Favourite stations / programmes? - Page 2 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

akuram1 · 25th Mar 2013, 8:01 pm

Magic on Sky 0180 plays good music in the morning without too much speaking and the adverts are not too bad.

'LIVEWIRE?' · 25th Mar 2013, 8:06 pm

I don't understand the 'anti-commercial attitude' which seems so common (not just on here!) There would not be the large number of Radio (and TV) stations available without commercials, some of which are admittedly, irritating, but then so are some of the BBCs frequently repeated trailers, often several times in a few hours for the same forthcoming programme! All that apart, I agree that Radio 4 is good, though I often forget things on that network. (the I-player is useful, but it doesn't bring you any more time!

25th Mar 2013, 9:17 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'LIVEWIRE?'

I don't understand the 'anti-commercial attitude' which seems so common(not just on here!)

I do, they are so imposing. Fine for a 'do you like the advert' in the board room, not so if it's there blasting out. They may get better results if the adverts where quieter than the programme, you may be intrigued rather than annoyed.

Paul_RK · 25th Mar 2013, 10:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'LIVEWIRE?'

I don't understand the 'anti-commercial attitude' which seems so common (not just on here!)

I agree about the BBC having become highly irritating in that way, but that's a part of why I'm "anti-commercial" - it's only become so on account of advertising including self-promotion having become the accepted norm for broadcasting. For myself I could only regard the abundance of commercial stations as a good thing if there were one or two at least that I sometimes welcomed hearing. But that's how it is, one man's gain in variety is another's vexatious debasement of the medium... most possible perspectives seem understandable enough

Paul

Andrewausfa · 25th Mar 2013, 11:46 pm

BBC Radio 5 the most as I have it on to and from work plus I like the football and other sports coverage. My local BBC Cambridgeshire (FM and MW) has some decent syndicated shows, there's a good rock and roll show in particular hosted by Bernie Keith which I enjoy.

In the evenings I like having a twiddle around the short wave bands, it's interesting to hear other countries views on events and to learn about other cultures. All India Radio hasn't been mentioned but has some interesting programming. Radio Romania International is quite good. Voice of America and Voice of Russia have the occasional bit I'll listen to. Though not broadcast to Europe, I'll sometimes catch Radio Australia clearly though it can fade in and out.

You can check which SW stations you might pick up or be picking up at this link. If I'm listening on a valve set I'll check the frequency on one of my digital comms receivers to ID the station.

http://www.short-wave.info/index.php

Andrew

D.Finney · 26th Mar 2013, 10:52 am

Thanks Camtechman.

ted_ntsx · 26th Mar 2013, 12:10 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

Alas there are no current equivalents of the good old Ronan O'Rahilly pirate-radio stations"

Ah yes... memories...

I don't know if it counts as a real radio station, but the internet station "Offshore Music Radio" (www.offshoremusicradio.com) is not bad if you like something that sounds a bit like the pirate stations of old, with a lot of sixties music.

audiomagpie · 26th Mar 2013, 1:14 pm

In order of preference, BBC's: 6 music, 2, 4 Extra (for the old comedy) and 4. Given up with local radio, both BBC and ILR, don't know why they bother anymore! I have a pantry transmitter (but don't have a pantry!) so I can listen to whatever on my old sets on MW.

Greg

'LIVEWIRE?' · 26th Mar 2013, 1:34 pm

Just a small point! The offshore 'pirate stations', Atlantic 252, and good old '208' were all commercial operations. Were the adverts, as well as the programs and music, better then than now?!

womer_uk · 26th Mar 2013, 2:22 pm

If you like music from the 40s up to the 70s, then try Radio 5 Nostalgia from The Netherlands.

It broadcasts non stop music throughout the night Sunday to Thursday from 2300 - 0500 British time, some really good stuff.

RTL Oldiesender on 1440 had a format change a few years ago, and plays a lot more 80s music than before. Though of course, 1440 is in it's death throws now, it goes for good at the end of this year.

For classical music try Deutschlandfunk on 1422 with it's "Nachtconzert" throughout the night.

Then there's AFN Frankfurt on 873 with some music programmes now and again.

France Bleu on 864 also has a non stop soft pop oldies format throughout the night, with traffic reports about every half hour.

Paul_RK · 26th Mar 2013, 3:07 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'LIVEWIRE?'

