DAB in Ireland: RTE multiplex closed

rlogue

WestBriton informs me that he obtained good DAB reception on a portable DAB radio in the foothills of the Dublin mountains.

Mike 1972

RTE ? BBC ? Digital One ? Pirate ?

DMC

Yes, up at Killakee, the car park in the Dublin mountains, using a Portable Pure Evoke II

It was from Divis, only the BBC mux, nothing from Score.

So, is it possible with an outdoor Band III aerial in a residential setting on high ground???

Mike 1972

Maybe someone could start setting up "DAB deflectors"

Originally posted by DMC

So, is it possible with an outdoor Band III aerial in a residential setting on high ground???

By all accounts, I'd say it is.
It would depend on location too obviously as , there must have been a line of site gap somewhere between where West Briton was and Divis.
This could be a fluke gap letting it through possibly, methinks considering the height and extent of the Mourne mountains, and the extremely low power of these types of signals.

I'll be in london before XMAS and probably will bring home a DAB radio now, considering, on the hills above me, regular reception of analog FM from manchester and south Wales is possible.
Indeed it's possible up there to roam on welsh mobile signals
A nice FM aerial on my mast which has a clear view out to sea would be interesting maybe when hooked up to the Dab.

mm

West Briton

Band II UK is horizontal, while DAB is vertical. Might not compute. Plus, for a little bit extra sterling you might be able to get the proper ironmongery.

Mike 1972

Ummm Band 2 UK is actually MIXED (Horizontal and Vertical) and has been since the mid 1980's
FM aerial polorisation

A VHF band 3 TV aerial (the type used for RTE TV from Kippure, Mt Leinster, Mullaghanish, Maghera or Truskmore) should be good for DAB provided its wideband

DMC

DAB is totally vertical, as the Psion Wavefinder I have was designed for the vertical signal.

Mossy Monk

sometimes i wish i lived on top of the Comeragh Mountains

damn this sea level situation i am in

DMC

Hmmm. Well I'm impressed!

It did work tonight, 100% quality signal in that location while outdoor on the BBC DAB mux from Divis. Also able to pick up BBC Radio on FM from 3 sites, Divis, Camlough and Kilkeel on the car radio. Considering the latter two are on 4kw and 200w respectfully, and watching Paxo doing Newsnight on nothing more than a handheld LCD TV, I'm flabbergasted!

DMC

Just an update on this...

In March RTÉ announced this.. (Thanks Radiowaves.fm for link!)

I bought this in Newry on Friday....


A lovely piece of kit and as it had FM RDS too, I bought it. (OK I had my eye on it for quite a while! ) In the car park of Currys, I was able to tune into the BBC national mux.

Again, as West Brit discovered, Killakee makes my DAB radio hum! And today,in Longford (in the foothills of Cairn Hill) I was able to tune into the Score Digital mux, great reception there with its long telescopic aerial. My big test will be back home at the folks place. I think its possible.

BrianD

...good to see you have it tuned into 92.1FM!

DMC

Well, it was as sure as hell not going to be tuned into 98FM!!

Today is the day when I bring it home...

eth0_

What happened, DMC, what happened!

DMC

North Meath... Zilch. But I will try again, there are a few high points around Kells worth a look...

DMC

From our good friends over at Radiowaves.fm

http://www.radiowaves.fm/newspapers/Digital/IrelandonSunday_22August04.gif

Looks like 2006 it will be, and not before. Damn it.

DMC

Right... update time....

News for Cavan, North Meath and Mid-Louth folk... its possible!

Time for a pic ...

I used the telescopic aerial only, on the Roberts DAB radio pictured above.

Firstly, you will need height. Loads of feet above sea level is desirable or the equivalent electricity pylon.

So lets look at the points marked on the map. The Black lines denote "as the crow flies" line from Divis, where the BBC National Mux broadcasts from.

