The future of RTE Radio 1 LW

Mailcoachinn

Mickey Mike wrote: »

Its nearly gone as it is with constant power reductions, its now uncomfortable listening.

I still listen to it on my USSR receiver here in County Clare, believe it or not. Perfect signal.

Can still get it in much of the UK when I’m back there no problem, although admittedly not quite as strong as back in the Atlantic 252 days

Mickey Mike

If the Irish in Britain kicked up another row, RTE might have to keep it going for another couple of years, what are the chances of that?

Mailcoachinn

Mickey Mike wrote: »

If the Irish in Britain kicked up another row, RTE might have to keep it going for another couple of years, what are the chances of that?

Hmm... I know a few people in Kilburn. Must ask them to phone Joe Duffy...

225LongWave

heard RTE Gold on 252 00:45 60% audible in Willesden
Ray D'arcy promoting national join club week at 15.25
& talking with woman about Tuam babies memorial
Perhaps Algeria 252 is having identical outtages with little
Support from Ampegon, who promised ongoing service
after TRANSradio ?

225LongWave

612 closed end December 2004
RTE replaced the Atlantic252 500kw transmitter in 2007 maintenance contract (12th year) expires 30June2019
In 2017 29th May was the closing date for the extensthr , following the survey of 3100 respondents, Department Foreign Affairs funding has kept daytime transmission at 150kW emrp DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale)
can be transmitted to maximum of 160kW
7th September & Friday 5th October

Dacia1300

RTE Radio 1 now announcing that they broadcast on FM, DAB & online. No mention of LW as was the case until very recently. So it’s probably not going to get another reprieve which is a pity. Very little left on LW compared with a couple of years back

Mickey Mike

Dacia1300 wrote: »

RTE Radio 1 now announcing that they broadcast on FM, DAB & online. No mention of LW as was the case until very recently. So it’s probably not going to get another reprieve which is a pity. Very little left on LW compared with a couple of years back

RTE don't want to hear of Long Wave, they are done and dusted with the AM band wave and God knows if FM will be around in another 10 or 15 years, technology is changing all the time.

Dacia1300

Mickey Mike wrote: »

RTE don't want to hear of Long Wave, they are done and dusted with the AM band wave and God knows if FM will be around in another 10 or 15 years, technology is changing all the time.

That’s what I suspected alright, particularly considering the fact that they have a perfectly serviceable MW transmitter which has been idle for the last ten years.

Wonder if the BBC will keep R4 LW for much longer...

Mickey Mike

Dacia1300 wrote: »

That’s what I suspected alright, particularly considering the fact that they have a perfectly serviceable MW transmitter which has been idle for the last ten years.

Wonder if the BBC will keep R4 LW for much longer...

BBC R4 long wave uses the old valve tubes which are not manufacturer anymore, so once they blow and that can happen anytime, it will be the end of BBC Radio 4 long wave. The BBC wants to end long wave as well.

Dacia1300

Mickey Mike wrote: »

BBC R4 long wave uses the old valve tubes which are not manufacturer anymore, so once they blow and that can happen anytime, it will be the end of BBC Radio 4 long wave. The BBC wants to end long wave as well.

As was mentioned in this Guardian article from 2011? https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/oct/09/bbc-radio4-long-wave-goodbye

If I'm not mistaken a couple of ex-BBC engineers subsequently refuted that article as nonsense...

RTE are a joke, they got a digital first agenda going now as well as an anti-male agenda but that's another story.....

I was driving all over Wales in the Summer and could get 252 clear as a bell everywhere stronger than many local MW stations , booming into Birmingham city. The Outlander had LW rare for a modern car these days.

I can't even get DAB here in Carlow, these Muppets in RTE don't understand radio or how it works, they just think that a newer technology is automatically better, it won't be cheaper to maintain , hardly going to be cheaper to maintain many , many smaller transmitters over 1 solid state ultra reliable 500 Kw transmitter that is DRM capable.

