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RTE Radio 1 on 252!

Digifriendly

Just returned from holiday in Scotland and was amazed how good RTE Radio 1 signal on 252 LW was even at foot of a mountain in the Scottish borders. Struggled to pick up Radio Ulster MW in parts of Scotland that were not low down but 252 was clear as a bell.

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pajor

marno21 wrote: »

Bad example, the Aran Islands has good coverage of Radio 1 from Casla on 88.4

A lot of places in south Munster/south Ireland would have been a good example, unfortunately for most of the time that 252 was on air it suffered heavy interference from the Algerian service on 252.

Right. That's just what I remember from the time anyway. Hookum obviously.

end of the road

Kensington wrote: »

Didn't they recently spend a fortune installing a brand new transmitter and audio processing chain into Clarkstown? And now closing it down?

i don't know. i hope not anyway

pajor

Kensington wrote: »

Didn't they recently spend a fortune installing a brand new transmitter and audio processing chain into Clarkstown? And now closing it down?

2007 by the looks of it.

These were replaced in 2007 by a single 300 kilowatt Transradio TRAM 300L transmitter.[1] The ground around the mast and the entire transmission site bed are lined with copper for conductivity.

Cork_chick_94

So are they going to take down the mast ?

AwaitYourReply

Given the significant financial investment made by RTÉ in relatively recent times (i.e.) 2007 surely it is imperative that they will use the closure of RTÉ Radio One LW252 kHz as an opportunity to find a new business partner to run a whole new service in another market like they did in the past when they were involved in the ownership of former Atlantic 252 service which was primarily targeted at the UK market. Somehow I would imagine that a speech/news/sports type service would be best suited on LW as music is no longer best transmitted via AM LW or MW bands these days with the advances in other technologies. I wonder will they be indicating what they propose to do with the transmitter & equipment not to mention the site in Clarkstown, Trim, Co. Meath ? Time will tell...

pajor

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

I wonder will they be indicating what they propose to do with the transmitter & equipment not to mention the site in Clarkstown, Trim, Co. Meath ? Time will tell...

The wiki article I was looking at earlier, mentioned that previously it was also used for digital radio testing as well as LW transmitting. Could be used for digital again.

L1011

Its likely that the costs of keeping the 1989 era transmitter on air, due to its power consumption compared to a modern unit, mean that the 2007 replacement has covered its costs.

The site is not really suitable for anything else other than returning to farmland so I suspect it'll be retained in case of future use rather like Athlone, Jacobs Island and Tullamore.

Fuzzy Clam

pajor wrote: »

The wiki article I was looking at earlier, mentioned that previously it was also used for digital radio testing as well as LW transmitting. Could be used for digital again.

I haven't seen the article you refer to but I presume the digital radio it mentions were the DRM tests. These were on LW so unlikely to resurrected.

weary1

munchkin_utd wrote: »

just for reference, the LW service cost €1,113,019 back in 2006 to give an idea of how expensive the service is to provide.

I'm annoyed its going, but considering its high cost and that its mainly benefiting non licence payers who have other options for listening at home its hard to justify keeping going.

I don't know how to pay for a radio licence in my car and I've never been asked for it by any garda road check. Can you tell me how car radio licences are enforced ?

[Deleted User]

Sounds to me like the semi-states need a lesson in asset management and wastage. If they mothball this site it was an absolute waste and they should have just left 567 on. The transmitter is only 7 years old.

AwaitYourReply

I would say that many more decisions will be made by RTÉ as they cut more & more legacy costs as they have been told by Government that the Taxpayer cannot keep funding all and sundry at the national broadcaster and let's also remember they are up against it versus so many new legally operated services from Radio - TV - Online - Satellite - Cable - Mobile.

They could once rely on the former cash-cows of Radio 2FM (mainly through the Gerry Ryan Show) and the RTÉ Guide for advertising but competition soon changed these easy revenue streams. UTV Ireland and TV3 have already forced them into revamping RTÉ TWO (now RTÉ 2) and RTÉ ONE will also rebrand it's image shortly.

Expect more & more light touch gimmicks like the Newsroom new look launched a few months ago not to mention The Late Late Show studio sets due to be revamped in January amid a blaze of publicity. Pity they do not accompany these revamps with more substantial changes in anchor presenters line-up/delivery/more changes to editorial style along with the graphic design/studio set changes.

Rock Solid

252 should be kept on air, there are parts of the country that Fm and Dab cant cover due to mountains and the coast, not everyone has broadband or smartphones, and elderly people are not familiar with new media, Lw252 is the only one nationwide signal that can be received in the country, whats the point in paying a licence if you cant receive RTE!