1. Loughenlea Mountain, between Kingscourt and Bailieborough, Co. Cavan. This is the site of the old Eurovision link to the North for RTÉ, and its high up. Bailieborough is the 2nd highest town in Ireland, so I also tried on the main street. No look there, but up on the side of the mountain (great views) I got both the BBC and Score mux. The BBC was defo from Divis, but I dunno where Score came from. Unlikely Brougher, maybe Black Mountain, near Divis?
Signal Quality was excellent.

2. Moynalty, Co. Meath. Close to home, Not a sausage. But I wouldn't rule it completely out on account of....

3. Spire of Lloyd, Kells, Co. Meath. The Spire might not be open, (60 ft more would be nice!) but its a high spot in itself at the bottom, with clear views North. The BBC mux was gettable here only, no Score. With account for Moynalty, it is in-between Lloyd and Loughanlea in terms of LoS, so possibly with a big rig, you would get it.

4. Hunterstown, Ardee, Co. Louth. Here, you are on the N2, on the turn just south of the GAA pitch, on the north flank of Mount Oriel, with a great view North. Like Lloyd, BBC only, and reception was OK if a little bubbly, 40-50%. If it was any less, it would be unusable. Bubbly sounds are really signal dropouts, where the signal is weak. So an outdoor aerial is the best option here.

5. Killakee, Dublin Mountains.
As described before.... but just on this map, the signal travels comfortably 100 miles without interruption.

Other locations not on this map but have been known to get DAB, Score can be got at Cairn Hill in Longford and in around Sligo, from Brougher.

Something tells me a webpage with this info should be designed!

DMC

Another weekend, another ramble... and some specatular results and some failures....

Same conditions as above.....



1. (beside Dun Laoighaire.)
Killiney Hill (car park).
Once you get a spot through the foliage... the BBC mux come through. Anyone who has as clear a view north as can be seen from the Car Park on Killiney Hill, you should be able to recieve it.

2. Mt. Leinster, Co. Carlow/Wexford.
Now... interesting this.... there are no real roads on the east side of the mountain, so I was unable to find out if anything will come through from Wales (which I doubt as none of the west Wales transmitters like Presely have DAB, Moel-y-Parc near Rhyl does).

BUT ASTONISHINGLY, a full 141 miles from Belfast, crystal clear BBC mux, and bubbly Score! And not even at the top at the transmitter, but on the way up and at the RTÉ locked gate.

Don't believe me?




Now the bad news....
Wicklow/Arklow 'fraid not, but willing to try if you have height and clear reception of Moel-y-Parc TV and Radio, you may have better LoS than I had from roadside tests.

Well, I'm still astonished!

Mossy Monk

from Mt. Leinster that would have been unbelievable except for the pictures :eek: :eek:

Very good.
You are at least 2000ft there ( you didn't climb the hill to the left of the RTÉ gate then... for another 3-400 ft or more... )
Bear in mind that athmospheric pressure is quite high at the moment which would have helped.
That said at 2000ft plus there aren't too many obstacles higher than that to the north of you once your start point is west of the wicklow mountains.
Obviously there are hills higher than that in the mournes but at the distance south that you were and your point inland a line of sight or a waving signal( one that slips out by the side of hills once you are far enough away from them ie not in their shadow ) could be coming into play
Croghan mountain would be an interesting trial point as it has a commanding view over the entire east,North east and south East of the Irish sea as well as to the North up to the Sugarloaf, though with some significant mountains in the way as you look north...
Mind you that doesn't always stop signals from the north and north west as we know down here in Arklow with cairn hill coming through.

Anyways for another day.

bkehoe

Not surprising on mt leinster, freeview can easily be got from Divis as well as Presely & others in wales there, no amps, etc required . They've even got a freeview box hooked up to the tv in the kitchen, which works perfectly all year round, which is quite amazing considering the way the tuner would be desensed by its close proximity to the transmitting antennas. I know it isnt DAB, but I'm just commenting on whats possible from the site. It is afterall, the highest transmission site in Ireland i beleive.

SF1

should i get a dab radio in the north. what channels can i get in north dublin.
any help will do.

DMC

Merged with existing thread.

Location, location and location. Height helps too. Whereabouts specifically in North Dublin are you?

