I would have loved to see the LW equipment running at full chat. I tried to arrange a tour of Westerglen for our radio club but it’s not possible with the changes.
There’s something majestic about the word ‘sender’.
I would have loved to see the LW equipment running at full chat. I tried to arrange a tour of Westerglen for our radio club but it’s not possible with the changes.
There’s something majestic about the word ‘sender’.
Helps if you work in the industry! The old adage, “It’ not what you know, it’s who you know”
In our case, we know the Senior Engineer at Droitwich!!
Yes, 100%, Sender is far nicer term!
Compared to listening to MW-AM stations in my youth (e.g. R.Luxenbourg under the pillow with my transistor^^, later the ‘pop pirates’), nowadays I find the local EMI pollution makes even these strong stations unpleasant to listen to during the day (not that we can get R.Caroline here ‘up north’ during the day). And e-vehicles at close range make it worse. Re the cost-per-listener, most EU/UK broadcasters have ‘read the runes’ and closed down many of their MW stations. The BBC plans a “Total AM Exit” by end of 2027. Commercial giants have already fled.
^^transistor (or ‘tranny’) = transistorised portable radio (a new thing in the early 1960s).The rise of the portable radio directly coincided with the birth of offshore pirate stations
DAB radio was useless in the early days with poor coverage; to be expected at ~200MHz with underpowered widely-spaced transmitters. Coverage will be perfect by the time no one under 70 is listening to it.
I’m not sure that listening to a live station (other than for sport) will be a thing if current trends continue…
The ad should read Italian QRPp operator. ![]()
Alas tis likely true. It’s all about fragmentation, subscriptions and dark patterns these days.
I noticed Sky have monetised their podcasts now to a standalone subscription model. Not a listener myself but just an example.
Live events is probably still the main driver. I like having a radio on when WFH, or just to carry out portable occasionally. I like my Eton Elite as it does everything including Air.
The Tecsun PL-330 is a staple in my SWL diet, as is the little XH-DATA pocket radio. I wish I had a setup that could get BBC Radio Norfolk from EI as they have live coverage of local football and the EFL. This is all paywalled online so unless you live locally you can’t get the broadcast directly.
I also noticed recently a case of rug pulling by the BBC Sounds app. Until a couple of months ago they had the (I think) entire Sherlock Holmes radio plays available.
They disappeared with no warning and no mention of why or if they are returning. Good job the Internet Archive exists.
I blame Moriarty…
The BBC doesn’t own the permanent on-demand streaming rights to its entire archive even for content it originally produced. Instead, it operates on a strictly regulated time-window system.
I remember the days of Marine CW beacons, there used to be a monthly list in Practical Wireless magazine, useful for learning CW
Band II FM Broadcast band will be next
They’re coming for FM already. ![]()