RTE Radio 1 on 252!

Long Wave 252.needs to be kept on, Its a very important signal for people in poor coverage areas for Fm, Dab and Saorview, the signal is mono and important for listeners in the Country and west of the UK, Rte can find other ways to cut back, Rte radio is availabe on Astra 28.2 East FreeSat, its important that 252 remains on air.

marno21 wrote: »

Telling people to use DAB is a waste of time.
I'm not sure of anywhere on this island where people who use 252 out of necessity are going to be in a position to switch to DAB.

Exactly - RTÉ Radio suggested those effected use DAB or FM instead of what they currently have been using (i.e.) LW 252kHz - they just do NOT seem to get that the people most inconvenienced actually cannot hear DAB or that RTÉ Radio One on FM is completely unreliable in some locations making the LW 252kHz signal a vital reliable service.

Other alternative options RTÉ Radio suggested include: Saorview/UPC/SKY/Internet - mind you, not everyone wants to switch their TV set on just to hear RTÉ Radio One and then be restricted to staying in room that the TV set is situated when up to now they ironically had more choice & freedom in where they were listening in the house or car etc;

It's meant to be the national public service radio channel in Ireland and should have the widest available platform and strongest signal coverage nationwide for all citizens.

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Do their radio's follow them around the house from room to room unlike their TV sets?

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit but if you wanna go down this path, hey we can all adopt an abrupt tone!

Hardly surprising that this smart-ass remark just happens to come from someone in the Dublin area (no offence to intelligent Dubliners) where the FM and DAB both have strong reception signals. Not everyone has a TV Set in every room in the house but most households tend to have more radio sets via different devices from in-car radio, alarm clock radios, midi hi-fi systems, ghettoblasters and so on. Some of these devices are relatively light-weight which means they are "portable" and can be easily taken to different parts of the house or garage or outside.

Let me educate you further Losty as you have failed to grasp the issue despite many posts. In certain parts of Ireland that you clearly have little or no experience of there will be no DAB and the FM signal is virtually useless due to constant drop-out. In this day and age one would think it would not be an issue but it is a major problem.

Why would people in this situation who currently rely on Long Wave 252 be satisfied with what is being proposed if FM and/or DAB is either not reliable or available at all in their area or else it involves further investment and is more restrictive where they are based unlike the existing signal method which has worked pretty well. So, if it is cheaper to switch it off, then RTÉ Radio should have boosted their FM and DAB in these areas first ahead of a one month advance countdown to switch off of the Long Wave transmitter.

If you bothered to think and educate yourself about other Irish citizens who are living "outside the pale" you would quickly learn that in certain areas the infrastructure is well below par whether it be radio, broadband, mobile phone signal coverage and so on. Such investment in infrastructure would actually help the regions attract more business enterprises, foreign direct investment and jobs and ease the pressure and gridlock in the Dublin area as well but this would be smart thinking and too much to expect from the current administration. It's all about day to day and very little middle - long term planning.

Losty Dublin wrote: »

I don't know what your actual grá of LW is but there is no getting around that it is not the only way to receive RTE 1 in today's Ireland. Of the few parts of Ireland with inadequate FM coverage of RTE 1, and let us be honest in saying that we are talking small pockets of the population, it is still easily and freely available via other means, even if it means that your alarm clock or ghetto blaster can't receive it on LW :rolleyes:
As regards to your suggestion that masses of people and communities are solely reliant on LW or with every device tuned to 252, frankly that's just clutching at straws. If investment is to be made and money spent, well it's made on the new and not the old. To even suggest that a lack of LW will hinder businesses investment shows that you aren't at the races in this regard. Seriously.

PS; I've spent plenty of my life in the Mayo Gaeltacht and FM and phone signal was never an issue wherever I went

Ah Losty, you have misread my previous post again - I never said that a lack of LW will hinder businesses investment! They should have had a decent FM signal put in place and/or DAB in these areas before switching off LW. Otherwise keep LW going until they sort it first. My point was that due to the poor infrastructure already in place in certain areas of rural Ireland many are stuck relying on LW to hear RTÉ Radio One and now they intend cutting it off. The same areas often have slow dial-up Internet speeds, poor mobile phone signal coverage, many have zero Broadband altogether! I am fully aware LW is not the way of the future. Ah now, get with the programme as you look even more stupid when you are quoting mine back and you still fail to understand some very simple points raised :rolleyes:

To be honest I would be surprised if you have ever listened to RTÉ Radio One FM by choice. You were probably listening to another radio station on FM when you were in the Mayo Gaeltacht I suspect As for the mobile phone signal, I wonder if you would find the same strength mobile phone signal coverage if you opt to switch mobile network – somehow I would doubt it very much! Just in case you are not aware, the Mayo Gaeltacht is only one part of rural Ireland - there are many other areas and I did say certain parts of rural Ireland rather than the whole of rural Ireland. I cannot understand how young people do not have the intelligence to understand that folk obsessed with LW252 just want to hear the channel in a clear flexible way. Many of these people are in their Over 60s and are not inclined use Internet or understand how to get radio in this way. Once it goes off LW (if they cannot hear Radio One on FM) they are restricted and become a lot more dependent on others to access the service each time for them via other methods.