SF1

im living in edenmore and i can see the mountains.

lawhec

Well I finally took the plunge earlier this week and decided to get myself a DAB Radio, especially with the offers that are going at Argos at the moment. I got myself the Acousitc Solutions Portal 2 radio which has a combined DAB/FM radio, not bad for £48.

Taken straight out of the box with the use of the whip antenna the sensitivity doesn't seem too good on FM at least with even the usually uber-strong signal of Q101 giving a bit of hiss in stereo while on DAB the Score Multiplex (12D) was picked up reasonably well from Brougher Mountain, although aerial and radio postitioning is more crucial than FM. There wasn't a sniff of the BBC Multiplex from Divis, although the BBC site says that I souldn't be able to get it anyway.

However the whip antenna on this radio is detachable and in its place is an F connector socket which can take an external aerial. I happen to have in my attic a set of wabbit-ears (whose dipoles seem suited for Band III) set 180 degrees from each other, vertically polarised taped up to a wooden beam with a downlead down to me own room for use with an FM aerial which gave decent results compared to an ordinary FM whip.

With an F-Connector attached to the downlead and taken into the DAB/FM radio there was a massive improvement. On the Score Multiplex the signal level was now showing 14 to 15/16 whereas with the whip it was usually 8 or 9 and the BBC Multiplex now came blasting through with 12 to 14/16 in strength. Not bad considering the whip placed against a windowsill on the first floor facing Belfast could not pick up a sniff! It seem the grounding of an aerial very important in this case, something the whip didn't have. On FM there was a big improvement as well with Q102 and Highland coming in with clean stereo whereas with the whip they where poor in mono!

As for the quality, it was recently rumoured that the BBC recent bought new encoders for their DAB services and certainly listening to them it is quite hard to the untrained ear to tell most of the stations compared to FM, although remember this is a portable and not a Hi-Fi. However the Score multiplex was a different story. Cool FM & Citybeat sound OK, I haven't a reasonably good FM signal to compare them with though a little bit of artifacting is noticable. Q102 however was noticably poor with an a lot of artifacting. I don't know if it's the encoder or processing but compared to FM it's no contest. It is in fact shocking. For those without DAB, Q101 carries Q102 overnight, taking their feed from the DAB service. If you can & yer up late, switch between 101.2 and 102.9 with a set of earphones and the difference should be very clear. The Q Radio engineers should be looking to take the Q102 feed from FM instead of DAB, especially as a decent signal from Q102 can be received in Omagh.

Nevertheless it is very good to have the extra choice available, with BBC 5 Live sounding loud and clear a bonus. At the price I got the radio for, and if you can get both multiplexes it is certainly worth considering. Extras on the Portal 2 include Stereo speakers, a line-out (say for a Hi-Fi), six presets for both DAB and FM and FM also has RDS display.

Richard

Northern Correspondent wrote:

Q102 however was noticably poor with an a lot of artifacting.

It always sounds "squelshy" to me any time I listen. I've wondered how they get it from Derry to wherever SCORE Mux it together (Newtownards?).

The BBC Manage a lot better with Radio Foyle for DTT.

Richard

lawhec

It always sounds "squelshy" to me any time I listen. I've wondered how they get it from Derry to wherever SCORE Mux it together (Newtownards?).

If it sounds like that on FM it sounds a lot worse on DAB. A closer listen also makes out the bad artifacts on other station on the multiplex. BBC's job is a lot better.

My guess is that Q102 gets down to the multiplexer either via a microwave link or an ISDN line.

Richard

Northern Correspondent wrote:

If it sounds like that on FM it sounds a lot worse on DAB.

No, I meant on DAB. I've never heard it on FM!

I wonder if we'll ever get DigitalOne here in NI. Aren'e they supposed to be releasing more frequencies? I know there is still an issue with ROI VHF TV.

DMC

Missed this....

http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg0493.pdf

Comreg seem to think that a DVB-T on Band III might be better than DAB.... which is basically Freeview without the TV.... Interesting...

