Choose from something later?:
DAB prediction postcode
(Don't know your postcode? Find it at Post Office Postcode finder).Sunday, 26 November 2023
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StevensOnln15:36 PM
Phil Smith: Poole and the wider Dorset area has had DAB and DAB+ stations available for many years. Put your postcode into the link below and it will show which stations are predicted to be available.
Postcode checker - Digital Radio UK
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Saturday, 15 February 2025
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nick12:09 AM
Crawley
Hi friends
i wonder if someone can explain why my FM reception is a little on the low side with a Labgear
Omni-Directional Radio Aerial in the loft. i used to get a DB reading of 70 in Crawley with just a telescopic aerial, and since moving into a newer property it's down to 42 DB for radio 1234
my aerial installer who is coincided to be the best like me is stumped at this point. i live just 12 miles from the Reigate transmitter and 4 miles from the dab transmitter LITTLE PRESTWOOD FARM
i've always preferred FM for sound quality. Would an FM Half Wave Dipole work better, do you think?
Did they turn down the power over the past few years from Reigate?
many thanks. :)
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Steve Donaldson1:25 AM
The BBC Radios 1 to 4 FM transmitter you are likely to receive is Wrotham. Reigate broadcasts two FM stations: BBC Surrey/Sussex on 104.0 and Heart on 102.7.
Wrotham FM frequencies are:
BBC Radio 1 = 98.8
BBC Radio 2 = 89.1
BBC Radio 3 = 91.3
BBC Radio 4 = 93.5
Classic FM = 100.9
While line-of-sight isn't so important as with TV, at your location it is the case that you can't quite see the antennas on the Wrotham mast. The highest part of Toys Hill is in your way. This is just over 15 miles out, Wrotham being 25 miles away.
Moving southwards and/or eastwards, within the Crawley conurbation the line to the transmitter passes to the south side of Toys Hill where the ground isn't as high and which allows the antennas to be seen.
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Steve Donaldson1:28 AM
nick: There is the question as to whether your roof has something in which is attenuating the signal.
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Chris.SE5:10 AM
nick:
Those circular aerials generally don't give quite as good a signal as a simple dipole, so you could try that. If you are talking loft installation, you could experiment with a wire dipole. I presume you are using it horizontally, whilst you are generally limited for space in a loft, vertical might give a better signal.
If you are sticking with horizontal polarisation, you could try a half-wave dipole pointing a bit off-beam from Wrotham, say point it around NNE, you should still get pretty much the same signal from Wrotham but possibly better reception of the local stations from Reigate.
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nick11:00 AM
nick: many thanks. I will give all of your advice to my aerial installer and hope we get a solution to this.
when i moved into the house, i had a dab aerial fitted and that worked fine at 60 DB and thought no more of it, so I guess we could go down that route once again. The reason for this saga is that i have a high line range of tuners and swap out the models now and again, of which some have a lower acceptance rate to work properly under 50DB
it could be only the cheaper tuners I have will work, those get 70 DB in the house while the top of the range tuners i have need 50 DB, of which i am just under.
it does make a difference i find on FM as the vocals are so life like in the room with you
long live FM. failure to get the spec right means the tuners kick in with the BLN lighting up, which takes away the treble
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nick3:24 PM
nick: hi Steve :)
the loft is empty, the roof just a standard modern tile
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