Gerry Wicklow

Deleted User wrote: »

RTE are a joke, they got a digital first agenda going now as well as an anti-male agenda but that's another story.....

I was driving all over Wales in the Summer and could get 252 clear as a bell everywhere stronger than many local MW stations , booming into Birmingham city. The Outlander had LW rare for a modern car these days.

I can't even get DAB here in Carlow, these Muppets in RTE don't understand radio or how it works, they just think that a newer technology is automatically better, it won't be cheaper to maintain , hardly going to be cheaper to maintain many , many smaller transmitters over 1 solid state ultra reliable 500 Kw transmitter that is DRM capable.

RTE (and our government) can't see beyond Dublin 4. They seem to believe everyone has super fast cabled BB, Sky subs and perfect 4G coverage. They can get their DAB and online content and that's all that counts. Outside the M50 doesn't exist or at least doesn't count.

Gerry Wicklow

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

RTE (and our government) can't see beyond Dublin 4. They seem to believe everyone has super fast cabled BB, Sky subs and perfect 4G coverage. They can get their DAB and online content and that's all that counts. Outside the M50 doesn't exist or at least doesn't count.

RTE want us all on apps, then they won't have to support a radio network.....

Relying on the internet for more and more is a disaster waiting to happen and the worst of it all is there's no backup plan.......

Dacia1300

[Deleted User] wrote: »

RTE want us all on apps, then they won't have to support a radio network.....

Relying on the internet for more and more is a disaster waiting to happen and the worst of it all is there's no backup plan.......

Totally agree. Look at what’s happening in the Ukraine at the moment. FM transmitters being taken over, websites being blocked, etc. yet a so called obsolete and irrelevant technology MW can get messages across not a problem

Dacia1300

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

RTE (and our government) can't see beyond Dublin 4. They seem to believe everyone has super fast cabled BB, Sky subs and perfect 4G coverage. They can get their DAB and online content and that's all that counts. Outside the M50 doesn't exist or at least doesn't count.

I used to work in the holiday home rental business. You would not believe the number of people who would normally never venture outside the M50 boundary into the vast unknown who couldn’t believe that TV reception through an aerial was still possible - “sure that was done away with in the early 1970s???”

Gerry Wicklow

Deleted User wrote: »

RTE want us all on apps, then they won't have to support a radio network.....

Relying on the internet for more and more is a disaster waiting to happen and the worst of it all is there's no backup plan.......

That's all well and good until you consider how erratic the RTE player is now. Gawd know what it would be like if everyone was trying to access it.
During the last big storm we had a few months back, the first thing to go was mobile coverage followed by ESB so no router. Only for a small battery powered FM radio, I was completely out of the loop. Down here DAB is something to do with paint.

elperello

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

That's all well and good until you consider how erratic the RTE player is now. Gawd know what it would be like if everyone was trying to access it.
During the last big storm we had a few months back, the first thing to go was mobile coverage followed by ESB so no router. Only for a small battery powered FM radio, I was completely out of the loop. Down here DAB is something to do with paint.

You make a good point about the little battery powered radio.
That in essence is the USP of radio.
It's that accessibility anytime, any place, any where.
Tying radio reception to internet connectivity makes it expensive, unwieldy and unreliable.
Decision makers in Dept. of Communications and RTE should wake up to what they have and maintain it.
They have abandoned the older emigrants in the UK. Who will be next?

Ger Roe

"Only for a small battery powered FM radio, I was completely out of the loop."

You should improve on your disaster prep facilities and get a wind-up radio - no batteries needed

Gerry Wicklow

Ger Roe wrote: »

"Only for a small battery powered FM radio, I was completely out of the loop."

You should improve on your disaster prep facilities and get a wind-up radio - no batteries needed

I have a large box of AA batteries and a small petrol gene if all else fails. Two AAs lasts for weeks. Show me a DAB that can say that.

stephend2000

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Ger Roe wrote: »

"Only for a small battery powered FM radio, I was completely out of the loop."