And a good site for British & Irish Radio and DAB frequencies...
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/freq_find/index.html

maisflocke

DMC wrote:

Comreg seem to think that a DVB-T on Band III might be better than DAB.... which is basically Freeview without the TV.... Interesting...

They are not the only ones. There is talk about it in France & Germany too -the arguement is that DAB technology is over 10 years old.

As DAB has not really established itself in many countries, me sees a potential crisis for this standard.

Will DAB follow the likes of D2 MAC or PAL+ ?

DMC

Expansion!

Digital radio coverage expanded
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4289169.stm

BBC digital radio coverage in the north and north-west of Northern Ireland is to be doubled, corporation chairman Michael Grade has announced.

Three new transmitters will be sited at Brougher in west Tyrone, Limavady and Sheriff's Mountain in Londonderry.

Speaking in Belfast, Mr Grade said the first two of these DAB transmitters would come on stream in late spring.

By the end of the year Northern Ireland will be the first UK region to have almost 100% digital radio coverage.

Mr Grade said the new transmitters would "hugely benefit" digital radio owners in these areas of the country.

He was speaking at a dinner attended by local community representatives and the BBC's Board of Governors, in Belfast on Tuesday, to mark the expansion of the service.

"It's our job as governors to represent the public interest, to be the voice of the licence-fee payers and to ensure that their concerns are fully taken into account when the BBC makes its decisions," he said.

He added that the "digital deficit" in the province had been identified as a major policy issue by the Broadcasting Council of Northern Ireland.

He said: "They pressed the BBC hard to speed up very significantly its roll-out of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) in Northern Ireland.

"They made their case with vigour and persistence. And it worked."

The chairman also said BBC Northern Ireland would be piloting an "ultra local" television experiment in the Coleraine area by the end of 2005.

"The BBC has now begun to experiment with "ultra-local" television.

"Taking a small geographical area and producing ten minutes an hour of truly relevant local news and information, available on digital television and broadband," he said.

"And because it's digital, it's available on demand, around the clock, whenever viewers want it.

"The BBC hopes to start proper pilots soon - and if it works out, it is proposed to develop up to 60 such areas around the UK."

BBC NI Controller Anna Carragher said the announcements were a signal of the BBC's commitment to audiences in Northern Ireland.

"We are committed to bringing exciting and unique services that fully reflect the lives and concerns of all of our viewers and listeners," she added.

Digital radio listeners will be able to tune-in to the BBC's portfolio of new digital stations:

# 1Xtra.

# Five Live Sports Extra.

# 6 Music.

# BBC 7 and the Asian Network.

# The BBC's existing national radio stations and BBC Radio Ulster are also available on digital radio.

lawhec

Nice one, it might allow me now to ditch the loft aerial for the BBC Multiplex. Noticed that Divis DAB has been on reduced power recently.

DMC

As has FM, for the last few weeks.

DMC

Official press release.....

BBC Digital Radio expands in Northern Ireland

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/02_february/23/ni_digital_radio.shtml

Michael Grade, Chairman of the BBC, has announced that Northern Ireland is to get three new transmitters which will double DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) coverage in the north-west and west.

The new DAB enabled transmitters will be sited at Brougher in Tyrone, Limavady and Sheriff's Mountain in Londonderry.

The first two of these transmitters will come on stream in late spring with the third following in the summer.

Digital radio listeners will be able to tune in to the BBC's portfolio of new digital stations - 1Xtra, Five Live Sports Extra, 6 Music, BBC 7 and the Asian Network - as well as the BBC's existing national radio stations - Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio Five Live and the World Service - and enjoy the benefits of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) with its robust reception and clear sound quality.

These stations join BBC Radio Ulster which is already available on DAB digital radio.

Around 6 million people across the UK have been brought into BBC national digital radio coverage since work began in August 2003 and the BBC is planning to expand coverage to 90% of the population.

Addressing the Board of Governors and local community representatives at a dinner in BBC Broadcasting House in Belfast on Tuesday 22 February, Mr Grade said:

"It's our job as Governors to represent the public interest, to be the voice of the licence fee payers and to ensure that their concerns are fully taken into account when the BBC makes its decisions.