In relation to RTÉ Radio on FM is I have often found that of all their channels on FM, the problem one is not RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ RnaG or RTÉ Lyric fm which all seem to come through fine most of the time - the one that is erratic is usually RTÉ Radio One on FM - the main national public service channel from RTÉ. If RTÉ Radio was serious about investing in new technology then they should have ensured that they had it all covered properly first. It was pointless moving this audience away from Medium Wave and over to Long Wave for a few years as this move was inevitable as it has been yesterday's technology for decades - even long before Internet/mobile phone communications became commercially available to the mass population here. At this rate, I would not be surprised if RTÉ Radio expanded their presence on DAB despite the complete disaster it has become in the UK given RTÉ's past form in this regard. Furthermore, RTÉ has always done little or nothing for the Irish diaspora living outside the state.

In the past RTÉ had a complete monopoly where Radio & TV were concerned in this state however; now that there is a whole host of independent commercial national, multi-city, quasi national, regional, local, community and hospital radio licences not to mention all the other international and internet radio channels, I think they are foolish in how they have handled the whole matter. To lose goodwill when there is now a hell of a lot of healthy and varied competition from at home and abroad is never a good idea.



P.S: RTÉ have certain responsibilities as the national Public Service Broadcaster in this state and they cannot (unlike commercial broadcasters such as: NewsTalk, Today FM, TV3 etc;) be solely concerned with ratings and audience share as they provide a "social service" to the nation and must adequately cater for minorities when introducing major changes too

MYOB wrote: »

Where *are* these "certain parts of rural Ireland"?

Ah now MYOB, do you really think that people who have been forced to rely on AM to hear RTÉ Radio One are asking for LW to be saved just for a laugh or even pure nostalgia. Personally, I think they would prefer to receive the channel in the clear all the time and on the move but were stuck with MW and now LW until 27th of October. I made reference to one example in an earlier post so; if you are genuinely curious take a look back in the thread and all will be revealed - I've heard other contributors mention it as well but I'm pretty sure the folks who handle technical matters at 2RN on behalf of RTÉ know all the various blackspots around the state. I suppose you also think that Broadband Internet and Mobile Phone Signal Coverage is strong across the whole of rural Ireland too :rolleyes:

The mind boggles - For those who rarely or never travel outside the pale, take an extensive drive around various parts of rural Ireland with just RTÉ Radio One on FM the whole time and you will be surprised. Parts of the main Killarney - Limerick route ? Parts of main Cork - Limerick route - experience of signal frequently dropping in/out making it almost impossible to hear Radio One on FM but at least you can currently re-tune to LW252 kHz and have no problems on LW except the service will close and unless FM/DAB is available in these areas this will be even more unsatisfactory. We're talking main primary roads here where the FM signal for RTÉ Radio One is very erratic and disintegrates - Improve FM and/or expand DAB before shutting down the LW option for those who currently have to rely on the service.

former legend wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1002/649442-rte-longwave-radio/

John Waters and now the Catholic bishops. This is sounding like a better idea all the time.

and

former legend wrote: »

If John Waters is against it, you can sign me up as fervently in favour of it. His opinion is worth about one-tenth of that of your average internet poster.

Waters is a chronic whinger with a clear conflict of interest here, in that he has had his share of run-ins with RTE. He even manages to get a dig in at homosexuals as well, just for the sake of it.

I'm lolling my ass off at his suggestion that we all upgrade to Digital Radio Mondial, but that this somehow doesn't require any additional investment. Yeah John, the elderly in the UK will be flocking out to upgrade to DRM.

A very poor article that has a few stock phrases about the elderly diaspora but is just a thinly-veiled dig at RTE.