You should improve on your disaster prep facilities and get a wind-up radio - no batteries needed

I have a large box of AA batteries and a small petrol gene if all else fails. Two AAs lasts for weeks. Show me a DAB that can say that.

Out of interest, what kind of disaster in Ireland would need you to have a radio with battery life of a few weeks

Gerry Wicklow

Totally OT but something like a solar flare could screw the ESB and phone grids for months

EdgeCase

There may be some logic in keeping a large AM transmitter for national emergency use, preferably on medium wave as receivers are ubiquitous. Long wave isn't nearly as common on most radio including cars.

Analogue FM will be around a while yet. I actually could at DAB disappearing first.

The issue is that MW is good enough for radio and is more than acceptable to hear the tripe that is on most of RTE.

Who the hell wants to hear Joe Duffy or Morning Ireland in CD quality sound ? although to be fair DAB is woefully poor quality for digital, give me an decent AM station any day.

The point being the MW transmitter could cover the majority of the Island with a single transmitter where DAB requires many many more.

Solid state transmitters are much more efficient and the bit of maintenance on the antenna would be minimal. Easier to maintain 1 than many.

The LW 252 transmitter is solid state and it would be a shame to see it go, I would love to see RTE use their brains and lease it out.

Hotblack Desiato

EdgeCase wrote: »

There may be some logic in keeping a large AM transmitter for national emergency use, preferably on medium wave as receivers are ubiquitous. Long wave isn't nearly as common on most radio including cars.

LW and MW are both AM

Problem is that lots of radios now don't even have MW, and there's no way one FM transmitter can cover the country.

Analogue FM will be around a while yet. I actually could at DAB disappearing first.

DAB (at least in its non-plus variant) should just be killed off, it's useless and a waste of money.

It's also the technology companies trying to make more money selling these wonderful "modern" "Digital"radios.......

Most AM radios are built with well below poor quality and only designed to receive strong stations, they don't have external antenna inputs or decent internal ferrite antennas. There are some exceptions of course. But it's easy to believe Am is useless when the radio's themselves are cheap useless junk, not all but many.

But how easy it is to deceive people into thinking AM radio is useless for the simple reason being that it's old technology, build poor quality radios and turn the power down on transmitters.

The reason AM is dying is because the media companies want the cheapest possible form of transmission regardless of whether its in the interests of the people, radio companies want us buying new radios and they want to advertise "digital" because people are obsessed with digital brainwashed into thinking it's better than AM, sound wise it can be but it needs a good signal but media outlets went cheap with digital by compressing the crap out of transmissions , as low as 56 Kbps Mp2 is RTE's DAB transmission quality, believe me, a good AM station sounds miles better.

In my opinion, they can stuff digital radio where the sun doesn't shine !

There's a reason non of the commercial companies have adopted DAB in Ireland, what's the point of investing in a completely new infrastructure when we already got a decent FM network ? though there places FM doesn't reach too well either.

In the U.S Elon Musk was highly criticised for eliminating AM, also BMW for eliminating AM in the i3 Electric, but being an i3 owner there is good reason they did this, it does not work when there is power applied to the traction electronics, the interference wipes out AM entirely until the car is stationery, the i3 is made from carbon fibre and there is no grounding, there is extremely little metal in the i3.

I had the Nissan leaf and the Am reception was really good, it of course has a conventional steel chassis so it has much better grounding. It could pull in Radio Luxembourg on 1440 Khz before the Germans killed MW in January 2015.

Speaking of the Germans, I was there in the Summer and I was in my Partner's Dad's car had DAB and it was less than useless. But that's ok because it's "digital" and digital is wonderful.......

There's simply no common sense these days is there ?

kazoo106

The lunatics are running the asylum

dxhound2005

How often do people on this thread listen to 252? I listen every day.

marno21

Funny every time I upgrade my car the AM reception gets better. My old 2008 car had brutal AM and my current 15 one picks up the UK stations perfectly clear during the day in the west

Dacia1300

dxhound2005 wrote: »

How often do people on this thread listen to 252? I listen every day.

