RTE Radio 1 on 252!

L1011

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

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.

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...

AwaitYourReply

former legend wrote: »

Ok, I've obviously offended your religious sensibilities by not liking John Waters or the Catholic bishops, that wasn't my intention, but I have serious issues with both him and them, well-founded issues I think it's fair to say.
However, I don't think I've been rude to any contributors to this thread, unlike you; when someone replies in disagreement to your post, as Losty Dublin did, and you respond by calling him stupid and lacking intelligence, well that's not very nice now and all it shows is how weak your underlying argument is.
The debate is over, the right call has been made. Hopefully RTE will stick to their guns on this very sensible decision and not cave to the fringe elements, however vocal they may be.
Good luck.

I think you will find that the only time I will be rude back even if someone has a completely different viewpoint to mine is where they are downright rude and attack me personally. Then, I will return the complement if necessary. I would not usually attack someone on the grounds of either person not grasping or understanding all the facts and complexities but I will not tolerate a bully - end of! Losty deserved to be treated in this way for going out of his way to ridicule and rubbish my views in such a dismissive way - He was like a spoiled child whose rattler fell out of the buggy. He did not make a strong coherent argument on the matter at all and then he resorted to insulting behaviour so; he deserved what he got back but only because he had originally insulted me prior to my abrupt response.

As it happens I am not at all a "John Waters" supporter except I was glad a journalist highlighted this story in this way. I will probably never have any other reason to support Mr Water's other public outbursts as I am more liberal-thinking in my views. Neither would I be a fan of the Catholic Bishops or Irish Catholic Hierarchy given the way so many double standards have been permitted over the years in this state. The church is in very serious trouble but I think it may already be too late given the slow pace of change but I admire Pope Francis as I think he is a good man surrounded by many right-wing conservatives and this Extraordinary Synod might produce interesting changes in the years ahead. That said, the faster we have more & more separation of Church Vs State the better in my view as they should not be intertwined.

As for the debate is over, I don't think RTÉ or the government ever really opened a debate with licence fee payers - they presumably had to put a case to the Minister/Dept. of Communications to sanction such a closure of this service as RTÉ as an organisation are losing money and face increased competition. The licence fee/taxpayers were not widely consulted (if at all) on the matter to the best of my knowledge. The announcement of the closure was made public in September. Some debate in what I thought was a parliamentary democracy.

Good luck

AwaitYourReply

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

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

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 ?

Radio Kerry and Spin South West have transmitters for the town located on high ground to the north east of the town so are perfect across the town. Newstalk is less of a problem as it's mono and doesn't suffer from multipath problems (as the area around Killarney is so mountainous). 107.2 from Slieve Mish is also reportedly 3kW and the most powerful transmission from Slieve Mish meaning it has better reception in Killarney than the RTE stations.

It's just the RTE stations that have issues as they a) don't have a relay in the town and b) are affected by multipath and c) are only on 1kW of power from Slieve Mish

Cork_chick_94

Even if there are FM blackspots on some roads in this country, how many car radios have longwave ? How many average car travellers know RTE is on lw ? The service has been rarely advertised in recent times.

AwaitYourReply

marno21 wrote: »

Radio Kerry and Spin South West have transmitters for the town located on high ground to the north east of the town so are perfect across the town. Newstalk is less of a problem as it's mono and doesn't suffer from multipath problems (as the area around Killarney is so mountainous). 107.2 from Slieve Mish is also reportedly 3kW and the most powerful transmission from Slieve Mish meaning it has better reception in Killarney than the RTE stations.

It's just the RTE stations that have issues as they a) don't have a relay in the town and b) are affected by multipath and c) are only on 1kW of power from Slieve Mish

The other RTÉ Radio stations 2fm, RnaG and Lyric fm all seem to have fairly reasonable coverage but Radio One tends to be the frequent problem FM station in other black-spots mentioned previously.

But I imagine Killarney town itself and it's hinterland is pretty unique. Interesting details on this Co. Kerry town and yes of course you are always gonna have challenging issues with steep hills and valleys and after all Killarney is surrounded by the highest peak in the country.

I wonder how the other national commercial independent station: "Today FM" is operating in the Killarney region as I imagine it is hardly mono like NewsTalk as Today Fm would play a lot of music in addition to it's speech programming?

marno21

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

The other RTÉ Radio stations 2fm, RnaG and Lyric fm all seem to have fairly reasonable coverage but Radio One tends to be the frequent problem FM station in other black-spots mentioned previously.

