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RTÉ to cease radio transmission on DAB network

GerardKeating

RTÉ to cease radio transmission on DAB network.

Given they are the only broadcaster on DAB, is there any future for DAB in Ireland now, or is that a play to get the Government to "do something"..

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Former Former Former

Andy454 wrote: »

Has anyone tried to receive DAB from the north?
It is a pity VM wouldn’t add it to their cable service as a replacement to the FM service...

As noted above, it's likely not possible but as was the case for DAB's demise, the internet would render this completely pointless.

Comhrá

Originally Posted by ITV2 View Post
anyone when they will switch the TXs off, my car keeps switching to RTE R1 on dab for some reason so it's impossible to listen to RTE1 on FM.

Comhra wrote: »

Same here. It's a nuisance having to manually select the FM band every time I start the car, only to have it default back to DAB after I switch off the ignition.

Six prods of the touchscreen every time I start the car, just to get RTE 1 FM.

I emailed RTE this morning and I just got a reply now, to say they expect to have the DAB transmitters fully shut down later this week.

Mickey Mike

Comhra wrote: »

I emailed RTE this morning and I just got a reply now, to say they expect to have the DAB transmitters fully shut down later this week.

And that will be the end of the matter.

Comhrá

Appears to be sorted. Was out in the car an hour ago and FM was working as normal.

Glaceon

Looks like they switched the TX off. Getting no carrier now.

Eric Cartman

Went back to FM in the car today for the first time (haven't been driving a lot), my god the quality is so much poorer. Ahh well thats one of my cars favourite features redundant now

alzer100

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Went back to FM in the car today for the first time (haven't been driving a lot), my god the quality is so much poorer. Ahh well thats one of my cars favourite features redundant now

Agreed, after you become accustomed to digital, FM can sound inferior.

Andy454

alzer100 wrote: »

Agreed, after you become accustomed to digital, FM can sound inferior.

Why don’t you all write letters of complaint- complaints@rte.ie is the email......

alzer100

Andy454 wrote: »

Why don’t you all write letters of complaint- complaints@rte.ie is the email......

I am simply in agreement with another registered user regarding the difference in sound quality.
With respect to complaining about the discontinuation of the DAB network, this decision has been made and there is no going back on it especially given the fact that RTE management wants their staff to take a paycut. Irrespective of whether anyone is in favour of this, the employees have voted no. RTE management have said that they will have to find cost savings elsewhere.
I don't think that complaining to RTE regarding the removal of DAB will turn around their decision to be honest.

PuddingBreath

Twas nice of a certain German supermarket to be selling dab radios in the last few weeks. Getting one over on dumb old paddys. Stay classy

NeuralNetwork

More likely they genuinely weren’t aware of it. No supermarket would have any interest in selling products that don’t work. Is bad for PR & customer relationships.

I’d actually guess that there’s been an assumption that this is common knowledge when the reality is likely that they spoke to the bubble that is people like us who paid attention.

SPDUB

PuddingBreath wrote: »

Twas nice of a certain German supermarket to be selling dab radios in the last few weeks. Getting one over on dumb old paddys. Stay classy

Both of them listed radios in the last few weeks actually .And given that the specials are the UK specials with a time delay mistakes are going to happen , as happened with metal detectors .

More likely they genuinely weren’t aware of it. No supermarket would have any interest in selling products that don’t work. Is bad for PR & customer relationships.

I’d actually guess that there’s been an assumption that this is common knowledge when the reality is likely that they spoke to the bubble that is people like us who paid attention.

I've seen no mention in the general media or even RTE TV of the shutdown so if you didn't listen to RTE Radio I could see how you could be unware

Former Former Former

PuddingBreath wrote: »

Twas nice of a certain German supermarket to be selling dab radios in the last few weeks. Getting one over on dumb old paddys. Stay classy

They're DAB and FM radios with Bluetooth so still perfectly functional.

But sure according to this thread, DAB is going to come roaring back any day now, so kudos to the Germans for making sure we're all ready.

Mickey Mike

You can be certain DAB is gone until such time there will be an FM switch off and then DAB+ will be on the cards I'd imagine.
RTE staff have rejected a pay cut which is one of the cost cutting measures to save €60,000000 over three years, so what could be on the chopping board again are the digital radio channels altogether, maybe the closure of Lyric FM, you just never know. They are closing Long Wave 252 next year, this will probably go ahead. So much to do to save a whopping 60 million euro.

yrreg0850

Mickey Mike wrote: »

You can be certain DAB is gone until such time there will be an FM switch off and then DAB+ will be on the cards I'd imagine.
RTE staff have rejected a pay cut which is one of the cost cutting measures to save €60,000000 over three years, so what could be on the chopping board again are the digital radio channels altogether, maybe the closure of Lyric FM, you just never know. They are closing Long Wave 252 next year, this will probably go ahead. So much to do to save a whopping 60 million euro.

They could look at the highly inflated salaries they pay to some overrated presenters.

Tork

They could and should review those salaries but they're a drop in the ocean.

ITV2

Finally the Tx is switched off. now back to FM Radio 1/Lyric.

Antenna

Infoanon wrote: »

RTE was 40 watts from Montrose with no audio processing.

Kippure was the FM transmitter serving Dublin for RTE back then, the above '40 watts' would just have been a 'filler' for areas of south-east Dublin where the terrain caused issues with Kippure. (It probably also served as a backup link to Kippure too)

Obviously FM from Three Rock led to a stronger signal and better building penetration in Dublin city when it came online.