"I'm very happy tonight to be able to announce that the BBC is commissioning three new DAB-enabled transmitters in Northern Ireland at Brougher, Limavady and Sheriff's Mountain in Londonderry.

"These will effectively double the DAB coverage and bring benefit to large numbers of people in the north-west and west of Northern Ireland."

Paying tribute to the work of the Broadcasting Council of Northern Ireland he added:

"One of the key ways we keep in touch with our audiences here is through the work of the Northern Ireland Broadcasting Council.

"The BBC's broadcasting councils do really remarkable work. That work isn't always as well recognised as it should be. So I'd like to take the opportunity to pay tribute this evening.

"They identified this 'digital deficit' as a major policy issue. They pressed the BBC hard to speed up very significantly its roll-out of DAB in Northern Ireland. They made their case with vigour and persistence. And it worked."

He also outlined how BBC Northern Ireland is keeping pace with the changes in digital broadcasting:

"The BBC has now begun to experiment with ultra-local television. Taking a small geographical area and producing ten minutes an hour of truly relevant local news and information, available on digital television and broadband.

"And because it's digital, it's available on demand, around the clock, whenever viewers want it. The BBC hopes to start proper pilots soon - and if it works out, it's proposed to develop up to 60 such areas around the UK.

"By the end of the year Northern Ireland will be the first region of the UK to have near 100 per cent broadband coverage and BBC Northern Ireland will be piloting local TV on broadband in the Coleraine area."

Welcoming Mr Grade on his second visit to Northern Ireland in the last 12 months, the Controller of BBC Northern Ireland Anna Carragher said:

"These digital announcements are a signal of the BBC's commitment to audiences in Northern Ireland. We are committed to bringing exciting and unique services that fully reflect the lives and concerns of all of our viewers and listeners."

The monthly meeting of the BBC Governors is being held in Belfast today (Wednesday 23 February).

The 12 BBC Governors act as trustees of the public interest and monitor the performance of the BBC on behalf of licence fee payers.

The National Governor for Northern Ireland is Fabian Monds. He chairs the 12-strong Broadcasting Council in Northern Ireland.

The council holds regular public meetings to gather the views of audiences and the Board of Governors consults them on proposals affecting Northern Ireland and the objectives set for the BBC.

Notes to Editors

Listeners will need a DAB digital radio to receive the BBC's digital radio broadcasts.

Existing digital radio listeners in the new digital radio areas should carry out an autotune to scan and store the newly available BBC services in their radio set's station list.

For advice on receiving BBC digital radio and to check coverage, listeners can ring 08700 100123 or visit bbc.co.uk/digitalradio and refer to the coverage map (the coverage by postcode feature is not immediately updated).

Crown Castle International is responsible for the roll-out of the new digital radio transmitters.

The BBC has five digital-only radio networks, all launched in 2002:-

1Xtra - the best in new black music;

Five Live Sports Extra - the home of live sport with exclusive coverage of live events;

6 Music - the best of contemporary and classic rock and pop;

BBC 7 - the best of BBC comedy, drama and books from the archive;

the Asian Network - news and music from the British Asian scene.

Listeners can also receive Radios 1 to Five Live on DAB, along with more than 30 of the BBC's English local radio and national stations.

More than 1.5 million adults are listening to the BBC's new digital-only stations each week (Rajar).

There are now nearly 1.3 million DAB sets in the UK (GFK).

Digital radio offers very robust reception and does not suffer from the interference and fading that can happen with AM and FM radio.

Digital radio is a more efficient means of broadcasting. More networks can be transmitted, offering more choice for listeners.

Digital radio can transmit text and data with the audio signal. A small screen on digital radios carries rolling text telling listeners what music they're listening to, who's being interviewed and giving phone numbers and email and website addresses.

Digital radio can also be received via digital television (satellite, cable and Freeview) and the internet (more than 10 million hours of BBC radio is listened to online each month - live and on demand).