Any fair-minded independent person who looks back at your posts will know that you are well able to be nasty and insulting towards others in your own previous posts - examples of which I've included above by way of reference. We are all entitled to our individual opinions and to argue the pros and cons however; if someone dismisses my opinion out of hand in such an insulting way, I will defend it vigorously whether you or your friends like it or not! If you wanna get personal, then except the same treatment back matey! :mad:

marno21 wrote: »

You don't even have to look at the Killarney - Limerick route, just stay in Killarney town itself. Was doing work in Killarney last Saturday and had to resort to 252 (best signal between 88.4, 89.5 and 90.0) to listen to the All Ireland replay as all 3 FM frequencies were either weak or ridden with multipath.

Actually that is a disgrace that Killarney town itself, a large busy urban area of Co. Kerry which has a major influx of Tourists from home and abroad contributing to the Irish economy but unable to obtain a satisfactory FM signal for RTÉ Radio One whereas the frequency that gives reliable reception is being shut off before the end of this month. I bet Radio Kerry is fine on FM and I suspect Newstalk and/or Today FM are both coming through alright or what is the story with these radio channels in terms of reception in Killarney ?

Karsini wrote: »

I find on the train that I'm constantly hopping between Mullaghanish and Knockmoyle for RTE. Can't speak for Radio Kerry though.

Yeah the signal for FM on trains used often be erratic but my experience of listening to radio on the train is a while back. I recall most FM radio channels used break up so gave up on it but that's a good few yrs ago.

I'd be more up to date with listening to it in the car or at home in Cork City - thankfully I have no issues where I live but I would stand up for those who will be seriously inconvenienced by RTÉ Radio decision to close LW 252 without boosting their FM/DAB in areas that have major problems down through the years. I mean why else would they have bothered re-tuning to LW 252kHz in fairness.

I also came to rely on LW252 every now and again when driving enroute from Cork to Galway particularly in places where those FM signals would be going up and down and static interference. The irony was that I would often be able to re-tune the other RTÉ Radio channels such as: 2fm, RnaG or Lyric fm but Radio One for some reason was always a bit of a problem in some places.

MYOB wrote: »

Plenty of the objections on here are for anorak/nostalgia reasons and little more.
Brief interruptions while driving do not equate to people in fixed locations not being able to receive signal, which is the primary thing we're being told is a concern here.
The reality of it is that the numbers of people who cannot obtain fixed reception of RTE R1 in Ireland are miniscule and they do not justify the costs involved in providing LW for them. In many cases, LW isn't going to be any better either.
As goes cars - LW is all well and good for car reception, until you've to use your wipers. Or indicators...

I think it is unwise to generalise about the reasons why you think people are on here. They have as much right to air their views as you and me whether they happen to be here for the reasons you referenced or otherwise.

I am completely aware that the numbers are quite small but they should nonetheless matter especially if they are seriously effected by these changes publicly announced at relatively short notice.

There is clearly going to be a Public Relations bias towards the LW switch-off decision so; I would expect RTÉ to convey a positive spin no matter what they come up against as it suits them and that's all very fine for you and me who will continue to access it on FM, DAB and multiple platforms. Some people are not so lucky with FM/DAB/Internet even!

My solution is give them a signal that works in the car where it currently has had to be LW albeit with the occassional interference. If they cannot justify keeping LW on they should have done their homework and sorted out the FM and/or expand DAB into these areas. I am having my doubts about this given what I have heard to date. I think that one of the DAB trial regions should have included an area(s) where people who were reliant on LW 252kHz for hearing a reliable RTÉ Radio One. Then they could have been better prepared when the LW 252 switchoff took place once a reliable alternative was put in place for those adversely impacted by the decision.

marno21 wrote: »

Any site carrying both RTE stations and Today FM have identical coverage for the 5 services, as in the case with Killarney as RTENL provide carriage for Today FM at Knockmoyle & Mullaghanish

The only 2 places in the country where Today FM is not cosited with RTE services is Dublin (broadcast at a lower power from an independent site (500W on 101.8)) and Fermoy (cosited with RedFM TX to the NE of the town, whereas RTE services are carried from the site in the town centre)

Ah I wondered when you had not referred to Today FM as I thought I picked it up around Killarney over the years as I would often head down there but I tend to focus more on news & current affairs programmes on radio these days so; I'd switch between RTÉ Radio One and NewsTalk where possible.

Incidentally RTÉNL has since changed it's name and is now called: 2RN
Website: http://www.2rn.ie/

former legend wrote: »

Prompted by this thread, I was out in the car the other day and I stuck on LW252.
I have to say there was something nice and comforting about the crackle and hiss, like a big blanket on a cold day. Of course, it also sounded like someone had thrown a big blanket over the speakers so I quickly switched back to FM.