I listen to it in the morning sometimes on an old receiver that doesn’t have FM. Although BBC R5 Live would be my main station

Quackster

dxhound2005 wrote: »

How often do people on this thread listen to 252? I listen every day.

Considering that reception of 252 in the Southwest has always been sh1te, only the odd time when I want to tune into Radio 1 while in the UK. I won't miss it.

marno21

marno21 wrote: »

Funny every time I upgrade my car the AM reception gets better. My old 2008 car had brutal AM and my current 15 one picks up the UK stations perfectly clear during the day in the west

Cars generally have decent antennas, they use the back demister, clever. , but it makes a decent antenna and cars are outside where there is far less interference from modern electronics , led lights are a disaster, laptop chargers and older LCD tv's with fluorescent back lights this is why it's much better to have a proper outdoor antenna such as a Loop antenna , the Bonito megadipol or MegaLoop FX using 10 meters of loop make fantastic antennas, they also sell a cheaper passive loop which would also be great.

Bonito also sell a fantastic MA305 Whip antenna but needs a electrically quiet environment, good for country homes, it's tiny, still blows me away every time I use it. Excellent on LW, MW and SW.

A radio is only as good as the antenna at the end of the day.

There are only a few radios these days that have external antenna inputs and some get overloaded with strong signals.

Using an SDR is a great way now to listen to radio , hook up an external antenna and off you go but you can't really connect a piece of wire, you'll usually be disappointed with the results, you need a proper antenna such as suggested above. Wellbrook antennas are also good but I think the bonito loop are much better.

The SDR Play RSP1A is a good SDR that doesn't cost a lot and offers decent performance.

https://www.sdrplay.com/rsp1a/

The Tecsun S-8800 is a good modern Chinese Radio, I have one and it's pretty decent.

The Tecsun S2000 is also decent.

Decent older radios can be bought on ebay.

I actually have a RSP1 that I no longer need if someone is interested in buying ?

SDR's need a good quality shielded USB cable.

I listen to BBC R wales and Ulster a good bit and some other U.K stations on MW and sometimes BBC R 4 on Longwave.

I also listen to a hell of a lot of Amateur radio and hope to get my license in the Summer.

I'm listening to much less RTE material both on TV and radio the quality just isn't there any more and the fault lies solely with Dee forbes.

Here's her key strategy for the next 5 years which gives an indication as to the downfall of RTE.

https://www.thejournal.ie/rte-five-year-plan-3861823-Feb2018/

• Serve linear audiences while adopting a digital-first approach
• Know, engage with and better understand audiences
• Reflect Ireland’s diversity on and off air
• Innovate with a new model for short-form content
• Expand and deepen its creative partnerships

RTÉ said, in order to achieve this, its strategy focuses on the following elements:
• Putting the audience first
• Making high-quality content
• Allowing audiences to connect with RTÉ content how, where and when they want Young people don't want to connect to RTE anywhere because they're content is rubbish, Fair City is disgraceful, if they call this good content then what can I say about that ?

Forbes previously called for the TV licence fee to be increased from €160 to €175.

175 euro's is basically daylight robbery , and even 165 euro's. A utter joke, people should refuse to pay it, how can they enforce this anyway ? they can't, simple as.

It leads me to believe RTE should be shut down, privatised because they do not serve the people of Ireland any more.

Or Dee Forbes should be sacked before she further destroys RTE.

RTE should be encrypted so those who want to pay for it should but people should not be forced to pay for it if they do not want it.#

They can have a subscription service for their apps, no reason they can't.

Gerry Wicklow

Wow, Mad Lad who spit in your beer

Know, engage with and better understand audiences

Maybe they should try this sometime. :rolleyes:

Allowing audiences to connect with RTÉ content how, where and when they want

I don't know anyone under 30 that uses any RTE services.

Gerry Wicklow

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Wow, Mad Lad who spit in your beer


Maybe they should try this sometime. :rolleyes:


I don't know anyone under 30 that uses any RTE services.