Rock Solid

Redlake

The decision to close 252 Longwave is sad news. This provides coverage of RTE Radio 1 in Great Britain and also the far north east of Ireland. It is also ironic that when 252 is a relatively clear channel with the Algerian station off air, allowing RTE Radio 1 on 252 to be received clearly in southern England, that it is now that RTE decide to close Long Wave. Adding insult to injury, to close long wave with barely a months notice is gravely unjust particularly to a generation of older listeners in the UK. Obviously RTE do not care about you if you are old.

AwaitYourReply

They began by switching off RTÉ Radio 2FM on 1278kHz MW and later moved older generations of listeners off RTÉ Radio One MW on both 567kHz and 729kHz on Medium Wave across to Long Wave 252 kHz in relatively recent times. I recall when the BBC tried to switch off BBC Radio 4 Long Wave 198kHz signal a number of years ago there was such an outcry that they eventually pulled back from it at the time. Previously, they had managed to switch off the BBC Radio 1 and 2 on MW wavelengths as it was intended to make way for other new radio services such as: "TalkSport" and launch of the then new BBC Radio 5 Live news & sport channel at that time.

I'm not sure if BBC Radio 4 Long Wave 198kHz has a long bright future though as the BBC is making plenty of cuts across the board and if they are not closing transmitters they are saving power by not boosting signals as strong to save power for cheaper operating outcomes.

munchkin_utd

weary1 wrote: »

I don't know how to pay for a radio licence in my car and I've never been asked for it by any garda road check. Can you tell me how car radio licences are enforced ?

When I said "non licence payers" - I meant folks in UK and near mainland europe.

Its difficult to justify spending 1million+ per year from the proceeds of a 26county licence fee, to provice a service to a small number of folks outside the 26counties who nowadays have multiple ways of receiving RTE.

And regarding old folks in the UK, they've already made the switch from Analogue TV to a Freeview or Satelite solution so switching from analogue RTE to digital (via sat or internet) RTE Radio is just a similar move they'll have to make.

Antenna

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

I recall when the BBC tried to switch off BBC Radio 4 Long Wave 198kHz signal a number of years ago

The BBC plan back then wasn't to switch off LW, but to replace BBC R4 on it with a rolling news service.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

And regarding old folks in the UK, they've already made the switch from Analogue TV to a Freeview or Satelite solution so switching from analogue RTE to digital (via sat or internet) RTE Radio is just a similar move they'll have to make.

A lot of radio listening is in cars, most for many people. There is no easy solution (if any) for car listening for these people

Granted the 'cause' of RTE's LW 252 has not been helped to a big extent by (many/most?) car manufacturers leaving out LW in new cars in recent years. Listeners are not going to complain about the impending loss of something they can no longer receive anyway since the last time they replaced their car.

Mearings

Look at the bright side, perfect sounding Radio Algeria.

Skid X

Shame to see it go. Hard to know if the cost of running the service justified it's existence, but it will be missed by a decent number of listeners.

And the shutdown timetable seems hasty, it doesn't give listeners much time to make alternative arrangements.

I wonder if RTE will get Brendan Balfe in to do a farewell show (like he did for Medium Wave). Hopefully it will be more dignified than the hasty exit of TeamTalk 252 (on the same transmitter!)

http://www.swldxer.co.uk/jhr_final.rm

Redlake

Algerian station is off air, so nothing on 252 when RTE pulls the plug. Ironic when 252 is a clear channel that RTE decides to close down Long Wave.

end of the road

take over the transmitter and relay the atlantic 252 tribute stream. we can relive the glory days again. oh well, i can dream at least.

Harry Palmr

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

I'm not sure if BBC Radio 4 Long Wave 198kHz has a long bright future though as the BBC is making plenty of cuts across the board and if they are not closing transmitters they are saving power by not boosting signals as strong to save power for cheaper operating outcomes.

198 LW is better placed to survive at the moment due to it providing a signal to millions of electricity tariff switches across the UK. It also carries the shipping forecast of course (mind you so does RTE LW)

AwaitYourReply

Ok I know Ireland owned the 252kHz wavelength operated and managed by our national public service broadcaster but I just wonder why RTÉ bothered to invest all that money when they switched it over from MW to LW given that this day was almost upon them anyway in terms of new modern more efficient ways to broadcast. Long Wave did not suddenly become expensive or lose mass popularity appeal only in the past few years as the Internet was well established by the time they last moved these services over from MW to LW a few years ago. In my view all semi-states such as RTÉ should always have been be mindful of cost cutting and budgeting with value for money on behalf of the Taxpayer whether we are in the middle of a recession or not.

One solution might be that they just move these programmes back on to RTÉ Radio One FM earlier on Sunday mornings from around 09:00am until 11:00am approx and any additional sports coverage for broadcast should be incorporated on to Radio 2fm schedule as the need arises. Otherwise, find another way to broadcast these LW services for those current listeners in Ireland who are not necessarily sitting in front of Saorview TV as older listeners should not be forced to go through Internet/Mobile/Cable/Satellite subscription routes. People may like to tune-in to such services while on the move in a car is a valid point.

