Dr David MillsRecording the last 20 days of BBC Radio4 on Long-wave.
I wonder why the shutdown was moved from September to June. Anyone know?
Carlo IU1KGS 📻@dtl I don’t know, but I’d imagine that the rising cost of energy due to the clown over the Atlantic has something to do with it.
@IU1KGS Maybe.
I can't find any indication if they are just cutting the modulation and leaving the carrier for the teleswitch signal, or what.
PaddyTech 👾@dtl @IU1KGS the last paragraph suggests Teleswitching is going too?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/work-warning/news/radio4lw
Some older electricity meters use a system called the Radio Teleswitching Service (RTS) that is carried within the LW signal. This service is run by the energy industry, not the BBC. If you need advice about replacing or upgrading an RTS meter, please contact your energy supplier or the relevant energy regulator.
deKay@PaddyTech @dtl @IU1KGS “if you go to Curry's and try and buy a radio, I think of all the radios they sell in the entire country, there's only one of them that will pick up long wave signals these days. Really? Is that true? We're shooting ourselves in the foot by turning off long wave. What about when the internet stops, when it breaks, we're going to need a good, reliable backup system, and that can be long wave.“
@deKay @PaddyTech @IU1KGS I would hate to see AM radio go entirely. At least there's still medium wave for now.
@dtl @deKay @PaddyTech not sure how long it will last https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8egxpxld14o
Robin Davies
Mike Knell@g7vkq @dtl @IU1KGS But it *is* anachronistic. FM has been around for 75 years or so. DAB+ (let alone original DAB) is 20 years old. Seems quite reasonable let 5XX go to a well-earned retirement, not least as so few people listen to it that the original USP of long wave - broad coverage to minimise cost/listener hour - stopped being true decades ago. Half a megawatt of power to serve a handful of people with a single programme when even, say, Crystal Palace analogue TV only ever had a total of 320kW going up the mast to feed 4 TV channels to 13 million people is just wasted money and resources. I’m pretty confident that Peter Eckersley would agree with that. :)
Cool story, but R4LW is anything but regional. It's a national service that these days does nothing but simulcast the same programme that's available on both FM and DAB nationally. And well, broader coverage of a regional service outside the region it's intended to serve is really just a nice-to-have, not a critical part of the service, no? @IU1KGS @g7vkq @dtl
@m when a natural disaster or a blackout hits a region that simulcast transmission suddenly becomes a strategic asset. It’s not a doomsday scenario nor an hypothetical, we’ve been without electricity for 12 hours the last serious snowfall in 2021, FM went down immediately, mobile lasted less than one hour.
We’ll agree to disagree on the usefulness of wide area coverage transmitters.
Marcus Müller@dtl @IU1KGS I'd infer they can't cut the RTS at the same time, https://www.elexon.co.uk/bsc/data/trading-operations-report/metering-data-trading-operations-report/#number-of-radio-teleswitch-meters in conjunction with https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-steps-in-to-protect-consumers-with-old-energy-meters
But it might be that the BBC just realized tgat it's not limiting their ability to eliminate power spent on audio broadcast sidebands and just leave the carrier up for PSK modulation; should also potentially prolong life (esp. considering *how* far behind the rts meter replacements are for a life-critical system)
But it might be that the BBC just realized tgat it's not limiting their ability to eliminate power spent on audio broadcast sidebands and just leave the carrier up for PSK modulation; should also potentially prolong life (esp. considering *how* far behind the rts meter replacements are for a life-critical system)
Slash909uk@dtl ooh, there goes the only station my Nan's old valve radiogram can still receive 😥 ..
MW is just noise now.
Simon Greenwood@dtl
I saw somewhere that it's had to be brought forward as there are no spares left for the transmitters and failure is likely before September.
I saw somewhere that it's had to be brought forward as there are no spares left for the transmitters and failure is likely before September.