Many BBC Local Radio MW Transmitters Closing January 2018

[MurphyNut]

I'm amazed it's lasted so long, I can still occasionally find things of interest to listen to on MW on my my pre-war sets.
I would hate it if a time came when there's nothing to find on MW due to it being completely abandoned.
The only saving grace are MW transmitters and pick-ups with bluetooth receivers.
Our old radios are far too wonderful to become completely silenced.

[johncoates]

I am one who still listens at home and in the car from time to time on all the bands.
Over Christmas, I had the mind-expanding experience to sit in a living room with my partner's young family.
No one watched TV or tuned in to music.
There was a constant stream of two-way "conversation" between adults and children with some insidious "Alexa" character in the corner.
Unhappily - The clever marketing of all this commercially-driven "Big Brother" stuff is going to kill off a lot more than MW radio.
The BBC remains under ongoing commercial pressure, and will continue to do so, as more and more people opt out of paying the TV licence.
I fear we have a lot more to lose.

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by johncoates

The BBC remains under ongoing commercial pressure, and will continue to do so, as more and more people opt out of paying the TV licence.

"Opt out of paying the TV licence"? I didn't realise that having (and paying for) a TV licence was now "optional"

Al.

[ianj]

Plenty to listen to here in the Cotswolds on AM; our usual is Smooth AM for an hour or so, the FM in the car flashes & hisses as you drive between towns etc. Radio Wales comes in strongly too along with Absolute.

On FM in the town, it's usually on Classic'FM or Radio Wales in the evening for a great nightime programme. My partner drives from here to Kent & return once a week so it's Radio 4 LW in the car, for no messing about retuning as you drive across England. First class reception on the car's radio.

[Jonster]

I'm working in New Zealand at the moment and there are still quite a few MW stations around, handy when driving between cities as often there is only patchy FM coverage.

When at home in the UK and we are are out at work we normally leave R4LW on to keep the cat company. It sounds like the MW band will be quieter in Sussex when I get back! I'm glad I bought an SSTRAN AMT3000 kit a couple of years ago as they have stopped selling them now.

[johncoates]

Originally Posted by Skywave

"Opt out of paying the TV licence"? I didn't realise that having (and paying for) a TV licence was now "optional"

By which I mean ... Many people are choosing to use only mobile devices such as lap-top computers, where the BBC licence has little meaning and where enforcement is pretty-much non-existent.
I "de-licenced" my Barnsley home in January as I am in the process of moving. I was not going to use a TV at that address any more.
I still access BBC news and all other facilities on the BBC excellent web-site.
I don't watch live programs on there.
However, the web-site and the car radio provide me with a great service without any payment.
No one has ever checked that I no longer have a TV at that address.
The days of the Detector Van have long disappeared.

[AC/HL]

The circumstances whereby you can legally avoid the need for a licence are well publicised. Discussion of illegal activity of any description is strictly off-topic for this forum.

[Philips210]

Hi

I think I might be right in saying that a car radio tuned to the LW Droitwich transmitter (198kHz) would receive the signal pretty well over much of the country thus obviating a retune on a long journey, quite a useful feature. AM radio is simple, requires basic receiving equipment, was a mainstay for many years and it will be a sad loss if it ceases. Long may AM continue.

Just imagine if AM transmissions close down. There won't be any more educational crystal sets or basic TRF and superhet radios that the youngsters can build and learn from. I'm sure most of us on this forum have built basic radio sets when we were young which got us interested in radio so it would be a shame if this won't continue for future generations.

Regards
Symon

[sunthaiboy]

Happy New Year all!
What is going to happen to these transmitters? Will they be broken down for scrap? Can they be obtained for more than there scrap value? I still seek a suitable MW Transmitter for my MW Radio Station as an exhibit, but pref complete and working. Do we know what types they are. Marconi? Please go digging folks....
Robert

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by sunthaiboy

'Do we know what types they are. Marconi?

Some of them will be Marconi or Eddystone B6038 1kW sets: 1984 vintage, solid-state modular units. These were used at the likes of Barrow MF; Carlisle MF; Mangotsfield MF back in the 1990s.

[Nymrod121]

Redifon BT1000's were in use on several IBA/NTL sites (speaking from memory, last time I saw one was during 2000-2002).
Best wishes
Guy

['LIVEWIRE?']

Are these likely to be sold in working condition to anyone willing/able to pay the asking price? I ask the question merely out of interest and in response to Robert (sunthaiboy)'s post, thinking that the authorities would not want them to be used for illegal broadcasting, not that I'm suggesting for one moment that Robert or any other forum mermber would contemplate so doing.

[Nymrod121]

Interesting question. There was a time when the likes of "Mitchell & Butlers Radio" (? ) in places like Leeds would have ex-Beeb 15 watt VHF/FM transmitter drive units (TM4L/5) on display, alongside Marconi 1kW tetrode power amplifier cabinets - readily available for purchase by anyone whose money was the right colour; I never saw anything clearly displayed that suggested some form of minimum compliance with UK telecommunications legislation was required.

I'm starting to wonder whether this thread is "sailing close to the wind" re. possible breaches of Section F of Forum rules - !

Guy

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Nymrod121

'Redifon BT1000's were in use on several IBA/NTL sites'

Whitehaven MF had Redifon transmitters but I can't recall the model. I was in the throes of doing-up an Eddy B6038, ex- Bexhill-on-Sea R3, I think, to replace one of the Redifons. I stripped it all down and cleaned it down to component-level, put the PCBs through an ultrasonic rank, reassembled it and ran it on soak into a test-load at Skelton for a fortnight.

Then the 'big P' of '97 happened and I went the other way...

[Jonster]

Most of the Redifon kit was skipped a long time ago as the driver and PA transistors are impossible to obtain now. The older high power stuff was also scrapped as the modern replacements are so much mere efficient. A new transmitter can often pay for itself in electricity savings within a few years so there is no demand for the old stuff.

[Trifocaltrev]

Well, BBC Radio Sussex went off the Medium Wave (1485) today RIP. It will be interesting to see if the frequency will be used for Community Radio in the future?

Trevor.

[Hoveradio]

Does that mean that the Shoreham Middle Road transmitter site will be pulled down? I used to pass it every day when walking to school.

John.

[Trifocaltrev]

Hi John.

I think it unlikely that it will be dismantled as it radiates BBC Radio 5 and Smooth Radio on MW from the same array!

Regards, Trevor.