Just a small point! The offshore 'pirate stations', Atlantic 252, and good old '208' were all commercial operations.

Quite possibly

My vague memory of Caroline, RNI, Radio London and 208 from around the late '60s is of some commercially sponsored programmes which would be frequently name-checked, some promotion of station-related merchandise, but ever so little of actual recorded advertisements for anything else. Couldn't say how well that correlates to the facts of the matter though...

Paul

HMV 1120 · 26th Mar 2013, 9:57 pm

Manx Radio on 1386 Khz comes in well here after dark and is well worth a listen. I recently picked up "Forth 2" (IIRC) near the top of the band and found it quite agreeable too. Most evenings I have R.4 LW on, followed by the World Service if I'm being an insomniac. R. Scotland on 801 khz often has a good late night showing too. It was Arrow Classic Rock that first got me listening in to the mediumwave band, alas it is no more (on mediumwave at least).

Rob

Herald1360 · 27th Mar 2013, 1:02 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulR

Radio 4 it is (almost) worth the licence fee.

There hasn't been a radio licence fee for some time, now. Not even for a car radio......

mark pirate · 27th Mar 2013, 7:59 pm

My reception quality is really bad here, especially at night, sadly MW is pretty dead these days, so I usually have Gold or Absolute playing on my vintage sets, but like many people, get tired of all those

commercials.

I have taken to using my laptop via my pantry transmitter to listen to my own playlists.

If using FM, it has to be radio 2 or one of the local stations.
I have been given a faulty internet radio, so if I can get it working, I may find something that IS worth listening to!

Mark

'LIVEWIRE?' · 27th Mar 2013, 8:00 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herald1360

There hasn't been a radio licence fee for some time, now. Not even for a car radio

Not since 1970 or 71 IIRC!

Panrock · 27th Mar 2013, 9:25 pm

A plea for the old-at-heart.

I'm a militant easy listener... or maybe a militant bore when it comes to this subject! Even in the '60s when I was a teenager, the only 'pirate' I liked was Radio 390. I prefer melody, orchestral texture and atmosphere in my music to ...a big generalisation... thumping and wailing. I detest the fact that pop and rock is now everywhere, in one variety or another, both on the radio and off. Whether in the shops, in the bank, or even on the bog in the motorway services, there's no escape from its gormless, tacky sound.

Radio 3 and Classic FM remain something of a blessing, but where are the easy listening stations? Where can one find, reliably on tap at any time, what was once on the 'Light Programme'? Instead we now have 'Radio 2', which considers itself 'hip' and bears no relation.

Rant over! To address the actual title of this thread - the best easy listening station on the internet seems to be Jones College Radio, from Florida. Here the music is dominant, the advertising scarce, dull and repetitive and clearly aimed at the over-70s. But there's a good tune. Sanity at last!

Steve

mark_in_manc · 28th Mar 2013, 5:09 pm

Steve -

I'm young-ish (OK, 42) and actually like pop and rock, but I'm also a sax player and I like jazz and big-band. RTE 1 (which I referred to in the OP) has a show called 'The singer up-front' (from memory) on really late on a Sunday night (11-12pm?). Last week they featured Julie London - the chat between songs reminded me a little of the late, great Benny Green on Radio 2 Sunday afternoons, from years back. I like old music through an old set with a late-night LW 'ambience'...though I guess I should make a decent aerial

Mark

jsbhavsar · 8th Apr 2015, 4:10 pm

I use National Ekco Radio A731, 8 bands with tuned RF stage.
My favourites stations that I tune are:

- SW 25m All India Radio Urdu Service (daytime)
- MSW 49m All India Radio Urdu Service (night time)
- SW 19m, All India Radio Hindi Service (For West Asia)
- SW 31m, Vividh Bharti (Hindi Film Music all day long)
- SW 25m SLBC(Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Asia Service Hindi)

Occassionally I tune to Beijing, BBC and Radio Qatar for any news or film music.

Most of the AIR stations are streaming live on internet on AIR website

http://allindiaradio.gov.in

SLBC is also streaming its Hindi Asia Service live on its website
http://www.slbc.lk

Cheers

Mach One · 13th Apr 2015, 3:04 pm

It must be nice to be able to listen regularly to so much music on the shortwaves!

jsbhavsar · 13th Apr 2015, 3:22 pm

Yes, my preference is band spreaded shortwave radios like the one I own. I have seen many top quality Grundig valve sets from Germany and others from Europe, however I see there was entire SW reception on one single band? Uhhh!! It would be so difficult to tune the know 'slowly' and receive each and every station I need.

