Network Z - BBC 7 - BBC Radio 7 now becomes BBC Radio 4 Extra, with an 'E'
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV Back in 2002, the BBC decided it needed to provide additional listening options for the digital radio listener. Five new services were proposed for the capacity the BBC had on DAB digital radio and digital satellite.
The sport section of Radio 4's long wave service became the longest named service, BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra. The Asian Network was promoted from a Midlands-only AM service.
The three other networks were codenamed "Network X", "Network Y" and "Network Z".
"Network X" became "1Xtra", "Network Y" launched as "6Music" and "Network Z" became "BBC7".
BBC Radio 1Xtra, as it now is, is still close to the original remit of "contemporary black music to a young audience and break new, non-chart UK talent".
BBC Radio 6 Music, has moved somewhat from the remit of "BBC archives of concerts and music interviews to explore music from the 1970s to the 1990s", and is now a very popular off-playlist music station.
BBC Radio 7 was intended to provide "spoken-word entertainment in a way which will encourage new listeners to speech radio".
In the next month, BBC Radio 7 will become, with a suitable 'correct' spelling, BBC Radio 4 Extra. There will be little change to the content of the station, aside from the dropping of the Cbeebies Radio service and the provision of some extended contemporary BBC Radio 4 programmes such as Now Show Extra and News Quiz Extra and Desert Island Discs Revisited.
Help with TV/radio stations?
In this section
Sunday, 3 April 2011
M
Mike Dimmick7:59 PM
Reading
M.Rothwell: Mendip broadcasts the West region services, which for BBC news is Points West. You could also be using Stockland Hill (BBC Spotlight south-west news) or Wenvoe (BBC Wales). ITV1 broadcasts 'The West Country Tonight' from both Mendip and Stockland Hill, so it's harder to tell.
Given that you have similar signal levels from a Group A transmitter (Stockland Hill), a Group C/D transmitter (Mendip), and a Group B transmitter (Wenvoe), I'd strongly recommend a grouped aerial. You're much less likely to get a 'region overlap' problem, where the box selects services from the wrong region that you then have problems with, because the signals received off to the side are poor.
As the signals from all transmitters are pretty strong, I'd go for an 18-element Yagi. In the loft you might want to try an aerial with X-type elements because these are shorter than the equivalent Yagi for the same performance - outside the Yagis are usually recommended because they have less surface area and are blown about less by the wind.
There's a reasonable chance your aerial is already suitable, but you have an overlap problem. See if your box or TV has a status information or signal strength menu which lists the frequencies used, and look at which way the aerial points. It's most likely that your aerial points north-east to Mendip, but could have stored channels from Stockland Hill.
Mendip: C61 C54 C62 C56 C67 C58
Stockland Hill: C26 C23 C25 C22 C28 C29
Wenvoe: C41 C44 C51 C30 C49 C47
To check all the frequencies, go to BBC Two, then ITV1, then ITV3, then Dave, then Yesterday. The final frequency in each list is for HD services, so if you have HD equipment, try any HD channel. (I said BBC Two above because there is now BBC One and BBC One HD, but any BBC service will do.)
If you find that it is storing signals from the wrong transmitter, you have a few options. You could try adding an attenuator when retuning, which hopefully will reduce the levels of the signals you don't want enough that the box won't see them. You might be able to leave it connected all the time if signals are strong enough. Or you might have to fit a filter (or use a diplexer as a filter) to reduce the level from the unwanted transmitters still further. Using an aerial of the right group should help. The cheapest, but most annoying, ways are to unplug the aerial when retuning and only plug in once it's got past the unwanted transmitters (but there's not much gap between Wenvoe at C49 and Mendip at C54), or to retune manually.
Newer Freeview HD boxes and TVs should store the strongest signal rather than the first encountered. Some of them also ask which region you want to store, if it finds more than one.
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Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Monday, 4 April 2011
N
Nedbod10:05 PM
Mike / M Rothwell / Mark A - What has this got to do with BBC Radio 4 Extra, which is the theme of this stream ?
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Tuesday, 5 April 2011
M
Mike Dimmick2:13 PM
Reading
Nedbod: Nothing. However, people with problems tend to ask their questions wherever they first find a comment box, and the only way to reply to them with assistance is to use the page they asked the question on.
Brian tends to answer questions on the page they landed on rather than moving them to the correct page. It's often hard to figure out where the comment should go until you've asked a few questions about the problem or looked at the predictions.
Even when the question is posted on a transmitter page it's often the wrong transmitter - sometimes it's entirely the wrong region, not just one of several local possibilities.
I've sometimes posted the 'please re-post your comment on the correct page' response, but you tend to lose people - they don't repost. Unless Brian provides a facility to move a question to the correct page, perhaps allowing people with a lot of posts to move it too, we're stuck.
The site is used far more by people who just want answers, now, and once they get them they will never come back. People who actually want to have a conversation about a topic are far fewer.
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Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Mike Dimmick: I will look into this when I have a moment, but it is a non-trivial thing to do. In particular there is the problem of a reply being split from a question when moved if the original timestamps are kept.
I'm always up for suggestions about how this could be done, it does happen quite a bit and doesn't really help with the flow.
It certainly needs a "X's comment moved to the XXXX page" if it happens.
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Saturday, 9 April 2011
Joe
9:48 PM
9:48 PM
I'm disappointed that since Radio 7 became BBC Radio 4 Extra there seems to be less podcasts available to listen to via internet radio.
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Monday, 11 April 2011
Joe: Oh, yes, there's just FOUR now. BBC - Podcasts - radio4extra .
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Wednesday, 13 April 2011
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mrs madalene mckeown4:57 PM
i am so pleased ccbies has gone. deove me nuts in the early hours of morning when the world isnt a place you want to be in then you switch on to ccbies.arggg. i would love to hear more murder mysteries and much less what you call comedy. why did it change i loved telling friends about bbc 7 . i hope it wont be full of quizz programmes. more plays and serials for late night please.
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Saturday, 16 April 2011
Joe
11:33 PM
11:33 PM
Brian: It has improved over the week and despite not altering my internet radio's settings the podcasts do tend to play without re-starting partway through, although I usually drop off to sleep whilst listening to them.
Mrs McKeeon: I couldn't agree more. It is sheer bliss listening to a murder mystery last thing at night or in the early hours. They can stick their comedy crap where the sun doesn't shine. :)
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Sunday, 17 April 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
O
oceaneagle10:08 AM
I'm still at a loss at the name change. BBC7 gave individuality BBC4 Extra means what? the adding of music based programs to a speech station? Although I am pleased at the dropping of CBBC.
Thank heaven for my bedside internet radio. I can now listen to stations like the Pumkin ones which offer speech stations for every mood, Comedy, Drama etc.
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