The future of RTE Radio 1 LW

28-03-2020 12:51AM

Sam Russell wrote: »

I have a Roberts Stream 83i.

It only connects to the network when the Network radio is selected, and it takes ages to connect. They do not upgrade the software - so tough if the service becomes obsolete. Hopeless crowd - part of Dimplex.

I certainly wont be buying a Roberts.

My 94i has been updated a few times.

What do you mean it only connects when the network radio is selected ?

A normal radio doesn't need to be updated, welcome to the digital world.

28-03-2020 12:55AM

L1011 wrote: »

And that "all" has a huge financial cost behind it. Are you willing to underwrite that? Again, personally.

The year or so you'd need to trial it (to show it was a pointless flop) would cost hundreds of thousands at least.

AM is dead - please just get over it.

How do you know it would be a pointless flop ? just because it's the dreaded ancient AM technology and not wonderful digital? if the content is there people will listen.

People still listen to FM. that's old at this stage too, Christ even the codec RTE DAB stream in, MP2 predates MP3 invented around 1986 ffs and they call this wonderful Digital ?

AM is dead because the fools running these companies want it dead.

L1011 · 28-03-2020 12:58AM

Deleted User wrote: »

How do you know it would be a pointless flop ? just because it's the dreaded ancient AM technology and not wonderful digital? if the content is there people will listen.

People still listen to FM. that's old at this stage too, Christ even the codec RTE DAB stream in, MP2 predates MP3 invented around 1986 ffs and they call this wonderful Digital ?

AM is dead because the fools running these companies want it dead.

Because AM listenership is falling off a cliff globally. Even the big commercials in the UK are shedding transposers and lower power transmitters as quick as they can.

The rest of your rant is irrelevant.

AM is dead because it sounds like crap; and that's why the bulk of listening moved to FM forty years ago. Hobbyists like it for its range but RTE should not be spending a cent to pander to hobbyists. AM is dead.

28-03-2020 01:01AM

DAB is dead, LW beat it, how bad is AM then ? People listen to LW 252 and petitioned against it's closure.

567 died because of RTE propaganda,

Look at the youtube video where RTE went into some local electrical shop asking some young lad if "anyone ever asked for an MW radio" naturally the chap said " I've never been asked for a MW radio " this was RTE's justification for closing 567 Khz, " no one wants MW" despite half the Island or more listening to 567 Khz, my Family at the time included why ? because they had programming split between FM and MW so people switched back and forth as needed. What the Chap in the shop should have said is that no one asks for a MW radio, People ask for a "radio" because a radio normally included the MW band.

I guarantee, if the content is there People will tune in and listen.

28-03-2020 01:03AM

L1011 wrote: »

Because AM listenership is falling off a cliff globally. Even the big commercials in the UK are shedding transposers and lower power transmitters as quick as they can.

The rest of your rant is irrelevant.

AM is dead because it sounds like crap; and that's why the bulk of listening moved to FM forty years ago. Hobbyists like it for its range but RTE should not be spending a cent to pander to hobbyists. AM is dead.

Am doesn't sound like crap and it's not why people moved away, People moved away because stations switched to FM and "stereo" was advertised as digital today. LW 252 sounds fine to me !

Early stereo recordings were sh1t, reverb added to mono but everyone thought it was great because it echoed in 2 speakers, wow!

Who needs to hear Joe Duffy in CD quality sound ?

L1011 · 28-03-2020 01:05AM

Deleted User wrote: »

DAB is dead, LW beat it, how bad is AM then ? People listen to LW 252 and petitioned against it's closure.

567 died because of RTE propaganda,

Look at the youtube video where RTE went into some local electrical shop asking some young lad if "anyone ever asked for an MW radio" naturally the chap said " I've never been asked for a MW radio " this was RTE's justification for closing 567 Khz, " no one wants MW" despite half the Island or more listening to 567 Khz, my Family at the time included why ? because they had programming split between FM and MW so people switched back and forth as needed. What the Chap in the shop should have said is that no one asks for a MW radio, People ask for a "radio" because a radio normally included the MW band.

I guarantee, if the content is there People will tune in and listen.

People were whipped up online with emotive content about the elderly in England to give an email address against LW closure. Means nothing.

If you want to piss money away on a hobbyists dream, go and apply for a MW licence. Don't try to force RTE to spend other peoples money on it. AM is dead, please just get over it.

Deleted User wrote: »

Am doesn't sound like crap and it's not why people moved away, People moved away because stations switched to FM and "stereo" was advertised as digital today. LW 252 sounds fine to me !

Early stereo recordings were sh1t, reverb added to mono but everyone thought it was great because it echoed in 2 speakers, wow!

Who needs to hear Joe Duffy in CD quality sound ?

You are pleading for a music station to go on AM.

AM is useless for music

People moved to FM rapidly when music stations went on FM because AM is useless for music

AM has been dead for decades - please stop trying to resurrect its corpse.

colm_mcm · 28-03-2020 01:13AM

Deleted User wrote: »

DAB is dead, LW beat it, how bad is AM then ? People listen to LW 252 and petitioned against it's closure.

