All posts by Michael Rogers
Below are all of Michael Rogers's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Brian, these maps will be greatly appreciated, as are your DTT ones. Could you be bribed to
bump South Wales and the South West to the top of your project list? :-)
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KILVEY HILL DAB - Strange that this map suggests that immediately adjacent Swansea itself is not included in the target area.
There would be some signal off the back of the array, of course. The indicated KH area would presumably be reached by Preseli, given the more "bendy" propagation at 225 MHz. Does Wenvoe or Carmel specifically target Swansea?
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RAI - Rocco, some is still free-to-air; RAI 1,2,3,N on 10.992V, as posted above. You may need to scan individual transponders manually (using the "all channels" option to include scrambled channels). RAI Gulp, Sport1+2, Storia are on 11.804V; RAI Scuola on 11.768V; RETE4 and Canal5 on 11.919V. From time to time channels are moved about, so check lyngsat.com or kingofsat.net for latest data if needed.
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RAI 1,2,3,N - Giovanni: These are still on 10.992GHz, but some programmes are encrypted and only available with a Tivu box registered
with a codice fiscale. See previous postings on this site for more detail.
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Canale 5 on 13°E (Hotbird) - see two posts above: 11.919GHz V, 27.500, some encrypted, some free-to-air.
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800Mhz changes - David : keep monitoring the extensive Ofcom websites and let us all know! Regional tables presage by 2013 or thereafter. It will be wise to have an aerial that will be future-proof as multiplexes play musical chairs. Except in fringe and CCI areas, a log-periodic is generally the preferred option.
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DAB NORTH DEVON - The Now Digital proposal map for 10C in North Devon would leave significant areas without BBC Radio Devon et al when FM and AM are switched off. Commercial operators are unlikely to invest in many additional transmitters to provide FM-equivalent coverage, so the best hope is that FM/AM will continue. DAB for major centres and motorway corridors, FM/AM for "commercially uninteresting" areas?
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Lets hope the plans come to fruition with greater integrity than the DSO promises!
Even when DAB equals FM coverage, other issues will remain:-
1. Redundancy of millions of little-used analog radios for residual FM/AM broadcasts.
2. Robustness of BandIII DAB signals inside
the home and in-car as compared to BandII FM.
Even in strong-signal areas, the cliff-edge renders this frequently unsatisfactory.
3. Cost of replacing most domestic and in-car radios.
4. High cost of running battery-powered DAB
sets. Chips as efficient as mobile-phone chips required!
5. Low bit-rates of DAB render audio quality
inferior to current FM.
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Wednesday 8 June 2011 10:15AM
DAB - This is, of course, all known and correct. At my elevation, I will probably get DAB from Huntshaw anyway via a rooftop aerial (and maybe relay BBC Radio Devon via a micro FM-tx to legacy domestic FM radios!). As Ofcom ignored the local Carmel CCI issue, there is lingering concern over DAB implementation. Ofcom invites submissions, so why not keep them on their toes? It does indeed appear that FM/AM will remain available for much longer than 2015. Given the sluggish take-up of DAB and investment issues, I hope we will end up with an intelligent compromise, such as: DAB for major centres and motorways, FM/AM for less densly populated areas; operators choose either or both; regional BBC radio guaranteed for all.