What Can be Picked up on Long Wave Around Ireland?

tinytobe

I don't think there is any point for the RTE to keep the 252 on air.

Algeria is loud and clear in Ireland on 252. It surprises me how far the signal travels.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120063873#Comment_120063873

I wouldn't be surprised if "maintenance" is a cover story for switching it off temporarily & seeing if there are any complaints. No complaints & the transmitter will (conveniently) suffer a "catastrophic failure" during maintenance. Then the transmitter will stay off the air permanently. Interesting timing considering this is just a couple of days after RTL shut down it's LW service.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065012#Comment_120065012

Most of the AM transmitters will be shut down over the next couple of years. They are just too costly to maintain and take too much energy regarding broadcasting and listenership is very very minimal. Don't know what RTE has in mind for Radio 1 on 252. There are certainly not much Irish listening in the UK to LW, the signal barely makes it to London.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120065874#Comment_120065874

I totally get what you're saying. Many places in the EU abandoned AM decades ago with the exception of the odd few low-power outfits. Such stations will be coming and going for a while yet I reckon.

Spain & Romania will surely stay the course for longer than most other countries.

As regards longwave, I'd give it until the middle of the decade at best before there's nothing but static on the band. Here's what's still left as far as I'm aware:

153 - Romania. The same programming is also broadcast on a network of much newer MW transmitters covering the whole country and further afield, so surely the older and essentially redundant LW transmitter will be axed soon.

171 - Morocco. I don't know a great deal about this one. As far as I am aware, it is a commercial station owned by a group of investors who by definition only answer to their shareholders. It may continue, or it may be scrapped in favour of satellite, FM (in some areas) & online streaming (which I will agree is not a potential total replacement for all other broadcasting methods).

189 & 207 - Iceland. From what I can gather this is part of an emergency alert network in addition to filling in FM coverage gaps. I know that there were plans (including test transmissions) to move this over to MW but don't know what became of it.

198 - BBC R4. Rumoured to be going off the air in March. Whether or not that is the case, we'll just have to wait and see.

207 - AM Italia. Launched last year. From what I can gather, test transmissions have now mostly ceased with efforts concentrating on MW & SW instead.

225 - Poland. Carries separate programming from FM, notably parliament coverage. More recently broadcasting content targeting Ukraine and Belarus so is doing an important job. Could be around for a while yet for geo-political reasons and could possibly be the last one standing.

243 - Denmark. Broadcasting only intermittently. This has been the case for a while now. Content aimed at mariners, although many people who are knowledgeable about maritime matters have been saying for years that this service isn't needed at all anymore, so maybe it'll be switched off soon.

252 - Algeria. On and off. Hard to tell what will happen with this one. It could continue for a while or it could go silent with little or no notice. I enjoy listing to their music programming in the evenings.

252 - RTE R1. With the power reductions & constant, lengthy outages, this is hardly a service that can be relied on anymore, despite seemingly being the most maintained transmitter on the planet.

The Mongolian stations seem to be a bit of a mystery. All I know is I heard from someone who was there a couple of years back who couldn't pick up anything at all on LW, day or night. Does anyone know if they are still on? I haven't found any SDRs near enough to try listening in.

Please feel free to correct me if I've missed out on anything...

Long drive one evening and as a tried various stations for something talk or interviews I was greeted by nothing but music stations. This was all on FM. Tried MW and LW but reception crackly and unclear. Radio 4 used to be strong and clear years back.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120072046#Comment_120072046

A good overview. Since you mentioned Spain, as far as I know they've never had a LW transmitter? At least not in my lifetime. Most MW transmitters have reduced power in Spain recently, that's probably the only thing I might be able to add here.

The two LW transmitters in Iceland are a bit of a mystery to me. Few cars have LW radios and even fewer people have LW radios at home, so why are they still broadcasting? They could have used MW as well to reach a bigger audience.

Apparently there was some rather recent upgrade work on the 225 transmitter in Poland. No idea about the reason why, or how long they are going to use it.

Regarding BBC Radio 4 on LW, I was never aware that they reduced power at all? I only heard that the BBC had plans to shut that one down as well, - however March 2023 was a bit early? I thought more about sometime 2024 or so? Given the current cost of energy it'll probably happen sooner than later, so a shutdown in March this year wouldn't surprise me?

