetween channels not picked up by an unmodifed radio. If you get the frequency I can recommend a radio. I probably have one suitable anyway.

PS If you cannot get the frequency, try to get the contact phone number for the guy who put it in or fixes it. Failing that state the name and location of the church and someone could investigate further.

martinedwards

so, any info yet?

TomasH

If we have the name of the Chapel and parish it should be easy enough to find out.

Regards.

tom.

ripcord

Hey all,

Thanks for the help! I've been crazy busy the last week and haven't had a chance to get down to the church.

I found a sticker on the back of the radio that must have been put on by the crowd that supplied it (I believe it covered an access panel to control advanced settings - not too sure about that). The sticker had a website so I emailed the company and rang the number on the site but no response yet. Will post back here as soon as I get the frequency!

Not sure if it helps - but here is a close up of the radio when it's tuned in to receive the station (at least when it works!)

<removed pic as it was too big - see next post for smaller version>

Anyone know how to make that image a bit smaller?


Cheers.

zg3409

Please delete the other attachment or the link to it.

zg3409

It looks as if it is around Channel 56 on a CB 1-80 scale.

Based on this chart (which is approx accurate) it is band E Channel 16 (40+16) or 27.605 (This is also called the upper 40 or high 40)
If it is a modern legal system (which there is a good chance it is not) it should be FM modulation.

http://www.longcom.ie/cb_frequencies.aspx

Here is details on the frequencies allowed
http://www.comreg.ie/radio_spectrum/search.541.874.10024.0.rslicensing.html

or here for details:
http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg0626.pdf

If this is indeed legal that suggests possibly a UKFM radio set to channel 1 MAY work, however this would need to be confirmed.

Again I would suggest ringing the church parish office and asking who put in the system. You could also mention which church here and someone could make enquiries on your behalf.

GekkePrutser

I wouldn't put too much faith in determining the frequency from the readout of one of those I had one of those as well when I was young (because it was all I could afford) and it was absolutely useless. Not only are the filters so wide that they receive multiple channels at once, the scale is also way off. At least it was on mine. I don't know why they still make these.

PauloMN

GekkePrutser wrote: »

Not only are the filters so wide that they receive multiple channels at once, the scale is also way off. At least it was on mine. I don't know why they still make these.

Filters? What filters?

ripcord

Hi all!

So I heard back from the guy who set up the system. Here goes:

The signal is Channel 11 (UK Band)
It is FM Modulation
The frequency is 27.70125

He says he can offer me a demo model receiver for 150 euros that he will lock to the church signal. It has a german-made ariel which is supposedly better quality.

Just for a test - last week when my dad was trying to pick up the signal I switched off the main fuse to cut power to the house. Wanted to see if anything electrical was affecting the signal coming in - no effect.

So can anyone recommend a receiver better than the one he currently has? He's not the best with technology - so one with dials instead of a digital control would be better. Failing that - maybe one I could lock to a frequency myself, so he couldn't mess it up by accident?

Again, many thanks for all the advice

PauloMN

ripcord wrote: »

Hi all!

So I heard back from the guy who set up the system. Here goes:

The signal is Channel 11 (UK Band)
It is FM Modulation
The frequency is 27.70125

He says he can offer me a demo model receiver for 150 euros that he will lock to the church signal. It has a german-made ariel which is supposedly better quality.

Just for a test - last week when my dad was trying to pick up the signal I switched off the main fuse to cut power to the house. Wanted to see if anything electrical was affecting the signal coming in - no effect.

So can anyone recommend a receiver better than the one he currently has? He's not the best with technology - so one with dials instead of a digital control would be better. Failing that - maybe one I could lock to a frequency myself, so he couldn't mess it up by accident?

Again, many thanks for all the advice

Personally, I'd go for a cheap 2nd hand UK FM handheld like in my first reply. It's dedicated to that band, so will most certainly work a lot better than the radio you currently have. You want something portable and self-contained I imagine, so your dad can move about the house with it if he wants - a handheld fits the bill.

