Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Majid Hussain, who notes that the BBC is beginning the phased closure of some of its BBC Radio 5 Live AM transmitters.
According to RadioToday, the first two AM transmitters are scheduled to close at the end of July 2026, marking the start of a wider reduction in the network’s mediumwave coverage. The move reflects the BBC’s continued transition toward FM, DAB, television, and online platforms, while maintaining nationwide access to Radio 5 Live through other distribution methods.
You can read the full story here:
Dafydd Jones,
Australia has been running DAB+ since 2009. The ABC/SBS run 18 programs using a single transmitter in each capital city and in the Gold Coast. The main capital cities are 50 kW effective radiating power from the antenna and the Hobart, Canberra, Darwin and Gold Coast are 20 kW ERP.
The power of the transmitter is generally lower than the effective radiating power.
DRM below 30 MHz uses around half the transmitted power and in the VHF band modified FM transmitter can transmit 18 audio channels and 6 data channels on a single transmitter.
To measure the power DC voltage when the sound is mute. Next place an DC ammeter between the positive battery terminal and + end of the battery chain and measure the current. Now multiply the voltage by the current in Amperes for the power. For the sound amplification increase the voltage until the distortion is noticeable then slightly reduce the volume and repeat the process,
The DRM1000 chip uses 217 mW with the sound muted and 1.24 W with it producing its maximum sound volume of 1 W.
A display which could automatically be made dark after a short period would be extra.
The BBC has already decided against domestic DRM after conducting trials on MW in 2009, no manufacturer has introduced any receiver based on this chip (introduced meaning offering to be ordered), so I don’t think these remarks (not to mention these mentioning DAB+ deployment in Australia) are particularly related to this subject, which is the shutdown of two low-power MW transmitters.
The Long Wave transmitter should be either modified to transmit in DRM, alternatively replace the transmitter with a high power medium frequency DRM transmitter. Since more than one program can be transmitted, the weather for shipping could be added as a continuous coloured map and text added.
http://www.drm.org
Replying to myself, yes, I am aware of what RadioToday says, but they are only speculating, which appears to be taken by many as fact. It’s more likely that they will all, except a handful of high-power transmitters, be closed at once, especially given the upcoming reviews of content, distribution etc., that the BBC is undertaking to save money.
This isn’t the start of a phased closure any more than it is the closure of two transmitters for reasons unknown (possibly lease expiry or equipment age etc.). Yes, all 5 Live AM transmitters will close in the next couple of years, but we can’t yet say this is the definite start of a phase-out. Let’s not jump to conclusions folks.
Very wise and true comments regarding the energy usage. An analogue portable receiver typically draws less than 20 miliamps while a DAB-capable one needs hundreds of them. Also, it was no other organization than the BBC itself that has already established and proved beyond any doubt that when a station with a nationwide coverage is concerned, AM is the distribution method that uses the least energy, both on the transmitting and receiving side. But when the decisions have already been made, the facts do not matter. The BBC claims they need to save on LW and MW, but they don’t see any issue with commissioning an external company to do a “branding redesign” which delivers the same logos with changed font… for £7 million. Ireland’s RTÈ also claimed that their LW is horrendously expensively (€250k yearly) and was then discovered to be depositing same or higher amounts of cash into the pockets of selected radio and TV personalities. It’s a recurring pattern – funds are not being saved but redirected, from the public wallet into private ones.
Certainly the best way to save energy: listening to AM requires 2 AA cells, sometimes 3 or 4 “D” cells that will last a year listening to Radio 5 one hour a day. Internet, App requires so much energy at home and for the service provider that it has to be so cheap (or that nobody cares) to favor that system. Same for DAB+, hundreds, thousands of relays and radios at home who need to be recharged practicaly daily. Last but not least the British voice is listened to on the continent. Radio 4 LW goes, Radio 5 goes, in fact it seems the BBC just disappears….
I’ve been banging this energy drum for ages now, but it cuts little ice. The energy bill has basically been transferred from the broadcaster to the listener, who has to feed his DAB radio (etc) with far more power than required by a standard analogue radio. My Sony DAB radio got through a set of four alkaline AA cells in one week of one-hour-per-day use! I thought the batteries were faulty but no, the radio really was that power-hungry.
Not to mention the fact that Dr TobiasThornes (of Keep Longwave) has demonstrated in the double A4 size document he handed into the BBC;how to provide coverage for the UK requires dozens of FM transmitters and many more for DAB,thereby using far more energy than the doomed Droitwich transmitter does to provide coverage (and many times more)……and yes,digital devices guzzle far more energy than their analogue counterparts as I know from the amount of times I have to replace batteries in my digital wireless headphones (as opposed to my old analogue ones) and as anyone who has had enough of replacing batteries in their DAB portable & opts to keep it plugged in. The fact that they’ve all got green energy labels & eco menu options satisfies all the i***** cramming their houses to the rafters with gadgets all guzzling energy (Remember when you only needed two sockets in a room?) that they’re doing their bit to combat climate change. Of course it is all about money really & of course the end goal of the BBC which is to put everything online (so fans of mw & lw needn’t feel to put-upon!) And yes,I can see the argument for switching these transmitters off,but then again…………