Error protection level may be different to fit all the stations in?
1 Like
Thought I would go for a drive to Picnic Point here in Toowoomba in the work truck been it has DAB to see if I could get the Gold Coast DAB, and I can 
8 Likes
I didn’t even think to try for Gold Coast DAB from there when I was in town last October! That’s a good get at 128 km still.
4 Likes
I remember getting the Hot 91 test broadcast from there in 2003 as well as Gold Coast FM. 700 m elevation over the Lockyer Valley will do that.
6 Likes
Yeah not bad considering the pissy little antenna’s the Ford Ranger has
5 Likes
Did I not post to here in 2022 when GC DAB+ began?
Plenty of spots in Toowoomba and Highfields with great GC DAB+. Most locations along the range where FM Hot Tomato can be received, so can the DAB+ multiplex. EEP-1A certainly helped the ease of hearing HT than other stations with 3A.
A three element antenna for the allocation would give reception to many there.
3 Likes
ACMA is proposing to make a Digital Radio Channel Plan for Launceston.
5 Likes
So does this mean the radio operators in Launceston have requested to operate on DAB?
4 Likes
I had to laugh at the frequencies ACMA have for Chilli and LA FM in the report. 90.9 and 92.5 respectively which are the ABC frequencies. And you have to wonder why no one takes ACMA seriously.
5 Likes
ACMA need to have a DX Nerd recruitment program.
4 Likes
The report mentions,
We have decided not to consult on making that declaration for Launceston at this time, as we have not received an indication from the commercial radio broadcasting licensees in the Launceston area that they are interested in rolling out digital radio services.
They further explain,
The ABC wishes to trial new technology for the provision of digital radio. In order to test certain aspects of the new technology, the ABC wishes to transmit its broadcasting services as part of the trial. The ACMA’s policy is to not permit broadcasting services to be transmitted as part of digital radio trials conducted under scientific licences. Our view is that the technical aspects of such trial are generally able to be tested and assessed by the transmission of a test signal or looped audio content.
So this is seemingly entirely that the ABC feel they can trial some kind of low cost regional digital radio rollout using Launceston as their site, but legally they need to have a full license in order to do so. So no commercial services at all.
This would explain the low power DAB scientific licenses mentioned earlier in this thread, though would be interesting to find out exactly what they are planning.
Maybe this means something like those small-scale dab operations where it’s a glorified Raspberry Pi being used to transmit.
4 Likes
What could they be trialling that hasn’t been done before? Seemingly not DRM, as that’s been done in Albury and Wangaratta - is there a DAB+ V2 ?
3 Likes
What’s interesting is the CBAA were also part of the recent testing in Launceston (with FREE DIGITAL RADIO PTY LTD on 9D), but this variation only includes the allocation of a Category 3 licence for ABC/SBS (albeit with reserves for a Cat1).
From what ACMA are saying, ARN don’t sound interested in launching their own DAB+ service.
Could the CBAA potentially lead the charge on a cat1 DAB service on 9D for community stations and put it to air without the commercial stations? Would that be permitted under the current (insane) legislation?
Maybe ARN are hoping the CBAA are dead-set on DAB+ in Launceston and will push forward regardless - which would take some administrative load (and potentially some costs) off ARN in the startup phase.
ACMA say there are no eligible community stations in the scope of a DAB+ Launceston licence area at present, but I guess it’s nearly guaranteed they would make a determination to allow Way FM, City Park Radio and 7RPH onboard - just like they let Edge Radio on in Hobart a few years ago.
5 Likes
Also interesting that (although its the technical specs for the ABC/SBS DAB), the proposal doesn’t have a null towards the North-East like the commercial FM’s of Mt Barrow do (to protect the Scottsdale ARN commercial stations).
Chilli and LAFM are only allowed to push 50w ERP towards the North-East off Barrow (0°T - 110°T). They do this by having their own array (separate to the ABC FM array inside the white radome) on the side of the concrete part of the tower.
The planned 8B DAB service will be pushing 6.25kw towards the North-East (including to Scottsdale etc).
While they haven’t released the technical specs for the reserved 9D service, I can’t imagine there would be space on the tower (let alone the budget from ARN/CBAA) to install a second (directional) antenna array for 9D DAB+, if ACMA enforced the same null as the analog counterpart.
Given Launceston and Scottsdale are both solus ARN markets (and the Scottsdale stations are just simulcasts of Launceston with local ads), could special provision be made for ARN to have additional capacity to also transmit Chilli NE and 7SD on 9D DAB, alongside the Lton stations?
3 Likes
They mention six ABC services, and in the footnote, they list 7NT twice. Is there any reason why they’d do this?
3 Likes
ACMA spent years closing regional and even capital city offices like Perth and Adelaide and lots of $$$$ laying off Field Officers, many of which had experience with broadcasting stations - it would be very interesting to see if there was anyone left there now that could walk into a transmitter hut and even identify what the equipment did.
3 Likes
Sad state of affairs if this was the case
3 Likes
That explains why LA and Chilli are so hard to hear in SE NSW via tropo, compared to say Melbourne where they are often heard. I often hear the Lonny nationals; admittedly they are 192 kW.
4 Likes
8 Likes
I find it totally weird that the ABC is interested in DAB at Launceston, but not the Gold Coast. Kinda defies logic.
8 Likes