Livedrive on Dublin City FM

Lynchy_

Must start listening more often. Had it on today due to the awful traffic. They did a great job as usual and seemed to have extended the show. It came on at 3pm and is still going.

Though does anyone notice the sound isn't quite 'full' if you get what I mean. The songs in particular sound a bit dodgy at times, and then there's an awful lot of background noise sometimes too.

Fago!

Lynchy_ wrote: »

Must start listening more often. Had it on today due to the awful traffic. They did a great job as usual and seemed to have extended the show. It came on at 3pm and is still going.

Yeah they're great. I worked on that show a couple of years ago. They're class and very sound. The guy in the afternoon John is very good at what he does (so is Sarah in the morning). I don't drive but if I did, I'd pick them to listen to.

Though does anyone notice the sound isn't quite 'full' if you get what I mean. The songs in particular sound a bit dodgy at times, and then there's an awful lot of background noise sometimes too.

It's on Dublin City FM, whch is a community station. Community stations never have the full sound that a commercial station has (I was told why a while ago but forgot, something to do with low powered transmitters I thinkz)

Dunno about the music but the reason there's background noise is because it's not broadcast from a soundproof radio studio, it's done from the traffic centre in the Dublin City Council buildings. In the same room/office there's AA roadwatch people and the likes who are always on the phone taking calls from motorists.

Even in a room full of people taking calls and chatting away, they still do a bang up job.

bbability

I have to agree with you 100%. Fair play to them.

On an other note its embarasing when community station in Dublin is carrying more acurate information about traffic outside the Dublin County especially in relation to my journey home through (or should I say not through) Julianstown yesterday evening. LMFM was very poor with its traffic updates. It was an evening when the script should have been thrown out of the studio, open the phone and text lines and get the info out there. Even Andy Clarke commented on how bad it was and how it took him an hour to get through Julianstown but he never gave one traffic update only the stuff from the AA Roadwatch website It was very poor from that regions local station. BTW Julianstown was inpassable and 4 hours ;ater I gave up :mad:

Anyway Thank God for Dublin City FM and your Twitter page!

tinkerbell

Fago! wrote: »

Yeah they're great. I worked on that show a couple of years ago. They're class and very sound. The guy in the afternoon John is very good at what he does (so is Sarah in the morning). I don't drive but if I did, I'd pick them to listen to.



It's on Dublin City FM, whch is a community station. Community stations never have the full sound that a commercial station has (I was told why a while ago but forgot, something to do with low powered transmitters I thinkz)

Dunno about the music but the reason there's background noise is because it's not broadcast from a soundproof radio studio, it's done from the traffic centre in the Dublin City Council buildings. In the same room/office there's AA roadwatch people and the likes who are always on the phone taking calls from motorists.

Even in a room full of people taking calls and chatting away, they still do a bang up job.

Oh cool Fago! you worked on Live Drive? I think they are an awesome radio station - I listen to them every morning and every evening - think John and Sarah are brill at what they do, and they have saved me on numerous occasions from being stuck in traffic - there are a few routes that I can take home and go to work so I always listen to Live Drive to see which route I should go.

And they have extended their times too - they now go til 11 a.m. and start at 3 pm because of the mad weather we're having at the moment.

Oh and PS AA Roadwatch are simply USELESS. They have crap-all information ever on their website, they only give general areas, in fact AA Roadwatch is the most pointless traffic watch service ever. They'd want to learn a thing or two from the folks at Live Drive on how to report on traffic properly.

Fago!

tinkerbell wrote: »

Oh cool Fago! you worked on Live Drive?

Yerp, did like 2 or 3 days a week for a few months. sound bunch. They save a LOT of people, and they have a laugh doin it too. Kinda like the messiahs of traffic they are.

They have a huge listenership, nit sure what it is, but it's pretty big. deservedly so.

tinkerbell

Yah they RAWK!!! I think they are brill!

ste88m

Hi folks,

Do a bit of presenting and production work with Dublin City fm so can shed light on a few things.