I would have preferred the superior sound of FM at times on my way towards Limerick in early Septmeber but it got so inaudible at times in the middle of a programme that I had been listening to so; I was very glad of the back-up of LW 252 at the time as FM was coming on and going off for quite a while in parts of North Co. Cork as I headed in the Limerick direction. I eventually gave up searching for Radio One on FM and settled for LW 252. I checked a few other channels and they would eventually find alternative frequencies but RTÉ Radio One on FM was pretty bad so; I thought there must have been good reason for them to have kept it on AM for so long.

Furthermore, I'm not sure anyone wants to hear LW just for the sake of it -those listeners with very poor FM reception local coverage usually found that LW 252 was the more reliable of the RTÉ Radio One signals (albeit with it's limitations) in some areas not well served by FM and with no DAB trial operating in their area.

I gather there are people out there who have not had much exposure of very poor FM coverage in the problem areas. You cannot always believe the map coverage - go and experience it in reality and you will be quite surprised to discover that other national stations manage to get a satisfactory signal into the affected areas - I think RTÉ Radio One FM seems to have deteriorated on FM over the years so perhaps minimum maintenance and investment (if any) of their FM signal is the impression I am under. If RTÉ was to dramatically improve FM reception to the blackspot areas once LW 252 is switched off this would go a long way for those most effected in my view.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

just a slight tangent, but does your car radio not automatically change FM channel when you are out of range of the previous transmitter, and also have a feature that you can press that channel's button to prompt it to search for an alternative?

For example, driving from Cork through Tipp and beyond further north you'd have a number of transmiter changes which are fairly painless.

Well, unless you are listening to newstalk as the idiots in there cant sync their transmission so when your radio flicks from one transmitter to the next (and possibly back again) the programme jumps a little so you hear again what youve just heard or miss a chunk, a little like a record or CD skipping.

Absolutely however; RTÉ Radio One FM does not seem to settle properly on a frequency that you can stay tuned into as it deteriorates so much for quite some time forcing me to eventually move over to LW 252KHz when the problem arises. I've the AF alternative frequency button pressed on but still it makes little difference which is so frustrating. I've done auto and even manual scans and still little success in those problem spots which is so annoying. If the signal is crap in places no car radio will get it.

How do people and/or firms put up with poor tv/radio reception, poor mobile phone coverage choice, poor internet speeds?

I usually won't encounter similar problems with the other national stations in these areas as they will automatically jump to the optimum frequency but RTÉ Radio One FM just lets me down which is my reason for saying - why close LW 252 if the FM signal remains an issue for these areas on a main intercity route! Improve their FM before you shut the LW 252 down altogether.

Antenna wrote: »

It shouldn't be a problem on Cork-Limerick road.

There must be some flaw with car aerial or radio or something in the car is causing interference on spot frequencies which affect RTE R1 but not other stations you listen to.

I was in the kitchen of the house some time ago and noticed the very poor RTE R1 reception available on a Philips CD radio (FM/MW) player (wallmounted type thing)

http://www.philips.ie/c/audio-system/mc235b_05/prd/

It transpired the unit itself was self-generating interference on a number of frequencies such as 90.0 and 104.0 and others - frequencies which were multiple of 2 MHz!
the interference would appear as a silent carrier on those frequencies - a one on 90.0 was affecting the main RTE R1 signal in the area.
one would have expected better from Philips?

Interesting to hear your experience with the Philips set. I was just wondering is it a complete coincidence that the reception problem for Radio One on FM tends to happens just after Newtwopothouse and the topography is a series of dangerous sharp bends and hilly as you approach to Buttevant but you will have problems for quite some time even after you pass this area.

As for the radio set, I'm not a tech nerd but it is a Tevio car stereo system and I got it installed by a member of staff from Halford's in 2007.

Does nobody else that uses the above route not encounter similar problems with RTÉ Radio One on FM ?

marno21 wrote: »

@AwaitYourReply, do you have any issues with R1 reception after Charleville headed towards Limerick? There's lots of reasons to complain about the Cork Limerick road but radio reception has never been one of mine.

Once the reception issue kicks in it becomes problematic for quite a while. I could not confirm whether it is resolved at Charleville or from X point after Charleville onwards towards Limerick because I would usually have done all the checking and experimenting with Radio One FM prior to hitting Charleville and eventually I'd re-tune to LW 252KHz as I would have been following a particular programme at the time.

I know I would have had no reception issues with my RTÉ Radio One FM from Cork city to Newtwopothouse or closer to Limerick city and thru parts of Co. Clare and all the way in to Galway city.