Cannock Chase Radio FM goes 'FM' in the new year

[stevehertz]

Local to myself, a 'new' radio station called Cannock Chase Radio FM is presently broadcast online. I contacted them by email and they advised that they have been given two VHF frequencies, 89.6 and 94 to transmit on.

This was the response:

Thanks for getting in touch we are looking at early 2018
We will nearer the time announce a date

Hope this helps

Jane Hughes
Director

Cannock Chase Radio

www.cannockchaseradio.co.uk
Facebook : @cannockchaseradio
Twitter : #cannockradio

I was wondering if I tune in to those frequencies periodically I might hear some sneaky test broadcasts? Surely they won't just press the button and hope it all works, they'll have done tests?

[paulsherwin]

They are likely to test for several days or even weeks before they officially start. The programming may be very generic though, probably a short playlist from a server.

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

probably a short playlist from a server.

Or birdsong....

[Radio Wrangler]

I still wistfully remember the test transmissions of Radio Forth back in the seventies. Quite good music, good quality, no adverts, no announcements... great! The operational programming was never so good from the listener's point of view.

Birdsong, I suppose, avoids copyright costs. As the 'Monkey selfie' law case ended without the monkey getting the rights, and hasn't set a precedent, I suppose there is now no risk of the birds suing for back-fees.

David

[stevehertz]

Well, I just had a twiddle around those frequencies and nothing. However, worryingly, there's a strong R2 signal at around 90, and there's a strong R4 one at around 94!

My local area frequencies for those BBC transmissions are 88.3 and 92.7, so it's not those as such. Try as I may I cannot find on the BBC web site and indeed anywhere on tinternet what the other actual frequencies are for R2 and R4, not just the band they cover.

I think there's going to be co-channel interference issues! We'll see..

[Station X]

This site may help:-

http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/index.php

Just an example;-

http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/gallerypage.php?txid=1126

[paulsherwin]

Oxford R4 is 93.9. It doesn't usually get that far but there may be a lift on.

South Staffs has quite a crowded FM band. I'm surprised they were given the frequencies.

[Jonster]

OFCOM intentionally give these community stations frequencies that are close to other stronger ones in order to 'interference limit' their coverage to around 5km radius of the site, although this depends on the area and whether their are any commercial broadcasters in the area who might be affected by competition.

[Sideband]

In the London area there are some very close stations separated by only 400khz. I don't listen to any of them but they use 105.4, 105.8 and 106.2.

[emeritus]

Somewhere in my cassette collection is a recording of Classic FM's "Engineering Test Transmission". Birdsong (and a bee ot other insect that flies past the mikes in sequence), interspersed with periodic announcements.

[paulsherwin]

Yes, CFM used ambient recordings of woodland 'atmos' as their test signal in the runup to launch. Apparently it was recorded by their head of engineering near his home. CFM was a major national rollout of course, not a single transmitter.

[bikerhifinut]

I know this will sound pedantic Paul so apologies in advance. CFM is actually the name given to Cumbrias commercial radio station. Just to avoid confusion.


Andy

[Ted Kendall]

The pre-launch txs for Capital Radio were never-ending...or so it seemed at the time. A half-hour loop, if memory serves.

[stevehertz]

The launch date has been set for March 30. However, they have started test broadcasts on 89.6. In fact I'm listening to it at the moment. Problem is, it sounds just like a poorly received digital broadcast with squelching and scrambled noises, and also what can only be described as an occasional, fleeting, slowing down effect. I've notified the station just in case it's something they need to know. But I wondered if anyone here had any idea of what's going on? Might they be broadcasting like this because in effect, it's 'not to be listened to'? They do occasionally announce that "You are listing to a test broadcast from Cannock Chase Radio". It's not the same material that is simultaneously available online, different.

Otherwise I'll report back if I get an answer from them.

[paulsherwin]

You don't know what the feed is, so it's impossible to assess what's happening yet. It should be easy enough to assess if the FM signal itself is stable.

[Reelman]

If you want to hear exactly what a test transmission could sound like have a look at this page.....

http://www.kps.org.uk/mercia/index.html

Mercia Sound started in May 1980. I discovered the test transmissions purely by accident when listening to my Prinzsound ghetto blaster in the late summer of 1979 in my future mother-in-law’s garden.

Peter

[G8HQP Dave]

Originally Posted by stevehertz

Try as I may I cannot find on the BBC web site and indeed anywhere on tinternet what the other actual frequencies are for R2 and R4, not just the band they cover.

http://frequencyfinder.org.uk/index.html has useful frequency lists.

[paulsherwin]

Oxford R2 is 89.5. That may cause problems when there's a lift on, though it shouldn't normally get to mid Staffs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford...itting_station
http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/oxford/index.php

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by G8HQP Dave

http://frequencyfinder.org.uk/index.html has useful frequency lists.

Thanks Dave, yep, there's an excellent list there under 'BBC Radio Stations'. Funny how on the BBC web site you can only see things like "88-91", most unhelpful to anyone who is in the least bit interested in the frequencies for certain areas etc.

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

Oxford R2 is 89.5. That may cause problems when there's a lift on, though it shouldn't normally get to mid Staffs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford...itting_station
http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/oxford/index.php

Every now and then, they stop the test transmissions. At that point there is no strong breakthrough of a nearby channel. Saying that, I can hear something, at a very low level, so I very much doubt if that is causing a problem. In any case, I know what co-channel interference sounds like - nothing like what I describe above.

[G8HQP Dave]

Originally Posted by stevehertz

Funny how on the BBC web site you can only see things like "88-91"

In many places this will mean that some people are tuned to the wrong transmitter, as several main ones will be audible and most domestic radios lack a signal strength meter. I can only assume that the people in the BBC now assume that their listeners know (and care) as little about radio as they do.