Mickey Mike wrote: »

Yes because we were none of the wiser until FM came along, when RTE rolled out the new FM transmitters in 1984/5, it was an exciting time when it came to sound quality.

What became RTE Radio 1 lost its FM network to RTE Radio 2 (2FM) when it launced in 1979. So RTE Radio 1 was primarily mediumwave and was also then put on the RnaG national FM network outside of RnaG hours, which were then limited hours (similar situation existed in the UK with BBC Radio 4 FM availability in Scotland, Wales, and NI for a much longer time)
After a few years of that situation, RTE set up a third FM network, so RTE Radio 1 got full availability on FM, which is probably what you are thinking of?

jimbo2007 wrote: »

Interesting thank you. The only home I ever heard RTE on VHF was when on holiday in Aberystwyth. I found RTE Radio 1 as Nd 2 but the next station sling GM3 was often silent. Radio na Gadltavhta was only on a few hours a day but I am surprised they were able to leave a dead carrier on without the transmitter switching off.

After RTE R1 got its own FM network, the unused hours of the RnaG FM network were put to use with RTE's classic music service called 'FM3' (which preceded Lyric FM and more high-brow). Your experience must have been shortly before FM3 launched, whenever that was?

jimbo2007 wrote: »

Stereo started in 1965 in London

Well just for BBC Third (which became BBC R3) a service which was said to have had few listeners...

Mickey Mike

I would imagine when RTE set up their VHF radio service in 1966 that it was in mono (maybe I'm wrong). Radio2 took over the VHF network because of it being a music station (and it was good back then). Radio1 got a new High power 500kw transmitter in Tullamore.
Been from Kerry, Radio1's signal was so much better and stronger than Radio2 which was 100kw.

SPDUB

Antenna wrote: »

So RTE Radio 1 was primarily mediumwave and was also then put on the RnaG national FM network outside of RnaG hours,
.

The scheduling of that sharing was bizarre though as I heard it in Dublin but I presume it was nationwide

IIRC RnG's hours then were 1130am to 130pm and 5.30pm to 830pm so you would think Radio 1 would be on FM outside those times

Except 1002am every weekday morning R1 would go on to MW only with a blank carrier on FM til RnG started then get the FM network back at 130pm for the News at 130.

Same in the afternoon but the blank carrier was from 3pm to 530pm

TheBMG

Mickey Mike wrote: »

I would imagine when RTE set up their VHF radio service in 1966 that it was in mono (maybe I'm wrong). Radio2 took over the VHF network because of it being a music station (and it was good back then). Radio1 got a new High power 500kw transmitter in Tullamore.
Been from Kerry, Radio1's signal was so much better and stronger than Radio2 which was 100kw.

I was told once that Tullamore was a better site than Athlone because of its ground conductivity as well as its higher power.

Tullamore site was selected by engineers whereas Athlone had been more of a political decision (located right in the centre of Ireland).

TheBMG

SPDUB wrote: »

The scheduling of that sharing was bizarre though as I heard it in Dublin but I presume it was nationwide

IIRC RnG's hours then were 1130am to 130pm and 5.30pm to 830pm so you would think Radio 1 would be on FM outside those times

Except 1002am every weekday morning R1 would go on to MW only with a blank carrier on FM til RnG started then get the FM network back at 130pm for the News at 130.

Same in the afternoon but the blank carrier was from 3pm to 530pm

Plus only certain programmes were stereo! They’d let you know by printing a (s) symbol beside their listings in the RTE Guide!

Seem to remember this happening up to the early/mid 80s which seems bizarre when you had the likes of Nova lashing out 80 kajillion gigawatts of EQ’d and compressed FM stereo.

kazoo106

When the third network came on (and we won't mention why they used 102.7 in October 1985) only the FM3 stuff was in real stereo, all content from connemara on R na G did not have stereo content for a long long time

Hamsterchops

Wow, freaky .....

Just did a scan for DAB stations and nothing, but nothing appeared on the dial. Zero stations

Last time I did a scan it must have been six months ago (I use the WiFi feature on my Philips radio) so not normally on DAB, but still, to think that the Digital waveband is now totally empty is very sad, specially for all those people who have bought Digital radio sets in the last few years!

Money wasted when an FM radio would have sufficed. Wearn't we all told that FM would be slowly phased out in favour of digital radio?

[Deleted User]

DAB radio now has the same COOL factor as Blu-Ray

Tork

Did many people really buy digital-only radios though?

Tork

Deleted User wrote: »

DAB radio now has the same COOL factor as Blu-Ray

More like Betamax really...

Hamsterchops

Tork wrote: »

Did many people really buy digital-only radios though?

No I don't think so, but I remember a few years ago when I was in the hunt for WiFi radios and I went to Curry's, and the assistant told me that most people were asking for Digital radios, so that's what we stock, no WiFi radios in-store I'm afraid.

So I got mine online, but what about all those who bought Digital thinking it was the future, bless

Mickey Mike

Just popped into my local Aldi store yesterday and saw a crate of new DAB radios on offer at €49:99, it also has FM so they are not totally useless. But here in Kerry we never had DAB.

NeuralNetwork

My minidisc & DAB combo unit will be heading off to that box off old tech in the attic, along side the ISDN TA and the DVD player, the old Nokia satellite box and the Zip drive.