Firstly, it's coming over an ISDN line so that's why the sound quality isn't great. Also if the fader is all the way up (in the main studios in east wall) the sound can get a bit distorted.

Secondly, Dublin City fm isn't actually a community station. It's all over Dublin. I think it usually just get's thrown into the 'community station category' because of the fact that most of the staff there are volunteers. It's on a slightly lower power than other Dublin Stations, which is for reasons I don't particularly know. However you can still pick it up in parts of Wales (like most other Dublin stations!)

Never actually been over in Wood Quay but the lads over there do really do a great job, and it's days like today that Livedrive shines.

The new flashing ads for 'Live Traffic Radio on 103.2fm' on all the Dublin City Council billboards do help increase both Livedrive's and the stations profile I must say.

I wouldn't say the transmitter power would come into play. The TX power is actually double that of Today FM and Country Mix from Three Rock (1kW vs 500W). It's probably the ISDN line and noisy setting as mentioned.

Live Drive

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Glad to hear we're helping people.

If you can't access a radio you can listen to the stream on Dublin City FM's website: http://dublincityfm.ie/

and we're giving out traffic news on Twitter throughout the shows as well so follow us if you're on there: http://twitter.com/livedrive

Wertz

One of the very few Dublin stations I have any time for and would listen regularly when I'm working/driving down there.
Traffic aside, the music is always listenable...hell sometimes you can catch a few classics you'll not hear anywhere else (stone roses and pink floyd back to back one day)...the DJ's/presenters are very tolerable, in terms of accent, manner, craic etc...no celeb goss or similar crap, no pretentious D4 wannabe intonations....and to top it all off, some of the best live traffic reports in the country. Saved me a few hours of jams over the years.
Fairplay to all involved and shame on other bigger broadcasters who could learn an awful lot from such a small outfit.

DublinWriter

Dave (?) is an absolute legend and perhaps the only human being on the planet who can talk non-stop without taking a breath.

Nice to hear him featured as a guest on RTE's Drivetime t'other day.

Live Drive do great work and thousands of people rely on them everyday to get in and out of work.

Fago!

DublinWriter wrote: »

Dave (?) is an absolute legend and perhaps the only human being on the planet who can talk non-stop without taking a breath.

John Neary.

Btr

ste88m wrote: »

Hi folks,

Do a bit of presenting and production work with Dublin City fm so can shed light on a few things.

Firstly, it's coming over an ISDN line so that's why the sound quality isn't great. Also if the fader is all the way up (in the main studios in east wall) the sound can get a bit distorted.

Secondly, Dublin City fm isn't actually a community station. It's all over Dublin. I think it usually just get's thrown into the 'community station category' because of the fact that most of the staff there are volunteers. It's on a slightly lower power than other Dublin Stations, which is for reasons I don't particularly know. However you can still pick it up in parts of Wales (like most other Dublin stations!)

Never actually been over in Wood Quay but the lads over there do really do a great job, and it's days like today that Livedrive shines.

The new flashing ads for 'Live Traffic Radio on 103.2fm' on all the Dublin City Council billboards do help increase both Livedrive's and the stations profile I must say.

Hate to disagree but I think you'll find DCAL is a community station as defind by BAI and has a community licence. Whether it broadcasts all over Dublin or more locally is irrelevant. And yes I have worked for the station as a presenter and producer

Benny_Cake

Have to say this is a show that really comes into its own in the type of weather we had last week,had to laugh when after a long,long traffic update the lad on the show played the whole of Stairway to Heaven as he needed a well-deserved break! Great to see what a community station can do.

PaulTheMajor

Lynchy_ wrote: »

Though does anyone notice the sound isn't quite 'full' if you get what I mean. The songs in particular sound a bit dodgy at times, and then there's an awful lot of background noise sometimes too.

Yes, there's definitely a serious problem technically with the station. Some of the music sounds like it's coming off a bad cassette player, and the quality of the presenters' voices is very poor, with excessive "pops" and constant distortion.

_blank_

Doing sterling work in the mornings and evenings and have been a great help to many people I'm sure especially these last few days.

