All posts by michael
Below are all of michael's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
If you have a south-facing balcony with a clear line-of-site to 13°East, you might be able to set up an unobtrusive, small dish or flat rectangular aerial on a movable tripod. You presumably know that you would need a codice fiscal and tivu-box to receive all FTA programmes. Without the codice some prime-time programmes would not be available. This would need to be taken inside frequently to demonstrate that it is not a "fixed" dish. If you have no balcony, you could do the same through an open window (not through glazing) - weather permitting :-) Failing this, a good broadband speed would allow you to get some channels by streaming. oops : should read "line-of-sight" :-) "Neverwhere" - I missed it, thinking it must be a prophetic vision of the future of local radio...
Seriously : are there any binding official updates on when and where local BBC radio will be on DAB? Fundingis reportedly ringfenced.
Plan B to receive BBC local radio is a laptop with mini-hifi in a backpack to receive webradio via wifi. The official coverage maps assume Norfolk topology to confirm we can even now receive local BBC on DAB. G4 doesn't know where we are. And we couldn't afford the streaming rates if ever it did.
Steam had a lot going for it! Terrain and freqency are significant factors determining signal penetration. LW and MW get almost everywhere, FM achieves reasonable coverage. DAB at twice FM frequencies will always struggle and need more relays to match FM coverage. Even then, there will be more dead-spots than now. Too late now, but DRM on MW (and LW) would have offered the best service to almost everywhere. Webradio is neat, but, compared to the portable transistor radio, relatively expensive and less portable. My sentiment entirely, yet I feel like a lone voice in the desert. The Mighty have put their faith in DAB and shall not be moved - and have no need of reflection. DRM "test transmissions" continue, so there is a modicum of hope that DRM may one day be acclaimed. Wide swathes of valuable short-wave and other frequencies are becoming wastelands. One day, someone might notice and goggle DRM... There were similarly encouraging results from a VHF DRM trial in Edinburgh, but no sequel that I am aware of. India seemed to consider DRM worth investigating further, but I am unaware of any recent developments. My deduction remains that board-level interests have taken precedence over better technology. Not for the first time...
My late father was involved in research at Rugby and Dollis Hill. We should never forget what we owe them all. With some aerial, booster and box installations, interference to the highest channels is technically understandable. However, if the lowest, in Band-A, might be affected, it must be inferred that some boxes may have such as wideband input as to be vulnerable to interference over a wide segment of the spectrum. Did the original Ofcom specifications not incorporate this? Free filters must be made available to all on demand, without survey, with free installation when requested. "The Market" should be forced to do better! Who will ultimately benefit from 4G? Who will be able to afford its offerings? The "celestial" company must be laughing smugly - apopectically... SILVANA : RAI etc is still on the same satellite (Hotbird at 13°E) all in digital. Some programmes are still free to view, some are restricted to owners of a Tivu receiver registered to a codice civil in Italy. Search the internet for Tivu, RAI etc and see earlier postings on this webpage for further details. I am conjecturing here. I occasionally listen to a live concert in stereo through headphones, but most of the time, for the reasons stated above, I settle for mono, including AM... I could well imagine that DAB broadcasters' surveys will have resulted in similar conclusions, which help with their balance sheet problems.There are not enough DAB radios for FM shut-down to proceed - and too many to switch to DAB+ now. Asking listeners already dubious of DAB to toss their not-so-cheap DAB radios into landfill and buy yet another clutch would risk the final demise of DAB. Most still seem content with FM, but would be impressed with high bitrates in stereo and fewer sound-alike stations. It would technically be possible, desirable even, to retain FM and spread the choice of stations over both FM and DAB. But "they" of course wish to switch off FM (except for Community radio etc) for budetary reasons. Knotty... MJRay : I fear your observations could be replicated nationwide. Is your MW service shortlisted for the guillotine? Our BBC local radio on MW reaches parts FM does not reach, but both are under chop-threat. DAB only covers those living within view of the mast. They understand not that we plebs further afield cannot read, so are dependent on real wireless... Online is cosy when iPlayer download throttling and BT exchange vicissitudes permit - but not nearly as glitch-free and portable as the ubiquitous AM/FM radio of yore. MJRay : Even when/if DAB reaches "its full potential" and equals FM coverage, it is unlikely to offer better coverage than AM. Where FM or DAB remains below par, even a low-fi AM signal spiced up with some snap-crackle-pop is preferable to nothing. Online is brilliant for world-wide listening, but a last resort for national and local listening - and does not compare with the portability of AM or FM or even DAB. It is well to write to the BBC, MPs, local media and authorities to ensure that AM for all is not guillotined in favour of DAB for the few and the shareholder portfolios... 
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