153 is used by Antena Satelor in Romania, and their other MW transmitters don't cover the whole of Romania. Antenna Satelor also has no real decent FM coverage, except a couple of transmitters here and there. Maybe that's the reason why it's kept alive ? Radio Romania Actualitati also uses MW but covers the whole of Romania, so maybe there are still a good number of AM receivers in use in Romania? Radio Romania Actualitat does have complete FM coverage in Romania, with Antena Satelor doesn't have.

The LW transmitters in Algeria and Morocco are probably something of a left over from the French? If Algeria goes on and off all the time, it would indicate technical issues or issues getting spare parts? And then there are probably large parts of the desert to cover as well? Not certain and just speculation from my side.

The 252 in Ireland reduced power once before, and ever since that time, reception within the UK is rather bad. In London the 252 is hard to receive, unless one has a better receiver or a good antenna, and on the coast in places like Brighton reception is even harder, and often Algeria comes in. So if the 252 is meant to reach the Irish living in the UK then the RTE is more than wrong.

According to the ever-reliable source of information Wikipedia, there was a LW transmitter in the north of Spain at one point but there's no information as to when it was operational. There must have been a lot of interference from the other (state-owned) Moroccan station which was on the same frequency up until a couple of years back.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074744#Comment_120074744

There have always been unconfirmed reports of a former LW transmitter at Logrono in Spain. Apparently the frequency was 207 kHz. I don't know when broadcasting ceased from that transmitter or whether this information is even correct at all.

I never recalled receiving any LW signals from Spain, but plenty on MW.

Is there a particular reason why 252KHz is shared like that? It doesn't seem to make a ton of sense with so much empty spectrum and also the Algerian station just comes in all over RTE a lot of the time anyway - you'd wonder what value it really serves for the diaspora community in England that's usually mentioned when they have suggested closing it.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120076061#Comment_120076061

Probably due to lack of space at the time. If RTE ran at their maximum power levels (500 kW day, 100 kW night) I don’t think it would be as much of an issue. They physically can’t now due to the transmitter they have, but even that is only at half power.

Is there a particular reason why, assuming that RTE wanted to continue using LW for diaspora reach, that it couldn't just shift to a clearer slot that might mean being able to broadcast at 100kW or less at all times?

From what I gather, the 252kHz transmitter is relatively modern by LW standards only dating from the late 1980s- so I assume it's not a THAT complicated to move it to a slightly different frequency and there isn't exactly an abundance of stations on LW anymore.

dxhound2005

A few years ago every channel was occupied, and many channels were shared. Algeria also has an allocation on 153 which apparently is on air at present, and on 198, which may or may not have been used. In the 1975 agreement mentioned in this Dáil question, Algeria, Finland, Ireland, Syria, and USSR were given an allocation on 254, which later became 252 in line with international agreements. Frequencies are agreed internationally, and countries cannot just pick and choose.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/ga/debates/debate/dail/1983-12-14/195/

People should be able to move their radios around to null out Algeria and get RTE.

Realistically speaking though, I doubt 252kHz from Ireland is likely to be around for all that much longer. It seems to be surviving on inertia.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120076165#Comment_120076165

The transmitter was actually replaced in 2007 with a solid state unit so it's even newer. The original 1989 rig was two 300 kW valve-based transmitters paired together but licensed for 500 maximum. The current solid state transmitter is only a single 300 kW unit. Nothing technically stopping them from retuning I'd say, but getting permission to transmit on another frequency would be a different story. They were meant to close it a long time ago now but left on for political reasons more than anything.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120076165#Comment_120076165

RTE can't just shift to a different frequency - they would need to obtain clearance from the ITU before doing so.

Also the transmitter & mast would need to be modified, the latter of which is no trivial task.

I know they'd have to get agreement from the ITU but on an increasingly empty piece of spectrum, can that really be THAT complicated at this stage? It might have been a huge deal in the mid 1970s or 1980s, but it's basically dead old tech now, and if they want to keep it running on low power and serving the UK based Irish communities, it would make sense to just be on a quiet bit of the band.

It seems more likely though it will just quietly go off air at some point.

dxhound2005

And they cannot move to "a slightly different frequency", only to one of the other 9 kHz channels. If they went to say 255 that would create a heterodyne whistle where they and Algeria are being received. An even more annoying thing than co channel interference. This is why AM transmitters are all allocated to 9 kHz channels on Long and Medium wave.

