Consultation on the Further Renewal of Analogue Commercial Radio Licences

Discussion in 'The Lounge Bar' started by papiermache, Jan 11, 2020.

  1. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

  2. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    Does this mean I'll have to abandon steam and connect to this new fangled electricity? Will I have to buy new valves? I'll write to that nice Mr Reith so I will
     
  3. SteveDee

    SteveDee Well-Known Member

    Having read through the documentation, its not clear to me whether the views of the general public are being requested.

    The government wish to clear the LF, MF and VHF bands of commercial AM/FM broadcasters in order to sell off these parts of the spectrum. The questions posed in the consultation relate more to how to incentivise broadcasters to make the switch in the least painful way. On the one hand there maybe benefits in giving everyone a bit more time, but it may simply slow down the process.

    At some point, the general public will have to commit most of their AM/FM radio equipment to landfill; costly for the individuals concerned, and not great for the environment.

    The government are only looking for a simple majority of users to switch to digital broadcasting, and then to ensure that local and national coverage of DAB is as good as VHF/FM.


    I would be interested to hear the views of others, and whether anyone here has taken part in this consultation.

    Outside the UK, Norway and a few others have [I believe] already been through this process, so maybe they also have a viewpoint.


    On a personal note, this wont affect my 1950s Bush valve radio. I already run this with the help of a small transmitter which relays Radio Caroline on 199m (medium wave).
     
  4. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    Steve,

    I went to the Department of Digital, etc. website for a different reason and came across the radio consultation. I though somebody might be genuinely interested, so am pleased.The views of "stakeholders" are invited and I've got lots of radios although I don't listen to commercial radio. Still, I may send my views which are that the only thing they will switch off will be DAB itself, because there are more efficient codecs these days. I will probably send a postcard with a picture of Lord Reith on it, so they can stick it on their wall ( thanks for the kind thoughts, Robert.)

    John
     
    SteveDee likes this.
  5. SteveDee

    SteveDee Well-Known Member

    John,
    Yes, I've been interested in radio for nearly 60 years (...at least since I was 10). You are spot on with regards to DAB, so you might be interested in this document by Steven Green. Its a few years old now, but still very relevant:-

    https://www.parliament.uk/documents/documents/upload/stevegreen.pdf

    Internet Radio will become the major way to receive public & commercial stations. And when driving on the roads, I can't help feeling that we just need a free national ISP with just enough bandwidth to provide internet radio and "maps" for drivers, maybe delivered via the power lines which flank most roads.
     
    papiermache likes this.
  6. chrisgrove

    chrisgrove Senior Member

    Would it not be a good idea to ensure that DAB coverage was as good as VHF/FM BEFORE switching off the other stuff? Might be biassed as my new car has DAB radio, but I expect I shall be pushing up daisies before anything happens!
    Chris
     
    SteveDee and papiermache like this.
  7. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    Steve,
    Thanks for the link to a very good piece of evidence. We still have the Ferranti radio my wife's parents bought from the Army & Navy in about 1953 ( VHF, LW,MW), and we used to play records through the "pick-up" banana plugs. It needs refurbishment. My late mother asked a neighbour's son build me a crystal set for me in about 1958. An older friend came round and connected the aerial brass connectors to the 405 lines TV socket by way of bare wires I think , not coaxial, which worked a treat. The earth was the gas poker outlet ( perhaps not recommended in a thunder storm.) My mother was rather concerned. The headphones were the most expensive part ( £2.10.0) but new, not ex-army.

    The Third Programme was played a fair amount ( Jack de Manio in the mornings ) through an old valve LW/MW set on 247 metres MW at that time: later the frequency was given to the new Radio 1. Nothing quite like hearing a modern composer through the earth wave because it may have influenced my musical taste since: discordant, to say the least. These days my favourite FM tuner cost £4 and is a rather flashy Marantz with lots of LEDS. The best tuner I have had, and I am a long way from the transmitter, with an FM aerial with 40 year old coaxial down lead. I've got several more old sets.

    I am not after perfection at all. One of the most startling broadcasts I ever heard was whilst listening to a very crackly signal in a car and I will never forget it. I have seen the piece performed many times more, got the CD's, but without that original intermittent stereo FM broadcast...Ironic, I suppose, but here is the "digitised" You Tube version of the best concert performance of the piece I attended:

     
    SteveDee likes this.
  8. SteveDee

    SteveDee Well-Known Member

    I guess you are indicating that we still don't have national coverage with DAB. How bad is it?

    I recently bought a s/hand Yeti with a nice AM/FM radio, so I'm hoping they wont switch off AM/FM for another 5 years. There is not much left on Medium Wave, as most broadcasters have moved on. However, Radio Caroline pushes out a good signal on 648kHz if you are driving in the south east of England.
     
  9. SteveDee

    SteveDee Well-Known Member

    My elder brother built a crystal set which incorporated the speed controlled from his train set. We rigged up an aerial wire which criss-crossed our bedroom ceiling from one picture rail to another. A second wire went out the window and connected to a stake in the ground to form our "earth" connection. We "pulled-in" stations from all over the place...life was good!

    I was soon building my own transistor radios (and later, a few naughty transmitters...), and with the arrival of the off-shore radio ships in 1964, I was well and truly hooked on radio communications and electronics. I spent most of my working life in engineering as a result of these early years.

    And my wife's surprise for my birthday in 2018 was a trip out to the Ross Revenge, Radio Caroline's 3rd ship:-

    Captain Bodgit: Radio Caroline: visiting the Ross Revenge


    p.s. I don't miss '405-lines TV' but I will miss my Nokia when they turn off 2G
     
    papiermache likes this.
  10. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    I used to listen to Radio London whilst living in Brighton. "Kenny and Cash" on London.( Kenny Everett and Dave Cash.) I can recall listening to the Geno Washington live album in its entirety late one 60's night. Another memorable broadcast.

    My soldering skills are not good but I still have a book of circuits for crystal sets leading through one valve sets up to a superhet set.

    I miss the Sony Trinitron I bought for £10 which died about a year ago.

    A friend of mine has never had a TV so gets chased by the licensing people. He told me he tried to buy a TV for his brother, who needs a simple set, because of his mental problems. He asked in a shop, but there are no simple sets. And they are all ridiculously large.

    My wife bought a new radio last week from Tesco that runs on two AA batteries. FM, LW, MW and 9 Short Wave. £10. It is tuned permanently to 198 metres Long Wave and is perfect for her and can run on rechargeable AA batteries.

    I bought her a Roberts DAB set years ago and it is dreadful. I've tried plugging the bass tube with loo roll which does improve the sound but the signal frequently drops out. It is a horrible power-consuming pile of junk: £150 "worth." The only way you can play it is through the hi-fi but the Freeview tuner has a higher bit-rate so I use that.

    Long live my Nokia 3310.
     
    SteveDee likes this.
  11. SteveDee

    SteveDee Well-Known Member

    I was just about to throw these away...

    ...but I can't do it!

    Tutor.JPG

    Autocrat.JPG
     

Share This Page