The only real alternative would be a scanner really, but a scanner with 27MHz FM will cost more than the handheld CB, unless you find a bargain on eBay or something. A scanner will probably be more awkward for him to use also.

Gotta love the "German made aerial" line though!

martinedwards

yup, a hand held will do the job without the need for setting up a tuned antenna, but then if you only want to listen, then any old bit of wire would do........

heres the sort of thing youre after.......

look for the CB 27/81 circle stamp on whatever radio you get.....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harvard-410T-Handheld-CB-Radio-Working-/290830210397?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item43b6d4d55d

if you don't get a handheld, then a mobile radio with a 3amp powerpack would be the cheapest option. even if you aren't transmitting, you'll likely need to have a microphone connected. in a perfect world you'd need a tuned antenna, but for onlr recieve you could connect it to a metal pipe, like a radiator and it'd do the job nicely.

150 for a reciever is...... questionable.

yes there are recievers out there that might cost that (and more) but you can bet your last cent that the same reciever is costing him about 50. remember the original reciever that cost 20 to BUY and he was renting it for 40? evil vultures preying on the praying......(see what I did there? )

you could spend a fortune on a scanner, but the handheld CB is the best idea.

ripcord

martinedwards wrote: »

yup, a hand held will do the job without the need for setting up a tuned antenna, but then if you only want to listen, then any old bit of wire would do........

heres the sort of thing youre after.......

look for the CB 27/81 circle stamp on whatever radio you get.....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harvard-410T-Handheld-CB-Radio-Working-/290830210397?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_SpecialistRadioEquipment_SM&hash=item43b6d4d55d

if you don't get a handheld, then a mobile radio with a 3amp powerpack would be the cheapest option. even if you aren't transmitting, you'll likely need to have a microphone connected. in a perfect world you'd need a tuned antenna, but for onlr recieve you could connect it to a metal pipe, like a radiator and it'd do the job nicely.

150 for a reciever is...... questionable.

yes there are recievers out there that might cost that (and more) but you can bet your last cent that the same reciever is costing him about 50. remember the original reciever that cost 20 to BUY and he was renting it for 40? evil vultures preying on the praying......(see what I did there? )

you could spend a fortune on a scanner, but the handheld CB is the best idea.

The handheld seems ideal. It looks simple to use and he could carry it around the house. I don;t think he'd need a mobile radio.

I wouldn't mind paying around 50 euro for a CB UK handheld provided it was good quality and was like the one linked above (easy to use). Is there a website that sells these new? Thanks!

zg3409

ripcord wrote: »

Is there a website that sells these new? Thanks!

New would probably be more than 50 Euro.

This one would work and is new:
http://www.thunderpole.co.uk/handheld-cbs/intek-h512-handheld.html

The charger is extra, which you would need, so probably about 140 including charger and shipping.

You might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere but it gives a good idea of new prices.

If you do buy a handheld beware you will probably need a charger/power supply for it.

TomasH

-

brownmini

ripcord wrote: »

The signal is Channel 11 (UK Band)
It is FM Modulation
The frequency is 27.70125

Pardon me but I'm curious.
Is the transmitter for this based inside the 26 counties?

watty

http://www.irishwattystuff.com/wireless/communitycb.htm

Comreg says LW11 27.70125

So it needs to be IN the 26 counties, annual fee. Live content only. Not limited to Churches actually.

Ofcom doesn't have such a licence.

martinedwards

good grief. a GOVT agency showing a bit of sense?

there are a flood of under used UK sets a £10 postage trip away on ebay UK and someone at COMREG made a sensible call?

impressive!!

PauloMN

Not in my opinion. A sensible call would have been to legalise UKFM here for CB use back in 1981 when it was brought into the UK.