I mean literally moving to one of the vacated frequencies that are no longer used.

Anyway, this is pointless. Obviously it's as impossible and I'm a moron for asking or suggesting otherwise. The forms are just too long and complicated.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120076587#Comment_120076587

Let's say RTE want to move to say, 261 now that Bulgaria is no longer using it, or even better the former Czech Radio 270 frequency. Here's how that would work:

• RTE/2RN applies to the ITU asking for clearance to change the frequency.
• If the ITU (along with other countries, even though they are no longer using the frequency) agree, then 261 or 270 is re-allocated to Ireland.
• RTE NL technical staff have to modify the output stages of the transmitter to work on a different frequency.
• The mast at Summerhill, Co. Meath needs to be shortened proportionally to the increase in frequency (or added to in height if, say, Ireland was given clearance to use 243, for example). This would be a fairly substantial undertaking.

Those are the steps that would be involved in changing frequency, in that order.

In which case, I assume the transmitter's fate is probably a scrap yard at some point in the next few years.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120076637#Comment_120076637

Unfortunately, probably yes.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120076061#Comment_120076061

The whole technology is out of a different time and a different area. Transmitting or producing an amplitude modulation and receiving an amplitude modulation is from a technical point of view one of the easiest radio signals to produce. However today it's costly to run and it doesn't reach the audience anymore in times of internet and DAB, both dominating the British radio listening habits.

I suppose, sharing the 252 of the RTE with Algeria is from a different time, when there were a lot more LW radio stations around and bandwith on LW is in general somewhat limited. ( remember, back in the early days of TV nearly the whole LW band was used to broadcast a small black and white picture and a sound from London which was received even as far as New York) Also back then the 252 of RTE hat a lot more kW in transmitter power to be received loud and clearly around the whole of the UK. And even more back in the days, Atlantic 252 had quite a good coverage of the UK also across London and the South East.

The UK has some kind of law in place which forbids broadcasters from foreign countries to broadcast from inside of the UK when the main language of the programme is English. Thus the UK doesn't have AFN transmitters for the US forces, like they have in Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium. For this reason re-broadcasting RTE Radio 1 on DAB+ won't be a choice out of a legal perspective, but probably the cheapest from a commercial point of view and the easiest from today's technical point of view.

The Irish diaspora living in the UK has overall no real knowledge of RTE on 252 kHz. First there are very few LW radios around, almost none to buy new, and second, since the RTE reduced transmission power of the 252 transmitter reception in London and the South East of England is poor at the best of times. Often only radio enthusiasts with the right and expensive equipment can receive it. Thus the value to the Irish diaspora living in the UK is actually almost none at a time when the internet and mobile internet via smartphones and RTE via apps is omnipresent in the UK anyway.

RTE would be far better off if they would have kept a strong MW transmitter ( something like Athlone, or better Tullamore ) to serve the Irish diaspora in the UK if they wanted to, simply as there are even today way more MW radios around. And then there are unconfirmed rumors of the catholic church of Ireland insisting on RTE on 252 kHz just for the catholic Sunday mass, but that could also have been achieved with MW rather than LW.

I wonder will the energy crisis be used as the reason to finally close it. That kWhs add up fast!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119774805#Comment_119774805

are valves in transmitters as amazing as valves in guitar amps ? Unbeatable sound that cannot be matched buy modern technology?

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120077835#Comment_120077835

I think you're comparing way different technology here.

Regarding the 198 kHz for Radio 4 there are many unconfirmed reports. Apparently the valves for the Droitwich transmitter are no longer available and have been bought by the BBC on the 2nd hand market. The ones at Burghead and Westerglen in Scotland, both transmitting as a relay for Radio 4 on 198 kHz as well are rumored to be more modern.

But ultimately there's always the cost component and the question on how commercially feasible it is to continue broadcasting BBC Radio 4 on LW at a time when there are so many alternatives. FM, DVB, DAB and on the internet. Also the BBC has a cost pressure.

In the UK there are unconfirmed rumors that BBC Radio 4 on LW could go off air as early as March 2023.

The reason for this is that Scottish and Southern Energy is also using the 198 kHz Droitwich transmitter for their older Radio Teleswitch Service Meters until March 2023 for the Economy 7 and Economy 10 tariffs, after March 2023 they will switch to new smart meters.