567 died because of RTE propaganda,

Look at the youtube video where RTE went into some local electrical shop asking some young lad if "anyone ever asked for an MW radio" naturally the chap said " I've never been asked for a MW radio " this was RTE's justification for closing 567 Khz, " no one wants MW" despite half the Island or more listening to 567 Khz, my Family at the time included why ? because they had programming split between FM and MW so people switched back and forth as needed. What the Chap in the shop should have said is that no one asks for a MW radio, People ask for a "radio" because a radio normally included the MW band.

I guarantee, if the content is there People will tune in and listen.

Have to pull you up on the bolded bit for being wildly inaccurate.

Long_Wave · 29-03-2020 01:39PM

Any idea how much removing the Tullamore mast will cost?

dxhound2005 · 29-03-2020 02:16PM

As per the planning application, the removal is part of the overall works. I don't think anyone here would know about the cost.

http://www.eplanning.ie/OffalyCC/AppFileRefDetails/2033/0

galtee boy · 29-03-2020 02:59PM

In the internet radio world, an Amazon Echo, the big one, not the dot, is ideal as a kitchen radio. Sound is perfectly adequate for kitchen radio type listening and you don't have to go near it to change channels, turn volume up or down etc, switch from RTE to BBC radio with a voice command.

Sam Russell · 29-03-2020 04:50PM

L1011 wrote: »

People were whipped up online with emotive content about the elderly in England to give an email address against LW closure. Means nothing.

If you want to piss money away on a hobbyists dream, go and apply for a MW licence. Don't try to force RTE to spend other peoples money on it. AM is dead, please just get over it.

You are pleading for a music station to go on AM.

AM is useless for music

People moved to FM rapidly when music stations went on FM because AM is useless for music

AM has been dead for decades - please stop trying to resurrect its corpse.

Well, it depends on what passes for music these days. One type music (pop music) was sold on cassette tape with a quality that was appalling, but there was a vibrant market for it. CDs were superior but were sold at a premium because of their superior audio quality despite their lower cost - but they did not supplant the cassettes. Cassettes could be played on a Walkman while out hanging with one's young friends which was more important than the hi fi.

Radio is mostly about content (not reception quality), and ease of reception. AM and FM are cheap to listen to as the receivers are super cheap and work well as portable battery powered units. MW is good because a single transmitter can cover most of Ireland.

DAB fails on nearly every metric because it fails on the claimed better quality that it could achieve because of unnecessary restricted bandwidth. It fails on all the other metrics - heavy battery drain, aerial size, digital cliff, number of transmitters, receiver cost and complexity, mux bouquets making channel hopping unwieldy, etc. etc. etc.

MW still has a place, but is being abandoned worldwide - a mistake.

Long_Wave · 31-03-2020 02:44PM

I know it was the hight of the Celtic tiger and RTE were awash with money, but they spent a 6 figure sum refurbishing the 567 mast in the mid 00s and only used it for 3 more years after the work was done.

31-03-2020 05:14PM

Long_Wave wrote: »

I know it was the hight of the Celtic tiger and RTE were awash with money, but they spent a 6 figure sum refurbishing the 567 mast in the mid 00s and only used it for 3 more years after the work was done.

Really ? tax payers money and now they want to tear it down ? madness.

It's RTE so nothing would surprise me.

Mickey Mike · 31-03-2020 05:23PM

Is there some law or clause where if a transmitter is idle for 10 or more years that's it must come down and the entire site must be returned to a green field site! in other words all down and out, lock stock and barrel.

Elvis Hammond · 31-03-2020 06:00PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Really ? tax payers money and now they want to tear it down ? madness ...

Nope, your way of thinking is pure Sunk Cost Fallacy AKA 'throwing good money after bad' ...

Sam Russell · 31-03-2020 06:38PM

Elvis Hammond wrote: »

Nope, your way of thinking is pure Sunk Cost Fallacy AKA 'throwing good money after bad' ...

Not entirely.

It costs money to tear it down. If there is any chance it could be used again, that is a waste. Is it if actually needed (for example as a backup emergency transmitter) then it would be a good idea to keep it as a working antenna, with a working transmitter.

Elvis Hammond · 31-03-2020 06:50PM

Sam Russell wrote: »

Not entirely.

It costs money to tear it down. If there is any chance it could be used again, that is a waste. Is it if actually needed (for example as a backup emergency transmitter) then it would be a good idea to keep it as a working antenna, with a working transmitter.

To me, that whole 'backup emergency' thing belongs in the Cold War, or some science fiction scenario.

dxhound2005 · 31-03-2020 07:05PM

Long_Wave wrote: »

I know it was the hight of the Celtic tiger and RTE were awash with money, but they spent a 6 figure sum refurbishing the 567 mast in the mid 00s and only used it for 3 more years after the work was done.

What does that mean?

Long_Wave · 31-03-2020 07:23PM

dxhound2005 wrote: »

What does that mean?

