Tag Archives: Longwave

The demise of longwave could lead to the end of the Shipping Forecast

12 Replies

shipping-forecast-locations

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Erica, who writes:

“I saw this article about the demise of the Shipping Forecast on Radio 4 Longwave and thought readers might be interested:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/11892805/End-of-Shipping-Forecast-on-long-wave-radio-could-leave-sailors-high-and-dry.html

I’m not a fan of DAB radio and my bedroom radio aerial has to be positioned just so to get radio 4 FM with cclarity, so I will be disappointed if Longwave eventually gets switched off. That’s not to mention all the people–however many there may be–who don’t have easy ways to get weather info out at sea.”

Here’s an excerpt from The Telegraph:

It has kept sailors safe on the ocean waves for 90 years, becoming just as much a part of national consciousness as cricket, cups of tea and The Archers.

But the days of hearing the Shipping Forecast out on a boat may be numbered thanks to the demise of long wave technology, a veteran announcer has said.

Peter Jefferson, who read the Shipping Forecast to Radio 4 listeners for 40 years, said the “very old” transmitters which worked on long wave could soon be retired.

If that was to happen, he said, anyone more than 12 miles from the coastline would be unable to hear the shipping forecast on long wave, ending a Radio 4 tradition dating back to 1924.

Speaking at the Radio Times Festival, in Hampton Court, Mr Jefferson said the soothing tones of the Shipping Forecast would then be left to its many fans who choose to listen to it from their homes in lieu of a “sleeping pill”.

“Long wave reaches much further than FM, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
“So FM would be totally useless for shipping beyond 12 miles from land.

[…]A spokesman for the BBC said they were no firm plans to end long wave broadcasting, and no date set for when the technology could run out.

The service currently reaches as far as south-east Iceland, and is occasionally picked up as far as 3,000 miles away.

Read this full article at The Telegraph online.

Of course, I haven’t heard the Shipping Forecast on longwave since moving back to the States from the UK. Still, I would be very sad to hear the program and the longwave medium fall silent.

I would like to start adding some Shipping Forecast programs on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive where we also curate select mediumwave and longwave recordings.  If you have the means to record episodes on longwave, please consider helping us!

Attila notes the passing of Deutschlandradio longwave

18 Replies

DL-RadioSWLing Post reader, Pázmány Attila, writes:

“I’m a SWL-MWL-LWL from Hungary, Europe. I like your blog where I can read about radio news and reviews. You report about new stations if they appear in the air and about closed stations if they disappear from the air. I did not observed any news in your blog about the closed LW stations of the “Deutschlandradio”. There were two frequencies for “Deutschlandfunk” (153 kHz and 207 kHz) and one for “Deutschlandradio-kultur” (177 kHz). Here in the center of the Carpathian Basin – many hundreds kms from the statons – I could hear them very well. But not any more. For some weeks it seems that they have disappeared.

I checked the website of the German Radio, and on the following pages LW frequencies are not mentioned any more:

http://www.deutschlandradio.de/frequenzliste-deutschlandfunk.214.de.html

http://www.deutschlandradio.de/frequenzliste-deutschlandradio-kultur.213.de.html

I also checked the http://www.shortwaveschedule.com/index.php?now=true for more information, but these LW stations are also not shown there. So DLF ended its LW broadcasts definitely.

I’m sorry for it. Beside this German radio had a great foreign service in the past (DW – also on Hungarian). But it was closed in the last 10-15 years.”

Thanks for your message, Attila. Being State side, there are few options for listening to the longwave stations I so enjoyed while living in Europe at various times over the past two decades. With that said, when propagation is in my favor, on winter nights, I occasionally hear faint European LW stations like France Inter on 162 kHz.

At some point, I need to dig up a one sheet listing of all longwave stations that are still on the air. Does such a thing exist?

The campaign to save RTE longwave

2 Replies

rte-logo-web1Bill Shepherd writes:

Hello Tom

I am one of the twosome who originated the campaign
against the closure of RTE1 Longwave.

We had been working on it for 4 years and more. We harnessed the press and the opinion of the Irish overseas who depended on this service.

Our website tells you the factors and motivation behind the move to close longwave originating in the EBU decision to go digital. We do not object to digital BUT NOT by reducing the choices offered to the listener especially by a service part funded by the public.

I include our website where the whole case is explored and recorded. we hope you may find it possible to display our link to your readers so that they can be made aware of this tendency.

http://savertelongwaveradio.com/

Thanks for the opportunity to bring this to your attention and good luck with your great website.

Happy to oblige, Bill, and many thanks for making us aware of your campaign to save RTE longwave. I’m sure there are a number of longwave listeners amongst our readership!

WG2XFQ: Brian Justin’s annual longwave broadcast Dec 24-25

3 Replies
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932)

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932)

Now an annual Christmas tradition, Brian Justin (WA1ZMS) will put his longwave experimental station WG2XFQ on the air to commemorate the 108th anniversary of Reginald Fessenden’s first audio transmission.

