All posts by nickwilcock
Below are all of nickwilcock's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.Well,I live in OX28 and I'm seeing 'Very Good' reported for Freeview Chan 53, 55, 59, 60 and 62...
However, I've noticed a lot of birds beginning to roost on some of the taller aerials hereabouts....and the little beggars sometimes peck at the cables.
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While DAB is OK for my little Sony clock radio, I am far from convinced that it will be adequate for the BBC to propose an early switch-off for national VHF/FM. The main reason being the cost of fit/form/function replacement of in-car radios.
It's not just the cost of replacing a receiver; often the antenna system is difficult to replace - and many people will NOT accept stick-on-windshield systems or nasty little plug-in DAB receivers.
As for VHF/FM being relegated to ultra-local bedroom radio stations, where is the demand for such rubbish?
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Briantist, both those DAB-to-FM transverters are PRECISELY the sort of thing I would never use in my car.
About 35 years ago I bought an FM-to-MW transverter for the MW/LW car radio in my Opel Manta. Although it worked, the main reason was that the existing antenna was fine at VHF.
Whereas DAB needs a proper Band III antenna and to install such a thing in my car would require major surgery. Windscreen antennae are little more than junk.
DAB might be OK for some low-fidelity static locations, but it is utterly inadequate for national car radio usage.
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Unfortunately Internet radio is still far too prone to poor server reliability and indifferent audio streams which are there one day, gone the next.
Even 'Gold' is rubbish on Internet, yet at 128kbps stereo on DAB is adequate for my bedside clock radio.
Internet radio in cars? Perhaps in cities, but hardly likely in the countryside.
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"People are buying DAB because they like the extra stations, The Absolute 80s, Jazz and BBC 6 Music listening figures are soaring. You cannot get these stations on an FM radio."
I'm not sure about that. The only reason I have a Sony DAB/DAB+ alarm clock radio is that the price was OK snd my previous Sony packed up after over 30 years.
But I do agree that Gold Radio is worth listening to.
Unfortunately car audio isn't awash with DAB/DAB+ solutions - and nasty little add-ons with screen-mounted antennae are NOT acceptable. If there was a fit/form/function 'box out/box in' replacement for my M-B Audio 10, I might consider it. But locating an antenna on an SLK isn't easy....
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Unlike virtually every recent natioal broadcasting upgrade since the 1960s (colour on 625, stereo on FM), DAB is NOT 'backwards compatible'. Neither does it bring any new 'killer applications' - unless PopUp Radio, TeamRock and a couple of god squad stations float your boat...
Even digital TV was relatively simple to include for legacy viewers with analogue TVs - they simply needed a set-top box and the existing antenna was normally sufficient. Few people have mobile TV, so it wasn't much of an issue. Digital TV brought improvements over analogue TV, whereas DAB brings poorer sound - does the BBC think that people are really stupid to pay for something which yields lower quality?
But DAB with its different frequency range needs a different antenna system for car radios, it doesn't have RDS and you cannot even set your watch by it.
'Legacy' listeners complained loudly enough when the BBC tried to mess with Radio 4 on Long Wave - and I suspect they'll complain even louder if the BBC should ever try to switch of FM and force everyone to switch to expensive, low quality bubbling mud radio.
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There've been a few drop-outs of the Oxford mux this morning - the signal strength for Gold Oxford dropped from its usual 98% down to around 6% at around 11:00....
Unlike FM, which usually just fades, DAB dr.p-.ut. ar. m.re sud..n.
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Were any taxis operating in the vicinity? Or police vehicles? Both used to upset my TV reception if they used their radios nearby.
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At OX283SR (East Witney) my kitchen TV is showing 'poor' signal quality for both the current services (Pop and QVC Extra) on Ch29; however, the actual picture and sound quality seems fine..... Not that either service holds any interest for me, although the forthcoming local Oxfordshire service might.
MuxD/ArqB used to be on Ch29 from 2 Jan - 28 Sep 2011 and I received them without any problems, so I assume that the local service should generally be OK.
My TV isn't compatible with DVB-T2, so I've no idea whether COM7 and COM8 are fully up and running yet, although the TV reports their non-HD services as being 'incompatible'.
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Monday 14 March 2011 10:29PM
Witney
Channel 68 looks normal here in East Witney....