Digital radios are available from over 6,500 retail outlets across the UK (both large high street chains and small independent retailers) and can also be bought on the internet.

Hi-fi tuners and micro systems start at around £100. Hand-held products are priced from £80; and kitchen radios start at £50. CD/cassette radios start at £79; DAB clock radios start at £65.

DAB digital radio is a relatively new technology, so prices will continue to fall as the market matures.

lawhec

Finland's YLE closes down DAB radio services
The Finnish Broadcasting Company-YLE is suspending its DAB digital broadcasting services as commercial operators have shown no interest in the medium. DAB, Digital Audio broadcasting, arrived in Finland in 1997 as an energy-efficient means of radio transmission. Many channels can be broadcast within a single matrix and received by a suitable radio.

Although enthusiasm has been great in some European countries, for example, the United Kingdom, manufacturers have been reluctant to bring cheap mass-produced sets on the market in other countries. Commercial broadcasters in Finland have shied away from DAB due to the prohibitive costs of setting up a new radio distribution network.

YLE has offered listeners all its available channels via DAB in the south of the country in addition to a few separate outlets including an all-day spoken word service, a classical music channel and two foreign language services YLE World and YLE Mondo.

YLE will continue digital radio broadcasts via digi-TV and some broadcasts will be made available via the internet. The company will monitor technological developments to determine what appropriate multimedia distribution technology could compensate for the demise of DAB.

If international developments, however, lead to the adoption of DAB as a pan-European distribution standard, YLE will retain the means to resume DAB services.

(RNW Media Network)

byrnefm

Would a Band-III / UHF signal amplifier would help DAB reception? I know it helps analog signals but have never tried it with digital. (I live in Stillorgan). It seemed to help reception when I was in SW Donegal when I tried it once but from there, the signal was so weak that nothing would resolve.

When did the Divis DAB transmitter go online? When I last tried my portable DAB radio (one sold by Maplin Electronics) in the North around Omagh, I could only (occasionally!) get the Score multiplex on the bus, though I didn't try searching for any others. That was in mid-January.

lawhec

byrnefm wrote:

Would a Band-III / UHF signal amplifier would help DAB reception? I know it helps analog signals but have never tried it with digital. (I live in Stillorgan). It seemed to help reception when I was in SW Donegal when I tried it once but from there, the signal was so weak that nothing would resolve.

When did the Divis DAB transmitter go online? When I last tried my portable DAB radio (one sold by Maplin Electronics) in the North around Omagh, I could only (occasionally!) get the Score multiplex on the bus, though I didn't try searching for any others. That was in mid-January.

A Band III amplifier could help, unlike DTT there should be no stray analogue TV signals now in the Republic to interfere with DAB. Make sure that the Band III bit covers up to 230 MHz.

The Divis BBC DAB Transmitter has been up and running for many years (1998 I believe) however unless you are on top of a hill I'd doubt you'd get portable reception from it (I've an attic aerial for mine). The Score multiplex transmits from Brougher Mountain and Strabane so in theroy covers Omagh quite well, although some parts of Omagh have always been nortorious reception blackspots for TV and Radio.

byrnefm

I gave my DAB portable radio another go yesterday on channels 11A thru 12D (just in case). No reception at all in Stillorgan, though it's probably because I'm too low down. I didn't try an antenna booster. I might try on the way to Dundrum tomorrow - the ground along the way is a little higher.

An aside - I tried out the L-band for the fun of it (my radio is dual-band) and around channel LP (I think - it's been a while since I've checked), I get a pulsing >>> (3 'bars'). Anyone know what that might be? I noticed it on a different channel when visiting Portsmouth in Hampshire last December.

byrnefm

Ok, I'm a week late... I took my portable DAB radio (a LaGIO R105) on a walk last night from Dundrum to Stillorgan and tested for the 12D signal wherever I could find a clear spot looking towards north Dublin. There were three such spots, coming up to Dundrum along Lr Kilmacud Road but not a blip ...