At the same time the BBC only has a high cost of transmitting but no real audience on LW. Remember Absolute radio only reaches 2% of the audience on MW with 30% of the cost to transmit and there are even fewer LW radios and LW listeners around.....

The old 162 kHz that used to carry ‘France Inter’ (A format a bit like RTE Radio 1) just carries a time signal controlled two caesium clocks. It’s still used by things like railway clocks and some older day/night power meters - apparently there are still other 300,000 known devices relying on the time signal - although I suspect with smart meter deployment over there being pretty advanced at this stage, it’s probably irrelevant now too.

I would assume Droitwich could end up in a similar situation.

I think that French transmitter was fairly substantially modernised in 1980. So it may not be quite as old.

Glaceon

The current pair of transmitters at Droitwich were installed in 1984/85. Getting on a bit now, like myself. 😂

dxhound2005

That France signal on 162 is mighty strong, listed as using 1,100 kilowatts which must be costing a lot. It can be heard clearly in Ireland. Tune to 161 kHz USB mode to hear the tone being sent. At night other broadcasters can be heard faintly in the background in AM mode. I can usually hear BBC Radio 4. This is due to what is known as the Luxembourg Effect.

http://irelandnorthwest.proxy.kiwisdr.com:8073/

With regard to the BBC LW transmitter at Droitwich, the story about buying up all spare valves known to exist appeared in a news article (the Guardian, I think) about 10 years ago & has been debunked by ex-BBC technical staff. Replacement valves can be ordered from Thales, among other companies. The current transmitter was installed in the mid-1980's, it isn't some relic from the 1930's.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078035#Comment_120078035

I don't think that Droitwich will end up the same way as the French time signal.

https://www.sseenergysolutions.co.uk/news-and-insights/rts-closure

It's pretty unambigous:

"On 31 March 2023, the longwave transmitter will be shut down, affecting the functionality of all RTS meters. These changes are industry-wide and will affect both domestic and business customers.

Following the closure, we will be unable to support this type of meter. However, we want to ensure all our customers continue getting their heating and hot water as normal, which is why we are offering them a new smart alternative."

and

"All our customers affected by the change will have their meters exchanged to a second-generation SMETS2 smart meter, at no additional cost. They offer a range of intelligent functions and provide more accurate energy data."

The new SMETS2 smart meters seem to communicate via 4G:

Read more at: https://www.smartme.co.uk/smets-2.html 

"Do Smart Meters use 5G?

No Smart Meters currently use 5G. Even in the future a move to 5G is unlikely as the amounts of data transferred are very small and long distance communication is the main requirement. 5G is a higher frequency technology and generally low frequencies are most reliable and capable of penetrating obstructions like buildings, which is why 4G will often work in more places than 5G. Higher frequencies are also more easily scattered by objects"

So far there is no statement from the BBC as to the exact date of the LW shutdown only that they plan to shut down.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078094#Comment_120078094

But then you would still have the problem of running a high cost of transmitting via LW which few people are listening to and even fewer radios around for a price below 40 Euros or Pounds. Just look at the cost Absolute Radio was running for the 1215 network on AM. Last time I looked, Argos had only 2 LW radios on offer, and they only differed in colour.

The only radio manufactures still selling LW-compatible receivers that I know of are Roberts & Tecsun, even then I think the former are just selling off existing stock & the latter only feature LW on their more expensive models last time I checked their website. The other alternative is to build your own but of course very few people will actually go that route.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078225#Comment_120078225

I think Sangean also still sells LW radios as well. Price tags are in the upper 200 Euros, or the lower 300 for something decent.

Not all is negative as well. It is possible in the case of MW that they do it like in the Netherlands where it's handled rather liberally, anybody who's interested can broadcast on MW as long as they are below a certain transmitter power limit.

So there might be a 2nd life for the MW, even though BBC, Absolute and Talksport are gone at some point?

The French time signal is used for a lot more than just day/night metering though. I suspect there’s also some national significance of not depending on the more popular German radio radio time DCF77 signal on 77.5 kHz

The French one reaches about 3500km or so too, just as a time signal.

That 5G statement is just to calm down paranoid conspiracy theorists. The mobile networks are very likely to retain the capability of supporting 2G GSM for a long time just for universal simple voice, 3G will drop and be replaced by LTE on the same spectrum. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to keep old protocols alive when they’ve dwindling users (mobile phone lifespan is about 3 years) and when the spectrum can be used more efficiently with a more recent tech.