The other small portable radio I use is Sony ICF-SW11, again with spreaded SW bands. Very nice performance on just 2 AA batteries.

Panasonic RF-800U is my new brand radio brought from Dubai. It has FM, MW, SW1, SW2. That radio sounds very poor reception on MW and other bands. On SW I have to touch the telescopic aerial to hear something on SW with 4 D size batteries. Else, I have to use AC-to-DC adaptor but then the noise is too much. I hardly tuned that radio 6 or 8 times in last 12 months.

25th Mar 2013, 8:01 pm	#21
akuram1 Pentode Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Dundee, UK. Posts: 158	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? Magic on Sky 0180 plays good music in the morning without too much speaking and the adverts are not too bad.

25th Mar 2013, 8:06 pm	#22
'LIVEWIRE?' Rest in Peace Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: N.W. Oxfordshire(Chipping Norton) Posts: 7,306	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? I don't understand the 'anti-commercial attitude' which seems so common (not just on here!) There would not be the large number of Radio (and TV) stations available without commercials, some of which are admittedly, irritating, but then so are some of the BBCs frequently repeated trailers, often several times in a few hours for the same forthcoming programme! All that apart, I agree that Radio 4 is good, though I often forget things on that network. (the I-player is useful, but it doesn't bring you any more time!

25th Mar 2013, 11:46 pm	#25
Andrewausfa Octode Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: St Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 1,180	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? BBC Radio 5 the most as I have it on to and from work plus I like the football and other sports coverage. My local BBC Cambridgeshire (FM and MW) has some decent syndicated shows, there's a good rock and roll show in particular hosted by Bernie Keith which I enjoy. In the evenings I like having a twiddle around the short wave bands, it's interesting to hear other countries views on events and to learn about other cultures. All India Radio hasn't been mentioned but has some interesting programming. Radio Romania International is quite good. Voice of America and Voice of Russia have the occasional bit I'll listen to. Though not broadcast to Europe, I'll sometimes catch Radio Australia clearly though it can fade in and out. You can check which SW stations you might pick up or be picking up at this link. If I'm listening on a valve set I'll check the frequency on one of my digital comms receivers to ID the station. http://www.short-wave.info/index.php Andrew __________________ Invisible airwaves crackle with life. Or they should do. BVWS Member

26th Mar 2013, 10:52 am	#26
D.Finney Pentode Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK. Posts: 147	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? Thanks Camtechman.

26th Mar 2013, 1:14 pm	#28
audiomagpie Heptode Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Rugby, Warwickshire, UK. Posts: 825	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? In order of preference, BBC's: 6 music, 2, 4 Extra (for the old comedy) and 4. Given up with local radio, both BBC and ILR, don't know why they bother anymore! I have a pantry transmitter (but don't have a pantry!) so I can listen to whatever on my old sets on MW. Greg __________________ Greg BVWS committee chairman

26th Mar 2013, 1:34 pm	#29
'LIVEWIRE?' Rest in Peace Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: N.W. Oxfordshire(Chipping Norton) Posts: 7,306	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? Just a small point! The offshore 'pirate stations', Atlantic 252, and good old '208' were all commercial operations. Were the adverts, as well as the programs and music, better then than now?!

26th Mar 2013, 2:22 pm	#30
womer_uk Tetrode Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 74	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? If you like music from the 40s up to the 70s, then try Radio 5 Nostalgia from The Netherlands. It broadcasts non stop music throughout the night Sunday to Thursday from 2300 - 0500 British time, some really good stuff. RTL Oldiesender on 1440 had a format change a few years ago, and plays a lot more 80s music than before. Though of course, 1440 is in it's death throws now, it goes for good at the end of this year. For classical music try Deutschlandfunk on 1422 with it's "Nachtconzert" throughout the night. Then there's AFN Frankfurt on 873 with some music programmes now and again. France Bleu on 864 also has a non stop soft pop oldies format throughout the night, with traffic reports about every half hour.