The top floor of the new Dundrum shopping centre (in the House of Fraser store) has a great view of Dublin - I wonder could one perhaps get any signal there?

lawhec

It appers that the BBC have now started making test transmissions from Brougher Mountain as when I switched on the set this morning channels on the BBC Multiplex were on full strength as opposed to 2/3 max coming from Divis recently. A switch from the loft aerial to putting on the whip aerial seems to confirm this as reception of BBC services is now available here in the house (previously it wasn't).

Yes this a fact,check this out http://www.bbc.co.uk/digitalradio/news/

I live in Collooney,Co.Sligo and my DAB tuner can now pick up all the BEEB digital radio output with a signal strength of 6/8 from my roof aerial!

telecinesk

Just to add to reception reports. A mate reports the BBC mux is ok on a telescopic in front room near killiney facing north.. No sign of the commercial mux which carries radio ulster from black mountain. I would assume a 3-5 element vhf yagi would solve that issue.

Radio is a panasonic.

DMC

DAB in car....

Well, this weekend, I had the joys of travelling around with an in-car DAB radio, and it is noticable to hear the BBC DAB mux around Northern Ireland now. Some black holes remain west of Enniskillen, but, as reported from Sligo, an outside Band III seems to do the job.

But, coming down south, the BBC mux is listenable as far south as Lavey/Ballyjamesduff junction on the N3. It will be interesting when I try back in Kells if the Brougher BBC mux is getable there.

Any news on the power its transmitting at?

aka_Ciaran

I'm headin to England next week so I'm tempted to get my hands on a DAB receiver. Anyone got any recommendations for types / brands? Are handhelds any good, or is a kitchen type the best to go for? All opinions appreciated...Ciaran.

byrnefm

If you're traveling about by car, a hand held one is probably your best bet. I've a LaGIO R105, which is supposed to be pretty sensitive, although I can't verify this as I don't have any others to compare it to!

westportman

Can you get the BBC DAB in mayo at all??

DMC

Hi, no reports of it working in Mayo, even Westport.

aka_Ciaran, the best of the kitchen-type radios, go for the Roberts RD-8, which is the newer model of the one I have, which has record and "pauseplus" functions, and is both mains and battery operated. DAB pocket radios seem to be best in strong coverage areas, and not on the fringe.

aka_Ciaran

Ok cheers. Will be in north Sligo in the next few weeks, but we're right beside the beach down at sea level...not sure if it needs to be higher up but hopefully it will pick up something. I'll report back if I do manage to get a signal.

DMC

Height helps for sure if you only have a telescopic aerial. Truskmore might be in the way if you are at sea-level... a good indicator would be your analogue BBC/ITV reception? If a strong signal from Brougher comes in, you stand a reasonable chance....

DMC

Now, as opposed to other trips I have undertaken with my DAB radio, I decided to leave the radio on, and travel with it, to see if I could get any signal on the move.... Note: not the same as last weekend where it was a proper JVC in-car DAB, this is just my trusty Roberts RD-5 on the front seat with the telescopic aerial up

Results were as follows....

• Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan: You can get DAB at street level! Best spot I found was on the Oldcastle Road (Liffey Meats).
• Oldcastle, Co. Meath: You can get it at Loughcrew, and as terrain is similar to Ballyjamesduff, who knows further down the hill.
• Between Virginia and Bailieborough (R178): Especially after the Killinkere/Cross junction, you can get this at ground level most of the way on this route.
• Moynalty: Specifically, the townland of Ballymakane.

What is very heartening with this news, is that I may be able to get DAB properly down with the little bit of height my existing TV aerial has (35 ft) and a proper Band III aerial and amp...

Happy days ahead??

Conor S

Im receiving DAB about 2 miles south of Ardee withh the following equipment.

Receiver-Pure Digital 'The Bug'
Antenna-Maxview 3 element external yagi (reception is reasonable with internal rod antenna supplied with receiver)

BBC Multiplex Divis-100% Signal
Score Digital Multiplex Northern Ireland-98% Signal

I am also receiving the all data/epg broadcasts from the BBC aswell.

Conor