You can maintain a small amount of 2G and run the protocol basically on IP based modern networks and using modern RANs, spinning it up almost as needed using the same equipment these days. Continuing 3G is pointless though. It’s already off the air in some countries.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078406#Comment_120078406

I still remember those radio controlled clocks they sold at Conrad electronics in Germany at some point in the 90ies. The signal made it all the way out to Ireland, as the clock changed to daylight saving time automatically, thus it must have received the signal from the transmitter.

It wouldn't surprise me if the French are serving their DOMs and TOMs with the same time signal on LW? They love their centralism in France. Didn't the LORAN run on LW transmitters as well? Or at least below 150 kHz?

I think the EU wide e-call system for new cars works on 2G. Thus they can't turn it off that easily. 3G would be obsolete anyway. 4G is kept as it's better at penetrating through buildings as opposed to 5G. 5G is just speed and probably throughput which will give way to 6G at some point, far ahead in the future.

Seems the main issue in France is the simple ticket machines used to validate railway tickets are one of the main uses of it and there are loads and loads of those.

If you’ve ever used the SNCF you’ll have “composted” your ticket on the platform - a machine stamps or with the date and time.

Similar simple systems are used in many French urban bus networks and so on.

SNCF only got rid of the ones used in the railways this year because they’ve moved to 90% of tickets being dématérialisés (virtualised/paperless). https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/entreprises/transports/sncf-les-machines-a-composter-les-billets-vont-disparaitre-des-gares_AN-202301060031.html

So that’s one big Long Wave (Grandes Ondes) user gone.

dxhound2005

My Citizen watch gets the signal from Germany at 2 am every day. There are loads of transmitters on the air below 150 kHz for various purposes, and anyone with a communications receiver can listen. Also loads more between 279 and 531, mostly aeronautical and marine beacons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DCF77

There is a gadget which is supposed to boost reception of LW time signals. It is really a ferrite bar antenna, and the same effect can be got by placing the watch or clock near to a radio with a ferrite antenna. There are other timepieces which can take a signal from a satellite. But broadcast satellites could well be the next thing to be phased out, so who knows what the future will bring.

They can pull accurate time from GPS and Galileo. Those systems aren’t going anywhere for a very long time, but you do need to be able to see the sky, so not much use in a building, but it is a useful reference for a lot of things.

Internet devices all use time servers for synchronised time - routers, switches, PCs, Macs, mobile devices, IoTs

Mobile networks also supply time, but I think increasingly smartphones just behave like a PC/Mac and pull time from a server anyway.

RDS has time on analogue FM, assuming the broadcaster is reliable as does DAB (where available) and in theory you can get time from DVB-T, -C or -S too, but it might be a bit cumbersome … I can’t see anything other than a TV or STB being too bothered!

Realistically, most devices will pull it from the internet and I suspect those time signal beacons may stay on air anyway, notably the German one which seems to have a lot of users.

Full list of known time signals:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_clock

It's all water under the bridge now but by rights RTE should never have launched Radio 1 on lw 252 in the first place. 567 MW should have been maintained as the AM outlet for RTE radio 1 with 2fm's old 612 & 1278 transmitters used for Radio 1 when 567 was off air for 6 months maintenance in 2004.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120080638#Comment_120080638

By 2003 and 2004 less and less new cars came with radios with LW, the French had it the longest. Opel/Vauxhall had LW radios for a while longer as well and I believe also Fords. New Volkswagens in their Mark 4 Golf didn't come with LW radios anymore, same as the 2003 Passat.

I actually enjoyed Atlantic 252 but the overall ratings of this station was going down. Whether it was the music not being liked anymore or the LW band, I don't know. Teamtalk 252 never had any decent success and then I believe the transmitter fell silent for a while until RTE decided to put Radio 1 on there at a time when interest in LW subsided more and more.

And yes, they should have opted for the MW for Radio 1, especially if the interest was to reach the Irish expatriate population in the UK.

tinytobe

RTE Radio 1 on LW, 252 kHz seems down again today, possibly temporarily again. Algeria on 252 is loud and clear.

byrnefm

Hi,

171kHz is Medi 1, broadcast from Nador, Morocco.