26th Mar 2013, 9:57 pm	#32
HMV 1120 Hexode Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Weeting, Norfolk. Posts: 465	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? Manx Radio on 1386 Khz comes in well here after dark and is well worth a listen. I recently picked up "Forth 2" (IIRC) near the top of the band and found it quite agreeable too. Most evenings I have R.4 LW on, followed by the World Service if I'm being an insomniac. R. Scotland on 801 khz often has a good late night showing too. It was Arrow Classic Rock that first got me listening in to the mediumwave band, alas it is no more (on mediumwave at least). Rob __________________ Real radios glow in the dark M6GLD

27th Mar 2013, 7:59 pm	#34
mark pirate Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK Posts: 5,185	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? My reception quality is really bad here, especially at night, sadly MW is pretty dead these days, so I usually have Gold or Absolute playing on my vintage sets, but like many people, get tired of all those commercials. I have taken to using my laptop via my pantry transmitter to listen to my own playlists. If using FM, it has to be radio 2 or one of the local stations. I have been given a faulty internet radio, so if I can get it working, I may find something that IS worth listening to! Mark

27th Mar 2013, 9:25 pm	#36
Panrock Nonode Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 2,535	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? A plea for the old-at-heart. I'm a militant easy listener... or maybe a militant bore when it comes to this subject! Even in the '60s when I was a teenager, the only 'pirate' I liked was Radio 390. I prefer melody, orchestral texture and atmosphere in my music to ...a big generalisation... thumping and wailing. I detest the fact that pop and rock is now everywhere, in one variety or another, both on the radio and off. Whether in the shops, in the bank, or even on the bog in the motorway services, there's no escape from its gormless, tacky sound. Radio 3 and Classic FM remain something of a blessing, but where are the easy listening stations? Where can one find, reliably on tap at any time, what was once on the 'Light Programme'? Instead we now have 'Radio 2', which considers itself 'hip' and bears no relation. Rant over! To address the actual title of this thread - the best easy listening station on the internet seems to be Jones College Radio, from Florida. Here the music is dominant, the advertising scarce, dull and repetitive and clearly aimed at the over-70s. But there's a good tune. Sanity at last! Steve __________________ https://www.radiocraft.co.uk

28th Mar 2013, 5:09 pm	#37
mark_in_manc Octode Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Manchester, UK. Posts: 1,875	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? Steve - I'm young-ish (OK, 42) and actually like pop and rock, but I'm also a sax player and I like jazz and big-band. RTE 1 (which I referred to in the OP) has a show called 'The singer up-front' (from memory) on really late on a Sunday night (11-12pm?). Last week they featured Julie London - the chat between songs reminded me a little of the late, great Benny Green on Radio 2 Sunday afternoons, from years back. I like old music through an old set with a late-night LW 'ambience'...though I guess I should make a decent aerial Mark

8th Apr 2015, 4:10 pm	#38
jsbhavsar Pentode Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 148	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? I use National Ekco Radio A731, 8 bands with tuned RF stage. My favourites stations that I tune are: - SW 25m All India Radio Urdu Service (daytime) - MSW 49m All India Radio Urdu Service (night time) - SW 19m, All India Radio Hindi Service (For West Asia) - SW 31m, Vividh Bharti (Hindi Film Music all day long) - SW 25m SLBC(Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Asia Service Hindi) Occassionally I tune to Beijing, BBC and Radio Qatar for any news or film music. Most of the AIR stations are streaming live on internet on AIR website http://allindiaradio.gov.in SLBC is also streaming its Hindi Asia Service live on its website http://www.slbc.lk Cheers Attached Thumbnails

13th Apr 2015, 3:04 pm	#39
Mach One Heptode Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, UK. Posts: 611	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? It must be nice to be able to listen regularly to so much music on the shortwaves!

13th Apr 2015, 3:22 pm	#40
jsbhavsar Pentode Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 148	Re: Favourite stations / programmes? Yes, my preference is band spreaded shortwave radios like the one I own. I have seen many top quality Grundig valve sets from Germany and others from Europe, however I see there was entire SW reception on one single band? Uhhh!! It would be so difficult to tune the know 'slowly' and receive each and every station I need. The other small portable radio I use is Sony ICF-SW11, again with spreaded SW bands. Very nice performance on just 2 AA batteries. Panasonic RF-800U is my new brand radio brought from Dubai. It has FM, MW, SW1, SW2. That radio sounds very poor reception on MW and other bands. On SW I have to touch the telescopic aerial to hear something on SW with 4 D size batteries. Else, I have to use AC-to-DC adaptor but then the noise is too much. I hardly tuned that radio 6 or 8 times in last 12 months.