Fair play to all involved.

Cole

DublinWriter wrote: »

Nice to hear him featured as a guest on RTE's Drivetime t'other day.

I was flicking around the stations, while stuck in traffic this evening, and heard John Neary on again with Mary Wilson giving a Dublin traffic report. She mentioned Dublin City FM at the beginning and the end of his report, but added that the listeners should stay tuned to her show for travel updates....too late Mary, a rush of drivers tuning to 103.2 at that very moment.

I've been listening to John Neary for the last couple of weeks, fantastic service. You can tell that he actually knows the roads/routes he's talking about, unlike the Dort girls on AA Roadwatch.

Imhof Tank

Another big fan here. The music is very eclectic and Neary's patter is somehow mesmeric even if you dont know half the locations he is yammering on about

Why dont they attract more ads with the listernership of the traffic shows? They were running ads for the Sunday Tribune recently but nothing else.

Doodah7

Hats off to the Livedrive team last night and this morning. They particularly went the extra mile last night, stayed on air after their scheduled finishing time and provided valuable help and assistance for me trying to get home through the mayhem.

Live Drive

Hi there,

Glad we could help out. We were on air until 8pm last night and stayed in the studio until 10.30 replying to emails and tweets that were, pardon the pun, flooding in. The morning show were on until 11am today as well and stayed in the studio after the show, doing as we did last night.

All going well, tonight won't be as eventful!

Live Drive

qwert2

Bumping this thread up for the best drive time radio show (only available in Dublin). Haven't listened to the money / business / rugby obsessed drive time shows on Today FM or Newstalk for over a year now.

Their playlists are available on twitter every day. Worth looking at

dvcireland

Live Drive wrote: »

Hi there,

Glad we could help out. We were on air until 8pm last night and stayed in the studio until 10.30 replying to emails and tweets that were, pardon the pun, flooding in. The morning show were on until 11am today as well and stayed in the studio after the show, doing as we did last night.

All going well, tonight won't be as eventful!

Live Drive

I was listening, the day of the major snow event of 20th December 2010. I was losing the will to live, waiting at Cherrywood for those gritters to clear the Dundrum exit.

Live Drive

Hi folks,

Many thanks for the bump, and the kind words. Good to hear that we're able to help you get around the place!

Live Drive

gluppers

Looks like the evening presenter John Neary will be leaving after 11 years. Good presenter and good taste in music. I'm sure he'll be reappearing somewhere else on the airwaves

Declan A Walsh

gluppers wrote: »

Looks like the evening presenter John Neary will be leaving after 11 years. Good presenter and good taste in music. I'm sure he'll be reappearing somewhere else on the airwaves

He presented some shows, particularly on Saturday nights, last year on Radio Nova.

Doodah7

An excellent, unpretentious (and how rare that quality is these days on the radio) presenter with an excellent taste in music. He would be an asset to any other station.

whiskeyman

Damn, just as TXFM gets the chop I hear this?!?!

Best of luck John. Really hope to hear you on the airwaves again!

gluppers

tallpaul wrote: »

An excellent, unpretentious (and how rare that quality is these days on the radio) presenter with an excellent taste in music. He would be an asset to any other station.

Agreed. Easy going way of presenting with a good balance of humour thrown in for good measure

Actually they're all decent contributors on Live Drive. Pam in the morning is excellent

eyeball kid

gluppers wrote: »

Looks like the evening presenter John Neary will be leaving after 11 years. Good presenter and good taste in music. I'm sure he'll be reappearing somewhere else on the airwaves

That's a real pity. The evening show is great. Have been listening for years. Great selection of music. Hopefully whoever takes over continues with a similar selection. Any idea where he is off to?

Imhof Tank

End of an era.

No more "risk it for a biscuit" and ninja route travel advice.

whiskeyman

Imhof Tank wrote: »

End of an era.

No more "risk it for a biscuit" and ninja route travel advice.

I've risked many a biscuit and ended up with time-saving cake at the end!

It's a fantastic service. Anyone I've told about it is also hooked.