With DAB+ you can set up single frequency networks to provide wider coverage or better coverage within a given area. It’s possible to have single frequency networks on FM in some cases but normally you have to use multiple frequencies. With DAB+ one frequency can cover a whole country.
For example, in Canberra, most FM stations are on one main frequency and another for Tuggeranong, while for DAB+, one frequency can serve both.
At my parents for Christmas who live in north west Brisbane and as per usual I checked out their TVs and did a rescan on their DAB radios.
Was super surprised when the bedside table radio came back after the scan with +80 stations. It had tuned in the Gold Coast multiplex without any difficulty and reception was stable with the antenna extended.
They aren’t particularly high up, in fact behind a hill from direct line to the Gold Coast but can otherwise get reception of Breeze/Rebel and some GC stations.
That was the only radio that happened on.
So, in case you need a recommendation for a radio with a good quality sensitive tuner it was a Panasonic RF-D10. Having 10 easy to access presets is also a good feature.
BTW there is no stable in car GC DAB reception on nearby streets - perhaps fleeting along the top of a rideg were there is a view to the south.
My portable radio can get solid GC DAB here in Redcliffe and depending on where I go most of the peninsula my car will get it as well.
What brand and make is your portable radio?
Can you recommend any other good pocket DAB radios?
Is there an idea of whether the three national MUXs are specifically “one for each official language” [not counting Romansh] or does it differ? Unless the local MUX therefore provides room for more in their canton’s primary language(s). I wonder also whether, as part of the lack of FM room, whether it means that languages other than the primary one in a city or canton are a bit underserved right now.
If you’re having to serve three/four official languages as best as possible, I imagine that the FM band isn’t likely to give you the room to properly handle that.
I need to correct what I said in that post.
Actually the MUXes are language based (German, French, Italian or Romansh) with some MUXes being the same everywhere (one for Romansh, two for German, three for French and Italian), while others are different in different areas (e.g. North Switzerland, Zurich).
The MUXes aer:
German:
French:
Italian:
Romansh:
Many places can also receive DAB+ from neighbouring countries.
Each MUX is on a single frequency network. So SRC SSR D01 will be on the same channel everywhere while SMC D03 N-CH will be on one channel everywhere while SMC D03 BE-FR will be on another channel as they are different from each other.
Please note that
MUX names are from fmscan.org.
Interesting. Switzerland is always on the cutting edge of radio at least. The first time I ever saw RDS was in a cab in Zurich. I can’t quite remember the year but I’m pretty sure it was FM but can’t be certain it wasn’t DAB. Do you know when DAB started in Switzerland?
It started way back in 1999.
Source: https://www.worlddab.org/countries/switzerland/history/current-situation?page=15
Ah thanks. Then it’s possible it was on DAB. I think it was around 2001 or 2002 I was there. Although I guess cars might not have had DAB in them. It was a new Mercedez cab though, I remember that.
It took a while for cars in Oz to get DAB. It didn’t start to appear in reasonable numbers here until 6 years after launch.
Maybe the Swiss were a bit more proactive than us!
I would bet 100% on that.
Current line up on the Perth 9B Multiplex…
@robtog noted a few weeks ago ‘Sonshine’ had been added, using some bits from sister station, Inspire Digital. Looks like Noongar and 6EBA may have also given up bits to make room for Sonshine.
But then the multiplex currently still has 60 Capacity Units free, by my calculations. All from the Community Radio allocation. So not sure why any one had to change their bitrates in the first place.
My calculation lands on 12CU free, but there’s a chance I typoed,
12CU could do 24kbps in EEP-4A so they could probably boost some of the others slightly, but maybe they’d rather leave it empty than pick who would get it.
Kinda amazed none of the commercial stations have gone 4A mode to try and squeeze in more stations - Niche Radio at 32k 3A has to be the weirdest, surely SEN or TAB would be willing to pay more than Niche to get on DAB, even if it was 32k 4A (leaving 16kbps for Niche, same as Melbourne). I assume SEN are footing the bill anyway as part of them buying out the Narrowcast licence to do SEN Track Perth?
I’d have to go & look at the original DAB+ engineering, but I doubt any commercial station worth their salt will use EEP-4A mode, EEP-3A was recommended minimum after extensive testing, as the best middle ground for coverage, bit rate usage & error correction.
I believe with EEP-4A & higher (lower error correction) you are starting to push/risk the limits of usability in a mobile environment due to the doppler effect of the signal, especially in freeway/motorway 100kph sort of speeds, EEP-4A & higher (lower error correction) are still okay for a stationary (home) environment though.
Good grief that is what happened to 657AM when it previously had Niche Radio, it has been taken over by SEN? That station is quite weak south of the river. Maybe that is why people (Cockburn Central and beyond) should tune in to SEN Peel from Mandurah DAB+ (which I assume has a similar feed)?
Was listening to SEN Melbourne (4A) on dab on the jbl Bluetooth speaker, yea it dropped out. I guess I could adjusted the aerial but I can tell the difference even at home. I can get good reception upstairs with a very basis rabbit ears for digital tv so I have good reception.
Well what do you know? Sonshine and Inspire have swapped bit bandwidth. Trust the owners to realise the commercial potential of Sonshine. At 48 kbps it is on par with the best fidelity commercial stations like Smooth, Nova, 6iX and My Perth(*). Now they just need to update the running text to align with their FM version still using RDS, so we know what music track they are playing. Adjacent to and directly competing with Smooth!
(*) Of course nothing beats 96 kbps if you can pick up Wave or Coast from Mandurah DAB+
Thanks Moe, I think you’re right. My Grade 6 maths has failed me again! Your layout paints a much better picture of where things are at.
Honourable mention to 6PRs 96 kbps… I forgot to check if it was stereo.
SCA use 4-A in Hobart (with some stations pushing bitrates as low as 16kbps). Coverage is useless, especially in comparison to ARN at 2-A.
Does that include NTS at 32 kbps broadcasting radio silence for many months?
But then without the correct processing the 48 kbps can sound bad. Smooth FM sounds much better than Sonshine, and I don’t think that is due to the different EEPs. Heck Coles Radio sounds better and that is at 32 kbps.
Is the hi-fidelity talkback even recorded in stereo?