WG2XFQ will broadcast on 486 kHz from Forest, Virginia, beginning on December 24 at 0001 UTC. WG2XFQ will remain on the air for 48 hours.

Listener reports may be sent to Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, at his QRZ.com address.

If you would like more information about Brian Justin and WG2XFQ, check out our interview with him last year. Indeed, I successfully heard the 2013 WG2XFG broadcast and posted this audio clip on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

Additionally, SWLing Post reader, George Stein has a very personal connection with radio pioneer, Reginald Fessenden: click here to read his story.

RTÉ longwave extended until 2017

Leave a reply

rte-logo-web1This is good news for those who listen to RTÉ via longwave. This extension will also give LW DXers an opportunity to log RTÉ outside the normal broadcast footprint.

(Source: RTÉ via Mauno Ritola and Mike Terry)

RTÉ Radio 1 LW will operate a full service in 2015, with reduced hours in 2016 before working towards a full shutdown in 2017.

The service was due to end early next year after RTÉ postponed a decision to close the transmitter until 19 January.

RTÉ had previously announced that it would be ceasing its Longwave 252 service from the Clarkstown longwave transmitter on 27 October and migrating its Radio One service to digital platforms.

RTÉ said that in slowing the pace of the longwave shutdown, it has considered contact from listeners and submissions from a range of groups, who highlighted that more time was needed to “understand and enable the migration to digital platforms for all listeners”.

Head of RTE Radio 1 Tom McGuire said: “We’ve listened particularly to the concerns raised by and on behalf of the elderly Irish in the UK.

“Cost-reduction remains a key priority for RTÉ and we remain convinced that, in the longer term, longwave has had its day.

“Nonetheless and despite the mid-term cost impact, RTÉ believes it is necessary to take a collaborative approach and slow this transition.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is prepared to work with RTÉ to commission specific research to better understand the community in the UK who listen to the longwave service.

The research will be conducted next year, will be funded by the department and will include perspectives from community groups representing the Irish elderly in the UK.

Chair of the Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee John O’Mahoney said he was delighted at the decision of the RTÉ board to retain the service.

Minister for Communications Alex White has also welcomed the announcement.

He said: “I recently met representatives of the Irish community living in Britain, who stressed the value they place on RTÉ’s longwave service.

“I welcome the decision to extend the life of the service by two years, which will give the broadcaster space to engage with its listeners about other ways of accessing RTÉ radio in the UK.”

RTÉ postpones long wave closure until January 19, 2015

1 Reply

rte-logo-web1This is a follow up to a previous post:

(Source: RTÉ)

RTÉ is postponing the closure of its long wave radio transmitter, the Managing Director of RTÉ Radio has told the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications.

Jim Jennings said what was evident was that more time was needed to engage with groups affected.

The closure has been postponed to 19 January 2015.

RTÉ had previously announced that it would be ceasing its service from the Clarkstown long wave transmitter on 27 October and migrating its Radio One service to digital platforms.

Mr Jennings said the decision to cease any RTÉ public service is not something that RTÉ takes lightly or without serious consideration.

He said: “We know that such decisions affect audiences who enjoy and rely on RTÉ’s services.

“However, we also know that the public expect us to manage our operations and services efficiently and evolve our services as technology changes and audiences adapt.”

“In balancing these broad considerations we have come to the decision that now is the right time to cease our long wave Radio One service after ten years on air.”

Continue reading on the RTÉ website.

In North America, RTÉ longwave is a tough DX. Still, during the quiet conditions of December, I may just try to catch them one evening.

Though the RTÉ website has already removed the long wave frequency from their Ways To Listen page, you can find them on 252 kHz. 

RTÉ underestimates need for longwave service

1 Reply

rte-logo-web1(Source: The Irish Post)

WITH fewer than three weeks to go until RTÉ Radio 1 brings its historic longwave service on 252 to an end, the Irish community in Britain has responded with fury and dismay.

The move, which was announced with just over a month’s notice, is part of the Irish broadcaster’s new focus on digital platforms.

But the decision to cease transmission, from October 27, was described as a “bitter blow” to Irish people in Britain as well as parts of the North of Ireland.

Eddie Walsh, who is PRO of The Workers’ Party (Britain) in Nottingham, said: “Other options are not open to all of us. I cannot get RTÉ on my car radio except on longwave and I certainly do not want to listen to it on my computer. The current radio ads only refer to the island of Ireland, thus not even mentioning those of us on this side of the Irish Sea.”

He added: “I would suggest that the station has underestimated the number of listeners.”

Meanwhile Irish Post reader Sean O’Rinn said: “I have a small radio beside my bed and listen to RTE on 252 every night. There is no way that I can use any digital apparatus in its place. There must be thousands of Irish people here in England who are in a similar position — we will become completely isolated from our native home.”

The loss of the longwave service comes after the broadcaster closed its London offices in 2012. Tom McGuire, Head of RTÉ Radio 1, estimates that no more than 2,000 people use its service.

RTÉ said that 98 per cent of its Radio 1 listeners would be unaffected by the move. It added that to measure longwave listening numbers in Britain would prove “a prohibitive service cost”.

Continue reading online…