400k according to newspaper reports at the time https://m.independent.ie/business/irish/rte-revamp-will-see-radio-1-on-long-wave-26010695.html

Sam Russell · 31-03-2020 09:05PM

Elvis Hammond wrote: »

To me, that whole 'backup emergency' thing belongs in the Cold War, or some science fiction scenario.

Or perhaps a pandemic.

0lddog · 31-03-2020 09:23PM

L1011 wrote: »

.......
AM has been dead for decades - please stop trying to resurrect its corpse.

Shocking lack of awareness of rural Ireland shown on this thread

For me, no LW = no Radio 1

Elvis Hammond · 31-03-2020 09:55PM

Sam Russell wrote: »

Or perhaps a pandemic.

Yeah, the P-word will get the emotional response at the minute, but I struggle to see how the idea develops to make a practical case here.

0lddog wrote: »

Shocking lack of awareness of rural Ireland shown on this thread

For me, no LW = no Radio 1

What's the problem with FM reception? I assume you don't have TV either?

Long_Wave · 31-03-2020 10:37PM

0lddog wrote: »

Shocking lack of awareness of rural Ireland shown on this thread

For me, no LW = no Radio 1

How did you cope last autumn when RTE lw 252 was off air for about 2 months ? Can you pick up anything on the FM band at all ? Your Parish is in a bad situation if RTE Longwave is the only irish radio station available

Mickey Mike · 31-03-2020 10:44PM

0lddog wrote: »

Shocking lack of awareness of rural Ireland shown on this thread

For me, no LW = no Radio 1

If you can't get FM or Saorview, I want to tell you that you can get Saorsat (the satellite version) this service gives the inland of Ireland 100% coverage, so no excuses Olddog. The quality on Long Wave 252 is terrible.

Johnboy1951 · 31-03-2020 11:16PM

0lddog wrote: »

Shocking lack of awareness of rural Ireland shown on this thread

For me, no LW = no Radio 1

Rural Ireland, generally, does not depend on LW for radio reception.
Just because you seem to does not mean the majority, or even a substantial percentage, of those in rural Ireland depend on LW.

That 'rural Ireland' card won't play in this case methinks.

01-04-2020 12:20AM

Mickey Mike wrote: »

If you can't get FM or Saorview, I want to tell you that you can get Saorsat (the satellite version) this service gives the inland of Ireland 100% coverage, so no excuses Olddog. The quality on Long Wave 252 is terrible.

Quality is terrible for what is mostly talk radio ? there's lots of stations in Ireland that could change to MW to free up FM.

Do you really want to hear Joe Duffy in CD quality sound, Niall Boylan perhaps ? there's a real star for CD quality audio or even FM ? lol give me a break man you're just trolling, it's obvious you don't like AM so what are you doing here then?

You expect someone to carry a TV around the house to listen to radio ?

I'm not saying AM is perfect but it offers another form of transmission that is proven and reliable and works and you don't need an internet subscription either and your batteries can last months in an AM radio compared to battery zapping DAB or internet radio.

DAB was crap and I'd prefer an analogue Am station any day over highly compressed digital crap.

DAB was a disaster because RTE failed to change to DAB+ and because commercial stations were not interested in it.

How much has RTE spent on current DAB infrastructure ?

L1011 · 03-04-2020 05:45PM

Sam Russell wrote: »

Not entirely.

It costs money to tear it down. If there is any chance it could be used again, that is a waste. Is it if actually needed (for example as a backup emergency transmitter) then it would be a good idea to keep it as a working antenna, with a working transmitter.

It costs money to leave it up. Quite a lot of money. You can't just leave a mast there; particularly a stayed mast - it needs significant ongoing maintenance.

kazoo106 · 03-04-2020 08:27PM

Came across an old booklet (obviously from the 60's) concerning outbreak of war. Its called Cosaint Shibhialta Bás and in it the National Alert was to be broadcast on Radio Éireann - wonder how this would work in modern times with a chain of microwave links feeding all the main RTE sites or would 252 be requisitioned?

dxhound2005 · 03-04-2020 09:49PM

I think we would know these days if there was a nuclear bomb dropped anywhere close. Or any other calamity which might befall us. The warning is about nuclear radiation (fallout). It might be from the 70's, when portable transistors were more common.

Wireless sets were a bit of a luxury for many, and were generally fixed in position convenient to where the external long wire aerial could be attached. Not something which could easily be moved to the bedside.

L1011 · 04-04-2020 08:31PM

There is allegedly an emergency broadcast system using local radio stations. It was "tested" in 2008 - https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/irish-government-reveals-ability-to-take-over-broadcast-media-for-emergencies

There actually is no such thing. It used INNs news distribution system and required the engineers from each station to manually switch in INN.

INN no longer exists and not every station takes Newstalk news anyway now.

The 2009 Broadcasting Act allows compelling broadcasters to broadcast something but it still requires manual intervention.

The future of RTE Radio 1 LW

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