But I imagine Killarney town itself and it's hinterland is pretty unique. Interesting details on this Co. Kerry town and yes of course you are always gonna have challenging issues with steep hills and valleys and after all Killarney is surrounded by the highest peak in the country.

I wonder how the other national commercial independent station: "Today FM" is operating in the Killarney region as I imagine it is hardly mono like NewsTalk as Today Fm would play a lot of music in addition to it's speech programming?

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)

AwaitYourReply

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

Even if there are FM blackspots on some roads in this country, how many car radios have longwave ? How many average car travellers know RTE is on lw ? The service has been rarely advertised in recent times.

I honestly have no clue on the stats but you pose a very interesting question indeed? I think a decision to stop plugging or promoting it came well ahead of the public announcement.

Some systems do not always have it clearly specified as Medium Wave and/or Long Wave at all. Sometimes you will just see AM/FM Radio on some systems but when you find the numbers hitting 153-279KHz it refers to LW or Long Wave and then from 531-1611KHz it refers to MW or Medium Wave. In time, those who have had to use AM or LW252KHz to pick up Radio One these listeners may only then fully realise the problem after the signal goes OFF on LW252KHz from 27th October next. There will be no reversal once it is finally switched off.

The end of an era for RTÉ Radio on AM/LW (Long Wave). I wonder will RTÉ remove all of their stations from FM within the next decade? Time will tell...

AwaitYourReply

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

MYOB wrote: »

Plenty of the objections on here are for anorak/nostalgia reasons and little more.

As goes cars - LW is all well and good for car reception, until you've to use your wipers. Or indicators...

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.

AwaitYourReply

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

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

<snip>
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.<snip>

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.

Antenna

munchkin_utd wrote: »

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.

I haven't notice that problem anytime recently anywhere I have travelled - was a problem in some places in the past though , ISTR 107.8 in North Tipp was out of time compared to the others but that was some time in the past

I do notice RTE R1 on 252 is 2 seconds or so behind FM

former legend

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?

Yeah, pretty much any car radio from the last 15-20 years has this (RDS) function.

AwaitYourReply

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

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

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.

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 its reception of the main RTE R1 signal in the area (90.0).
one would have expected better from Philips?

AwaitYourReply

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

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.

Newstalk's main issue with syncronoisation should be as you approach Dublin whereby 106.0 from Three Rock is line fed rather than being fed by satellite meaning it should be 1/2 seconds ahead. Here in North Cork I've never noticed sync issues with Newstalk and 107.0 from Corran Mtn, 107.2 from Knockmoyle and 107.4 from Mullaghanish seem to be in sync

@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.

AwaitYourReply

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.

WHL

I drive to Shannon from Cork about six times a year for an early morning Sunday flight and always listen on FM to the music programme that is on from 6am to 8am in Radio 1. I don't remember having any issues anywhere on the route

AwaitYourReply

WHL wrote: »

I drive to Shannon from Cork about six times a year for an early morning Sunday flight and always listen on FM to the music programme that is on from 6am to 8am in Radio 1. I don't remember having any issues anywhere on the route

Thanks for your heads-up. It has occurred a few times now when I travelled the route so I never thought my radio set or aerial was where the fault may lay.

Given these constructive and detailed posts I've received this afternoon, I think I now need to witness the reception coverage of RTÉ Radio One FM in the problem areas as I'm very surprised that my car radio only seems to have a problem with RTÉ Radio One FM in certain areas. Cheers for this info

L1011

It's a budget brand head unit fitted in Halfords, I'd be surprised if it didn't have problems with something.

This (car FM receivers) is one this Sony still excel over most others at.

AwaitYourReply

MYOB wrote: »

It's a budget brand head unit fitted in Halfords, I'd be surprised if it didn't have problems with something.

This (car FM receivers) is one this Sony still excel over most others at.

Believe it or not, I never actually bought my Tevio car radio at Halford's - I just wanted it to be fitted properly and knew that Halford's provided this service so; I headed over to a branch and they did a neat job. Apart from that one hitch, the brand doesn't owe me anything after all these years to be fair.

The only other glitch with it, is that lately it has started losing all the stations saved in it's memory so I stopped detaching the front face of the unit in the hope that it will behave better. It doesn't lose the stations every time I switch off the radio and ignition but if I detached the front part and did not use the car for a whole week I would probably have to do a rescan. Ah sure, it could be a lot worse I suppose.