Ah I just hate when RTE tries to subject us to crap they think we want to see/hear.

I hate what RTE has become really.

I was scanning through FM in the car this evening and heard Larry Gogan on 2FM, and it's sad to think he used to be allowed play his own music, but now he has to play horrid crap I'm sure the poor Man would never want to listen to, why don't they move him to Radio 1 ? even on R 1 the music is getting more and more pop orientated or certainly they're playing more music they wouldn't normally play.

Gerry Wicklow

Gawd, I didn't know the man was still alive (sorry Larry). That shows how long it's been since I listened to 2FM. My big bugbear is why do we have to pay for an orchestra? Let them fend for themselves.

Gerry Wicklow

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Gawd, I didn't know the man was still alive (sorry Larry). That shows how long it's been since I listened to 2FM. My big bugbear is why do we have to pay for an orchestra? Let them fend for themselves.

I'd have no hesitations paying for an orchestra , at least that's something useful. And I like orchestras, who wouldn't ?

I wish they kept the Orchestra for the Eurovision but Oh what a disgrace that has become. What is the actual point of the Eurovision now ? they turned it into a circus so sad because the Eurovision actually had some pretty decent talent in the past now it seems all you got to do is stand up on stage and act like a complete and utter jackass !

stephend2000

Deleted User wrote: »

I listen to BBC R wales and Ulster a good bit and some other U.K stations on MW and sometimes BBC R 4 on Longwave.

I also listen to a hell of a lot of Amateur radio and hope to get my license in the Summer.

I'm listening to much less RTE material both on TV and radio the quality just isn't there any more and the fault lies solely with Dee forbes.

Here's her key strategy for the next 5 years which gives an indication as to the downfall of RTE.

https://www.thejournal.ie/rte-five-year-plan-3861823-Feb2018/

• Serve linear audiences while adopting a digital-first approach
• Know, engage with and better understand audiences
• Reflect Ireland’s diversity on and off air
• Innovate with a new model for short-form content
• Expand and deepen its creative partnerships

RTÉ said, in order to achieve this, its strategy focuses on the following elements:
• Putting the audience first
• Making high-quality content
• Allowing audiences to connect with RTÉ content how, where and when they want Young people don't want to connect to RTE anywhere because they're content is rubbish, Fair City is disgraceful, if they call this good content then what can I say about that ?

Forbes previously called for the TV licence fee to be increased from €160 to €175.

175 euro's is basically daylight robbery , and even 165 euro's. A utter joke, people should refuse to pay it, how can they enforce this anyway ? they can't, simple as.

It leads me to believe RTE should be shut down, privatised because they do not serve the people of Ireland any more.

Or Dee Forbes should be sacked before she further destroys RTE.

I don’t see anything wrong with what you highlighted in red. Why is “Reflect Ireland’s diversity” in red? Surely you can’t say that’s a bad thing!

Gerry Wicklow

I have no problem with an orchestra as such. I just don't see why the TV (broadcast) licence should pay for it. Maybe 60-70 years ago it was an essential part of broadcasting but not now. What part of "understanding audiences" or "Ireland's diversity" does it cover?
If RTE is so cash strapped they should concentrate on broadcasting first rather than vanity projects.
/OT rant

stephend2000

stephend2000 wrote: »

I don’t see anything wrong with what you highlighted in red. Why is “Reflect Ireland’s diversity” in red? Surely you can’t say that’s a bad thing!

You're joking right ? I've no issue with diversity but deliberately going to schools and using Non Irish pupils like some kind of product placement is a disgrace just so RTE can enforce their agenda......

Johnboy1951

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

I have no problem with an orchestra as such. I just don't see why the TV (broadcast) licence should pay for it. Maybe 60-70 years ago it was an essential part of broadcasting but not now. What part of "understanding audiences" or "Ireland's diversity" does it cover?
If RTE is so cash strapped they should concentrate on broadcasting first rather than vanity projects.
/OT rant

Yes, I could agree that such as the orchestra should be funded by the Arts minister/department directly, and RTÉ should pay for their use of it (which might be very little).