I'm trying to find another radio about the house that has LW on it. Found one old one but I didn't pick up 171 or the time signal on 162 last night.

tinytobe

Just wondering, is the 252 weaker now and reduced power? Anybody noticing a weaker signal?

dxhound2005

252 has not reduced power. S9 +60 signal as always with me, and putting out +40 harmonic on 504 kHz, and weaker on 756 mixing with BBC Radio Four. But I can reduce the signal by moving the antenna, and make Algeria the dominant signal at night.

171 is very weak in Ireland, dispite the reputed 1,600 kilowatt output. The tones being broadcast on 162 won't be heard on an AM radio, but one with a signal meter would detect it's presence. S9 +40 with me during the day, not surprising from a 1,100 kilowatt in France. To hear the tones being transmitted, it needs a radio with SSB. Use USB and tune to below the frequency. At night it should be possible to hear faint voices on the frequency, which is other broadcasters being captured by the Luxembourg Effect. I can usually hear BBC Radio Four.

The SDR in Malin gets a decent signal from Morocco at night, and it can be used to show what I said about 162.

http://malinheadkiwi.hopto.org:8073/

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120270369#Comment_120270369

Thanks for that. I only felt that a couple of days ago the 252 was rather weak. Could also have been something else.

Declan A Walsh

From another thread:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120359925#Comment_120359925

Annascaul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120075201#Comment_120075201

I recall and can confirm having received a Spanish station on 207 kHz LW whilst living in Wexford. However the signal was never really strong in Ireland. It was some kind of news programme but my Spanish isn't too good either. I believe this was in the late 80s or early 90s, but am not sure. It's been more than a while. A couple of months later the 207 from Spain was no longer audible. For some time I was not sure what had happened, if it was just a test or the transmitter was still on air at all with a lower power? Later I've learned they turned the LW transmitter off completely.

Incidentally, RTE Radio 1 on 252 was briefly off air again on the 10th of March. The reason for that is unknown to me. Unplanned downtime? Planned Engineering works? No idea.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120372692#Comment_120372692

LW radios were already a bit of a rarity in the 80ies and 90ies, even when Atlantic 252 started broadcasting. Probably also the reason, why they decided to take the 207 in Spain off air.

RTE mentions LW252 every now and then on Radio 1 however I doubt that any significant majority is ever tuning in, as LW radios are even rarer these days.

Annascaul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120380619#Comment_120380619

Atlantic 252 had certain challenges marketing the longwave from the beginning.

I think they mentioned "longwave Atlantic 252" every other minute between songs in the beginning making sure, any casual listener who would have overheard the radio knew it was on longwave. At that time already few people listened to LW, and the younger generation was certainly not interested in Radio 4 on LW, thus not used to LW at all.

Remember also Atlantic 252 was focused on the UK market, and back then the UK had with Radio 1, Radio 2 only two nationwide pop stations on FM, and one on AM, which was Virgin Radio.

The 207 kHz which I picked up in Ireland rather regularly from Spain was most likely a test broadcast for a couple of months or an ill informed decision. They had initial big plans in Spain for a LW network, but then decided to stay on medium wave.

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120387249#Comment_120387249

Believe it or not, in 1989 there was still a lot of radios in Ireland, especially in cars, with Long Wave. Atlantic 252 definitely got played quite a bit in shops in the 1989-1990, but less as the years went on. It was a godsend for those that had older cars without FM. Virgin Radio was not there when Atlantic 252 launched. The former arrived on the airwaves around 1993. By that stage, it was losing the Irish audience to FM radio and it was starting to be an uphill battle in the UK.

I wonder how many stations will be picked up on long wave around Ireland by the end of this year.

Annascaul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389315#Comment_120389315

I think it was mostly older British car manufacturers who only had MW and LW radios for a rather long time or let's say way longer than other car manufacturers.

Thanks for that insight anyway. Yes, Atlantic 252 was there before Virgin Radio. Virgin Radio basically took over the 1215 in 1993 from the BBC, I believe it was Radio 3.

Atlantic 252 started around the time, when I've noticed the 207 kHz from Spain. Initially I thought this would be a LW revival but the 207 kHz from Spain went off air quickly.

183 Europe1, 234 RTL as well as 153 with the Deutschland-Funk were always there as long as I can remember, same with the 198 from the BBC. Sometimes I picked up the 270 from Czechoslovakia.

It'll be interesting how long the 198 will stay on air, or whether the 252 will go first?