L1011

It's a lidl brand as far as I know, which is why I said fitted rather than bought. Halfords have a very poor reputation for quality of work.

Cork_chick_94

http://www.irishtimes.com/debate/letters/goodbye-longwave-1.1955171#.VDUGgJU_KRg.twitter

Antenna

MYOB wrote: »

It's a lidl brand as far as I know.

Tevion is an Aldi band (not Lidl). Car radios from Aldi (Silvercrest brand) - of the ones I have seen - did not cover LW, ( did FM & MW), but it seems MW is now also removed in the latest Silvercrest radio for sale this week in Lidl - its radio is FM-only:

http://www.lidl-service.com/static/41334046/85465_EN_DA_DE.pdf

munchkin_utd

if the one of the main reasons that lw252 is useful is for people in the car where there's no fm signal, so Northern Ireland / Britain and beyond, then there's a ready made solution to plug the gap which doesn't rely on dodgy mobile internet.

"Audio now" provide a landline number for various countries worldwide which you can ring and listen to your station for the cost of a standard call, which for many is free as you'd have it covered in your flat rate calls.
Obviously not best suited to music radio, but talksport are signed up to provide worldwide premier league commentaries over the phone which is an example of a talk based station which is suitable.
http://www.audionow.com/en/about-us/

And it'd be free for rte to provide the service aparantly, as audio now hosts it for free.

Bbc, voice of America, Al Jazeera and the United Nations radio service are also signed up btw.

AwaitYourReply

Antenna wrote: »

Tevion is an Aldi band (not Lidl). Car radios from Aldi (Silvercrest brand) - of the ones I have seen - did not cover LW, ( did FM & MW), but it seems MW is now also removed in the latest Silvercrest radio for sale this week in Lidl - its radio is FM-only:

http://www.lidl-service.com/static/41334046/85465_EN_DA_DE.pdf

Antenna you get full marks this time I never purchased the Tevion car radio at Lidl at all - it was in fact a branch of Aldi and it was sometime during the second half of 2007. Perhaps further promotions of this type of equipment no longer provides you the option of tuning into frequencies in the Long Wave band range such as 252KHz.

I had only just changed my car in June '07 and I hated the radio in situ in my '03 Ford Fiesta LX model so; I opted for the Tevion. I still miss the default car audio system that came with my previous car which was a '00 SEAT Ibiza with it's square screen display - the sound quality and the RDS function seemed so much better than the Tevion fitted in the following car.

AwaitYourReply

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/debate/letters/goodbye-longwave-1.1955171#.VDUGgJU_KRg.twitter

I have an uncle (Irish ex-pat) who emigrated to England in the early 1960s settled down and raised a family there and he can just about make calls on a bog-standard mobile phone - He cannot seem to Text and he can't follow the Internet at all - he is under complement to his daughter-in-law booking flights etc; As far as I recall, he does not receive his digital tv channels via Sky Digital so; I imagine he is probably with either Freesat or Freeview so; I'm not sure if they provide RTÉ Radio One to their tuning into their services. I suspect none of RTÉ Radio stations are on there but maybe I am mistaken here.

I also had another uncle based in Jersey, Channel Islands (he died in 2010) and I know there would be an active Irish community based on the island who usually like to keep in touch with events happening back on the old sod. Finally, I have one brother based in London who is married with 2 boys but I think he would not fair as bad as he would be fairly well updated on all things mobile and internet so he'll manage but then he is much younger than my mother's brothers!

For those who relied on LW252 it is particularly tough and it is interesting to read the various letters as published in The Irish Times.

Cheers Cork_chick-94 for this Web URL link of The Irish Times extract.

munchkin_utd

munchkin_utd wrote: »

if the one of the main reasons that lw252 is useful is for people in the car where there's no fm signal, so Northern Ireland / Britain and beyond, then there's a ready made solution to plug the gap which doesn't rely on dodgy mobile internet.

"Audio now" provide a landline number for various countries worldwide which you can ring and listen to your station for the cost of a standard call, which for many is free as you'd have it covered in your flat rate calls.
Obviously not best suited to music radio, but talksport are signed up to provide worldwide premier league commentaries over the phone which is an example of a talk based station which is suitable.
http://www.audionow.com/en/about-us/

And it'd be free for rte to provide the service aparantly, as audio now hosts it for free.

Bbc, voice of America, Al Jazeera and the United Nations radio service are also signed up btw.

I don't know if they still have it, but they did have such a service up to recently, except that it was an international number. Would have been ridiculously expensive to use.