I suspect the orchestra is not a huge part of the spending which causes RTÉ to be cash strapped!

The RTE orchestra plays in a lot of events I believe, probably a lot more than we think.

Elmo

RTÉ reduced their spend on content by 25%.

The orchestras saw a 10% decrease one of parts of funding to be ring fenced, international content being the other, which saw an increase of 7%.

Meanwhile RTÉ cut funding on Independent producers by 50%, cut funding to children's content by 75% and cut funding to drama by 50%.

All genres saw a drop in funding except international bought in content.

Cash strapped you say??

The NSO won't leave RTÉ until 2021 at the earliest and then it will be paid for by the Dept of Arts if it happens.

207 performances 77 from NCO and 76 from the NSO others 54. 168,000 tickets, with revenues of 3million euro. From what I read in the Irish Time they have significantly reduced the broadcast of both on Lyric FM with the exception of their Lunchtime show on Wednesdays, and well they are very rarely seen on TV. (twice in 2016).

Also 3million revenue possibly included film and TV sound track work.

Dacia1300

A couple of countries (among them The Netherlands, Belgium & Switzerland) are considering dropping DVB-T as cable/IPTV subscriptions there are in the high-90’s.

I wonder if DAB will go along with it when the mobile operators want the spectrum for 5G over the next couple of years.

I can’t see telcos being particularly interested in the FM band - only 20 MHz worth of bandwidth, MW even less so

marno21

Dacia1300 wrote: »

A couple of countries (among them The Netherlands, Belgium & Switzerland) are considering dropping DVB-T as cable/IPTV subscriptions there are in the high-90’s.

I wonder if DAB will go along with it when the mobile operators want the spectrum for 5G over the next couple of years.

I can’t see telcos being particularly interested in the FM band - only 20 MHz worth of bandwidth, MW even less so

FM switchoff would be idiotic. It would be change for the sake of change. No benefits from switchover like the increased quality of digital TV, spectrum freed up, more choice, HD transmission etc.

Mickey Mike

I hope, leading up to the LW 252 switch off next June that RTE improve their radio FM signal up to Today FM standard, I can't see DAB expanding any further, so at least let's have a decent FM service from RTE.

The Cush

Dacia1300 wrote: »

I wonder if DAB will go along with it when the mobile operators want the spectrum for 5G over the next couple of years.

I can’t see telcos being particularly interested in the FM band - only 20 MHz worth of bandwidth, MW even less so

Mobile networks have no interest in Band III VHF, it is Europe's harmonised digital radio band.

A new EU Directive, the European Electronic Communications Code, mandates all new passenger vehicles to include a digital radio receiver within 2 years

Interoperability for car radio receivers

Any car radio receiver integrated in a new vehicle of category M which is made available on the market for sale or rent in the Union from … [two years after the date of entry into force of this Directive] shall comprise a receiver capable of receiving and reproducing at least radio services provided via digital terrestrial radio broadcasting. Receivers which are in accordance with harmonised standards the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union or with parts thereof shall be considered to comply with that requirement covered by those standards or parts thereof.

The Cush

From the BAI's recently published Broadcasting Services Strategy 2017-19

http://www.bai.ie/en/download/133341/

The BAI is committed to exploring the potential for digital radio, including platforms. This will be accomplished by establishing a working group to review sustainability in the radio sector and commissioning an independent expert review of the potential for digital audio broadcasting.

Gerry Wicklow

The good ould Oirish working group to investigate if we need an expert group to investigate if we need a commission to investigate if we need a tribunal to investigate.....

Hotblack Desiato

Deleted User wrote: »

The RTE orchestra plays in a lot of events I believe, probably a lot more than we think.

The thing they've been doing lately of taking 80s pop songs and tacking string arrangements onto them "for the over-40s" makes me want to projectile vomit.