Alternatively, move RTÉ lyric fm or Radio na Gaeltachta (RnaG) over to Digital only and put RTÉ Radio One Extra on 96-99 FM as I suspect the audiences on these services are also quite low at most periods anyway to the best of my knowledge. This should be examined too.

AwaitYourReply

This unwelcome closure of RTÉ Radio One LW 252kHz services has just been slammed by those who assist our Senior Citizens on this evening's Front Page of the Evening Echo newspaper in Cork. Expecting elderly people to suddenly make this switch is another slap in the face so soon after the TV analogue switch-off in recent years. I think the rather short advance notice of closure of the LW 252KHz services shows how a lack of respect for some of it's older category audience. RTÉ are right to save money but they also need to be mindful of how they go about it and perhaps should have entered a consultation process first and then take into account that older people would find it a lot harder to face change and sometimes these changes involve them not being able to work new technology not to mind pay out more for new equipment in order to receive the signal into the future. If we had universal DAB coverage nationwide, it might have helped but this is still far from the case.

end of the road

rnag isn't going anywhere. its service offering is more important then radio 1 extra.

former legend

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

This unwelcome closure of RTÉ Radio One LW 252kHz services has just been slammed by those who assist our Senior Citizens on this evening's Front Page of the Evening Echo newspaper in Cork. Expecting elderly people to suddenly make this switch is another slap in the face so soon after the TV analogue switch-off in recent years. I think the rather short advance notice of closure of the LW 252KHz services shows how a lack of respect for some of it's older category audience. RTÉ are right to save money but they also need to be mindful of how they go about it and perhaps should have entered a consultation process first and then take into account that older people would find it a lot harder to face change and sometimes these changes involve them not being able to work new technology not to mind pay out more for new equipment in order to receive the signal into the future. If we had universal DAB coverage nationwide, it might have helped but this is still far from the case.

Realistically, how many people, elderly or otherwise, have an LW radio but not FM? And how exactly would DAB coverage have helped?

AwaitYourReply

Given how RTÉ has handled it's smaller niche services over the years, I think everything including Radio 1 FM, Radio 1 LW/Radio 1 Extra, RnaG, 2fm, lyric fm should be looked properly as some services warrant more closer examination. This service has already been thrown around in recent years when they axed their MW frequencies - I'm surprised they have any audience left given the lack of promotion in comparison to 2fm and lyric fm over the years. RTÉ previously axed it's long established RTÉ Radio Cork 89FM service in the early 2000's and around the same time it was decided to make the former FM 3 Music (part-time opt-out service) into the full time service of RTÉ lyric fm but despite several promo campaigns on TV/Radio over the years it has never really grown to justify it's existence. It's numbers are pretty low and I would have to question it's future in the same way that the powers axe or move other services that are not much different in terms of audience reach. If you say RTÉ must cater for it as they are fulfilling their public service remit, then they need to treat their listeners to LW 252kHz (who have already been forced to make the switch over from MW in recent times) with equal treatment to the likes of lyric fm, RnaG and so on and so forth.

Cork_chick_94

former legend wrote: »

Realistically, how many people, elderly or otherwise, have an LW radio but not FM? And how exactly would DAB coverage have helped?

I think it might be about sunday morning mass which is on LW and digital only. I would imagine that most radio mass listeners are elderly and in my experience elderly people are more likely to have a portable radio with lw. Maybe they should carry the mass on RTE Lyric FM ?

Antenna

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

any additional sports coverage for broadcast should be incorporated on to Radio 2fm schedule as the need arises. Otherwise, find another way to broadcast these LW services for those c

Additional sports coverage could perhaps be put on Lyric FM! ?
After all BBC Radio 3 has carried cricket in the past.

AwaitYourReply

DAB coverage might have helped if RTÉ Radio One Extra was on a DAB radio that was in cars and was portable just like LW and MW was for many years. Asking elderly people to tune Online to the internet/mobile app/UPC is not always a realistic proposition for this type of audience. If there had been good DAB national coverage whereby you could say you can still receive these services, just buy this DAB radio and tune to this station id but this is not the case in much of Ireland outside Dublin/Cork/Limerick cities.

If the modern technology gets too complicated to follow for those not pc/internet/mobile literate it becomes too difficult for them and this is a pity. Our older senior citizens who listen to the service deserve more dignity and respect.

We all saw how they had a gradual evolving campaign in terms of the switch from analogue to digital tv in the form of SaorView a few years ago. This was given a months notice and the response is go Online/Mobile/UPC etc;