Allowing churches etc. to continue using UKFM - legally this time - was not common sense on Comregs part - it just allowed them to shirk their responsibilities and make a few quid in the process.

watty

Yes, they ALREADY were using UK CBs and FM band II. So they took an easy option.

STB

PauloMN wrote: »

Not in my opinion. A sensible call would have been to legalise UKFM here for CB use back in 1981 when it was brought into the UK.

Allowing churches etc. to continue using UKFM - legally this time - was not common sense on Comregs part - it just allowed them to shirk their responsibilities and make a few quid in the process.

The reason they allowed the churches to use NBFM in 27.6-27.99 was down to political pressure. It was the compromise. The church even then had the communities up in arms over what they considered their divine right to broadcast on FM regardless of the consequences.

The reality of it was that there was a series of dirty TXs some of them pushing 100w and above, broadcasting overmodulated output on 106 -108FM, immediately adjacent to beginning of Air Traffic Control frequencies. As a result there was a series of serious complaints made to then Air Traffic Control Authority who in turn reported the incidents to Comreg. Apparently several of these reports were by pilots on their approaches along the East Coast on their approach to Dublin Airport.

At one stage there were at least 5 FM Churches broadcasting within a very short distance of Kilkenny itself some at way over the top power 100w+. Some of the Churches may not have been happy operating at 4W on narrow band FM.

ripcord

Hey guys.

I missed the auction for the handset mentioned earlier in the thread. I'm looking at this one now:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intek-H512-PLUS-Multi-Handheld-CB-Radio-/330840055035?lgeo=1&clk_rvr_id=433926894725&vectorid=229508


Would this be a good one? Can it be run constantly off a dc charger - or can you only recharge the batteries and then have to unplug it?

Also, can someone recommend a charger?

Thanks!

zg3409

Firstly make sure it comes with a powersupply/charger. Some suppliers charge extra for it. If it is not 100% clear then assume it does not come with one

According to the manual from here:
http://www.cbforumas.lt/upload/manuals/intek/H-510-512_um.pdf

Battery Charging
If the battery level indicator (B) shows a low battery condition, switch OFF the radio and connect the battery travel
charger mod. AC-520 to the CHARGE jack (16), then plug it into the 230VAC outlet. To obtain the maximum
performance from the batteries, recharge them only when they are fully discharged. The charging time depends on the
capacity of the used batteries, it is approximately 12 hours for one set of Ni-MH batteries (1200-1500mAh). When the
charging time has expired, unplug the charger from the AC outlet and then disconnect it from the radio.

WARNING !
1. Only the Ni-MH (or Ni-CD) batteries may be recharged.
2. Do never try to recharge alkaline batteries, as this might cause damage to the radio or explosion of the
batteries.
3. Set the battery type selector (19) to Ni.
4. Always switch OFF radio before starting the battery charging process.
5. Do not recharge batteries for more than 13-14 hours, in order to avoid overcharge or overheating, which could
cause damage to the radio.
6. Use only the enclosed battery charger or original INTEK battery chargers.

This suggests it should not be left plugged in all the time. I would suggest removing the batteries and checking if it works on mains with no batteries. Not as portable but no messing needed.

GekkePrutser

To the OP: Maybe visiting a radio rally might be a good idea? You could pick up something used there for much less than the price of a new one.

I visited the Mayo rally recently and they had scanners for around 30 euro. Of course it'll be very important to check if it can do 27 Mhz with FM modulation. They don't all have this. And they'll probably be selling used handheld CBs as well, you could ask the organising radio club for advice. In my experience they're usually very helpful.

But the next one is only in Feburary: http://www.irts.ie/cgi/rallies.cgi

zg3409

GekkePrutser wrote: »

it'll be very important to check if it can do 27 Mhz with FM modulation. http://www.irts.ie/cgi/rallies.cgi

There are also CEPT and UKFM bands. Older radios may not do both. You would need a radio labelled UKFM not CEPT.