RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again - Page 2 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Mike. Watterson · 21st Oct 2016, 2:29 pm

Quote:

BBC R Devon is still there on 801 kHz. It possibly might be lower powered than in times past, but you should still be able to hear it where you are with a sensitive receiver and quiet location.

Also try for BBC Radio Cornwall on 630 and the lower powered 657 (the 657kHz Bodmin transmitter suffered from low modulation for MONTHS earlier this year until fixed sometime in July!)

Another to try in daytime is the Redruth BBC R4 filler on 756 ?

Thanks!

I know there was a move to close many BBC MW, and some did close?

crusher19860138 · 21st Oct 2016, 2:34 pm

I know BBC Radio Bristol closed on 1548khz recently.

crusher19860138 · 21st Oct 2016, 2:36 pm

To get back on topic,RTE has a unique situation with elderly Irish abroad,iam sure other countries which have closed their LW services have had a senior listening audience too,I wonder how they have been catered for?

Junk Box Nick · 21st Oct 2016, 10:01 pm

In a domestic situation you can transfer to FM and point listeners at that (which is what has happened with BBC local stations).

RTE is unique in having a significant listenership beyond its borders.

(It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that RTE could hire a Freeview channel on the UK system but this would probably cost more money than running the LW Tx.)

paulsherwin · 21st Oct 2016, 10:09 pm

There have been serious proposals to replace 252kHz with a 64k mono service on a UK Freeview or DAB mux, which is what the BBC World Service uses. This would be cheaper than running a high powered LW transmitter and would give better UK wide reception, though it might not appeal to the elderly Irish RTE audience in Britain and would raise political objections in the Republic. 252kHz is still nominally an Irish domestic service.

The majority of BBC local stations lost their MW frequencies in the 90s. The ones that survived did so because of variable FM reception, the need for another frequency to support sports coverage or a requirement for alternative ethnic minority services. The BBC sees them as anachronisms and is keen to end them.

crusher19860138 · 22nd Oct 2016, 4:56 am

Even if RTE used DAB in the UK,elderly people are not going to be able to deal with the transition or even be able to both afford or want to buy another radio.

irishtv · 22nd Dec 2016, 11:03 am

The current position on 252 is that it is due to close in 2017. However a steering committee sponsored by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs are to meet to make a recommendation to the Irish Government as to how to cater to the significant numbers of Irish people living here in Britain who want to listen to RTE Radio 1.

It would be madness for any Irish Government to kill off easy access to RTE Radio 1 especially in the context of Brexit but given the past history over Tara TV and the liquidation of Irish TV, getting an Irish presence on the UK airwaves hasn't been a priority for Official Ireland.

The 252 signal has been gradually reduced in power to the point where it is almost unlistenable here in NW London during the daytime and completely gone at night. Back when the Radio 1 service started I could easily listen in the car, and on any LW capable radio. Now for me at least I can only pick up 252 on my elderly Murphy B103 set with a long wire aerial and earth when all of my IT equipment is switched off, or on a decent Tecsun portable. Car reception is gone for me at least.

I know as Paul as said earlier that RTE have suggested a UK wide Freeview audio channel to replace 252. This at least would be better than just relying on the Internet but completely rules out in car reception. My preferred option (apart from keeping 252 on the air at full power) would be for a DAB channel as this would allow in car reception as well as portable reception.

womer_uk · 26th Apr 2019, 10:30 pm

http://www.irishnews.com/news/northe...inues-1606472/

Granitehill · 27th Apr 2019, 6:56 pm

Excellent news - one hopes the "Two years" will extend far beyond this.

I hope the BBC are taking note - I'd imagine this will reinforce the case to retain 198KHz from Droitwich/Westerglen/Burghead. We're living in increasingly unstable times, and the use of legacy LF broadcast as an emergency public service option seems prudent IMHO (as it was years ago, of course).

paulsherwin · 28th Apr 2019, 10:41 am

It's interesting that there seem to be regulatory issues preventing RTE1 being carried on Freeview or DAB.

