Travel radio for BBC World Service with sleep timer

Qualitymark

Is BBC World Service available on shortwave?

I've been using TuneIn Radio on an iPad to listen to BBC World Service - it's great, you can set it to turn off automatically after 45, 60, etc minutes so you drift off to sleep. But I'm worried by the warnings by scientists and medics of the danger of wifi devices causing brain tumours. It seems a shortwave travel radio might be safer for this.

a) is BBC World Service available on shortwave at all?

b) if it is, what's a good solid reliable travel radio with shortwave, with a sleep timer, easy tuning and memory for stations, and ease of use for the nerdically limited?

thelordgod

It is still available on shortwave but as I havent listened to it in 25 years I cant confirm if it can be picked up reliably in Europe at all. The frequency info is all on the BBC website but seems to be targetted towards Africa/Asia only

bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2x9tqt6mc05vB2S37j8MWMJ/global-short-wave-frequencies

RTE Radio 1 Extra carries some World service programming. I hope you don't possess a mobile phone/televison/computer etc if you are worried about getting a brain tumour.

dxhound2005

They no longer broadcast to Europe, the Americas or Australia. But shortwave transmissions can be heard outside their intended target areas at times. 9915 and 12095 can be heard in Europe in the evenings.

http://www.shortwavetimes.com/

http://www.shortwavetimes.com/files/Su15_BBC_Global.pdf

You can check reception on this receiver in Holland.

http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/


It would be useful to know where you intend to travel and at what time of year. Shortwave reception changes with the seasons and the time of day. A better bet might be to try to find a local FM station which carries the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/europe/radio/france_1.shtml

Also BBC Radio 4 longwave 198 can be heard in parts of Europe and they switch to BBC World Service between 1 am and 6 am UK time. Radio 5 Live on 693 and 909 medium wave can also be heard in parts of Europe especially after dark. And RTE Radio 1 on longwave 252. Check reception on the Dutch receiver.

If you do decide to go the shortwave route all modern portables have memories and timers aplenty. But you will have to pay a decent amount of cash. This is one model which is popular at the moment, I haven't used it myself.

The biggest problem with reception these days is the amount of electrical noise in built up areas. You will get much better reception conditions away from buildings and power lines.

Qualitymark

Thanks, dxhound2005

That's bad news. I'm not that pushed about BBC Radio 4 any more, it's become reflexively nationalist and keeps going on about "The Nation". Radio 5 Live is just teeth-on-edge (for me).

Someone's suggested to me that I could use a Jawbone speaker to rebroadcast from the iPad. This is possible; not that Bluetooth is that safe either, and of course if I wake at four I'll have to trek to where the iPad is to set the sleep timer again… but it's possible, I suppose.

65535

If you use Android you can set your WiFi to turn off after a period of time.

Qualitymark

God no, I wouldn't use a phone to listen to the radio - got a scare a few years back when I was listening to radio and fell asleep; wifi turned off and in the morning a vast data usage was showing. It was an error, but was a cold couple of hours before sorting that out!

65535

"TuneIn Radio on an iPad" is essentially a phone in today's understanding.
It still uses wireless to reach TuneIn Radio, either 3G, 4G or WiFi

Qualitymark

65535 wrote: »

"TuneIn Radio on an iPad" is essentially a phone in today's understanding.
It still uses wireless to reach TuneIn Radio, either 3G, 4G or WiFi

Yeah, but you don't end up with a big bill for data use on a phone.

65535

Yes understandable.
You can get 'all you can eat' plans for 3G, 4G

watty

Neither WiFi or Mobile Phone causes tumours.

Higher power RF will cause burns, or at Microwave, cataracts.

Also Electromagnetic sensitivity has been shown in double blind tests to be purely in the mind of the sufferer.

I've received BBC World Service day time and night, but not on modern garbage "so called" World Radios with digital display and clock. They are slightly poorer than Tesco's Analogue scale World Radio.

Decent sets like a Sony ICF2001D, or Yaesu VR500 with attenuator on and a bigger whip.

Qualitymark

Good news if so. There was an article floating around last week, which I can't now lay my hands on, about 100 doctors expressing worry to UN about wifi.

thelordgod

Qualitymark wrote: »

Good news if so. There was an article floating around last week, which I can't now lay my hands on, about 100 doctors expressing worry to UN about wifi.

Turn your phone off - it will be far more harmful than any WiFi device. Having said that no-one has died from mobile phone "radiation" and they are around for over 30 years. The only deaths reported are from Chinese batteries and chargers exploding. There will always be people scaremongering - when they give up on mobile phones and microwave ovens they move on to other devices.

thelordgod

Qualitymark wrote: »

Good news if so. There was an article floating around last week, which I can't now lay my hands on, about 100 doctors expressing worry to UN about wifi.

Turn your phone off - it will be far more harmful than any WiFi device. Having said that no-one has died from mobile phone "radiation" and they are around for over 30 years. The only deaths reported are from Chinese batteries and chargers exploding. There will always be people scaremongering - when they give up on mobile phones and microwave ovens they move on to other devices.

Qualitymark

thelordgod wrote: »

Turn your phone off - it will be far more harmful than any WiFi device. Having said that no-one has died from mobile phone "radiation" and they are around for over 30 years. The only deaths reported are from Chinese batteries and chargers exploding. There will always be people scaremongering - when they give up on mobile phones and microwave ovens they move on to other devices.

Surely the phone and the tablet would have the same kind of radiation (given that the tablet is one that takes a 3G SIM)?

watty

thelordgod wrote: »

Turn your phone off - it will be far more harmful than any WiFi device.

No it's not harmful at all, except as a distraction.

thelordgod

watty wrote: »

No it's not harmful at all, except as a distraction.

I know. Everything has a danger of some sort. Its whether we want to remain in the stone age or not. There are plenty of people who want to keep us there.

LXFlyer

If you have UPC cable, you should have a jack that you can connect to your stereo and BBC World Service is available all day long on 97.1 MHz on FM 24 hours a day.

Qualitymark

lxflyer wrote: »

If you have UPC cable, you should have a jack that you can connect to your stereo and BBC World Service is available all day long on 97.1 MHz on FM 24 hours a day.

Costs a fortune to listen that way.

LXFlyer

Qualitymark wrote: »

Costs a fortune to listen that way.

Well I did say that it was if you have UPC cable TV.

On the basis that you do, then you can listen to all of the BBC radio stations on FM at no additional charge with it, once you hook the stereo up to the radio jack.

Just saw this thread and thought I would add that.

I leave my stereo on at night with the BBC WS on and just use Tune In between 05:30 and 06:00 to listen to Newsday on the BBC WS West Africa feed when the European feed breaks off for other programmes.