21st Oct 2016, 2:34 pm	#22
crusher19860138 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 434	Re: RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again I know BBC Radio Bristol closed on 1548khz recently.

21st Oct 2016, 2:36 pm	#23
crusher19860138 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 434	Re: RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again To get back on topic,RTE has a unique situation with elderly Irish abroad,iam sure other countries which have closed their LW services have had a senior listening audience too,I wonder how they have been catered for?

21st Oct 2016, 10:01 pm	#24
Junk Box Nick Octode Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Midlands, UK. Posts: 1,571	Re: RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again In a domestic situation you can transfer to FM and point listeners at that (which is what has happened with BBC local stations). RTE is unique in having a significant listenership beyond its borders. (It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that RTE could hire a Freeview channel on the UK system but this would probably cost more money than running the LW Tx.)

21st Oct 2016, 10:09 pm	#25
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,936	Re: RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again There have been serious proposals to replace 252kHz with a 64k mono service on a UK Freeview or DAB mux, which is what the BBC World Service uses. This would be cheaper than running a high powered LW transmitter and would give better UK wide reception, though it might not appeal to the elderly Irish RTE audience in Britain and would raise political objections in the Republic. 252kHz is still nominally an Irish domestic service. The majority of BBC local stations lost their MW frequencies in the 90s. The ones that survived did so because of variable FM reception, the need for another frequency to support sports coverage or a requirement for alternative ethnic minority services. The BBC sees them as anachronisms and is keen to end them.

22nd Oct 2016, 4:56 am	#26
crusher19860138 Hexode Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 434	Re: RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again Even if RTE used DAB in the UK,elderly people are not going to be able to deal with the transition or even be able to both afford or want to buy another radio.

22nd Dec 2016, 11:03 am	#27
irishtv Triode Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: London, UK. Posts: 25	Re: RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again The current position on 252 is that it is due to close in 2017. However a steering committee sponsored by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs are to meet to make a recommendation to the Irish Government as to how to cater to the significant numbers of Irish people living here in Britain who want to listen to RTE Radio 1. It would be madness for any Irish Government to kill off easy access to RTE Radio 1 especially in the context of Brexit but given the past history over Tara TV and the liquidation of Irish TV, getting an Irish presence on the UK airwaves hasn't been a priority for Official Ireland. The 252 signal has been gradually reduced in power to the point where it is almost unlistenable here in NW London during the daytime and completely gone at night. Back when the Radio 1 service started I could easily listen in the car, and on any LW capable radio. Now for me at least I can only pick up 252 on my elderly Murphy B103 set with a long wire aerial and earth when all of my IT equipment is switched off, or on a decent Tecsun portable. Car reception is gone for me at least. I know as Paul as said earlier that RTE have suggested a UK wide Freeview audio channel to replace 252. This at least would be better than just relying on the Internet but completely rules out in car reception. My preferred option (apart from keeping 252 on the air at full power) would be for a DAB channel as this would allow in car reception as well as portable reception.

26th Apr 2019, 10:30 pm	#28
womer_uk Tetrode Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 74	RTE On 252 long wave Saved Yet Again ! http://www.irishnews.com/news/northe...inues-1606472/

27th Apr 2019, 6:56 pm	#29
Granitehill Tetrode Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: York, North Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 95	Re: RTE On 252 long wave Saved Yet Again ! Excellent news - one hopes the "Two years" will extend far beyond this. I hope the BBC are taking note - I'd imagine this will reinforce the case to retain 198KHz from Droitwich/Westerglen/Burghead. We're living in increasingly unstable times, and the use of legacy LF broadcast as an emergency public service option seems prudent IMHO (as it was years ago, of course). __________________ John G4FDD G-QRP 431

28th Apr 2019, 10:41 am	#30
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,936	Re: RTE 1 252Kc Reprieved Again It's interesting that there seem to be regulatory issues preventing RTE1 being carried on Freeview or DAB.