On my Sangean the ‘prune’ function doesn’t work, don’t know why, so I’ve annoyingly got some ABC and SBS stations twice though a couple have slightly different names.
I know DAB repeaters in Sydney exist on the Northern Beaches, in the CBD, and at Campbelltown, the obvious solution to me would be to install 1 or 2 around Redland Bay or Capalaba… I’m guessing it can’t be as simple as that otherwise it would have been done by now??
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Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner has responded about Brad Smart’s opinion piece on Radioinfo about Brisbane DAB+ coverage: https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/brisbane-dab-claims-are-flawed-joan-warner
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I once email the commercial radio team on some stations using FEC 4-A.
FEC 4-A requires around 4 times the TX power to match FEC 3A to give the same signal strength. The international level of protection standard for DAB Terrestrial broadcast appears to be level 3. Given patchy coverage in some parts of Sydney, people could blame the DAB radio as a product (when listening to say 1sm which broadcasts at 4A). Not sure if this is a similar situation in Brisbane.
I suggested commercial radio should standardise the error checking to 3A (similar to ABC/SBS radio) . DR Plus basically said each radio broadcaster can choose whatever error level they wish to choose. They don’t mind if there is inconsistent reception. It seems to mess up my DAB radio in the Mazda but that is a different story :).
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Heres a question. Can a broadcaster choose to broadcast at a lower power if they choose to? Say to save electricity. Analog only. Just curious as they can indirectly do this on dab.
On analogue, yes - they can broadcast at any power up to their licensed power.
On digital they can’t - the entire multiplex has to be the same power (although this can be less than the licenced power).
Using stronger error checking requires more bandwidth, which results in less space for stations, but has the ability is being able to be received with weaker reception. Using a weaker error checking is the opposite, and neither options change the cost of electricity.
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Rebel Media proprietor, Aaron Jowitt, has his say about the overspill of Brisbane’s DAB+ coverage: https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/play-ball-brisbane-digital-radio-rebel-fms-aaron-jowitt
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I think amalgamation of adjacent licence areas is a good idea. But Rebel and Breeze are adjacent to and overlap numerous Qld and NSW licence areas. Do they want to merge with all those licence areas?
If ACMA were seriously proposing to co-channel Rebel with Radio 97 they either have rocks in their head, or way too little spectrum to play with
I’m still yet to be convinced that using Band III for DTV was a good idea given DAB+ was on the horizon. UHF should have solely provided DTV (with maybe one other group of channels kept for TV and not sold off), leaving Chs 6-12 free for a nationwide rollout of DAB+. Instead we have this debacle
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I think I heard somewhere that the reason we still have VHF for Digital TV broadcasting is because it works better in metro areas or something.
Yes, I can imagine that there would be a number of households in metro areas who never bothered with a UHF antenna just to get SBS and maybe a community TV channel.
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What else do you expect from the pack of baboons we have in Canberra and in ACMA and in the industry? 
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ABC today announced changes to the Double J line-up for 2018: https://radio.press.abc.net.au/zan-rowe-tim-rogers-gemma-pike-hau-latukefu-join-double-j-as-we-farewell-myf-warhurst#
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Was in Perth this week and noticed ARN are now broadcasting 96fm, The 80s, The Edge and Elf Radio on DAB+ - all at 32kbps
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Is Elf Radio really worth it? Such a shame for 96fm to go from one of the few 128kbps stations all the way down to 32.
Surely it’s in the interest of all Perth/Adelaide broadcasters to lobby to be given access to a secondary DAB multiplex - it’s not like there’s the pressing spectrum capacity issues for adjacent markets that there are in the other states.
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1SM is gone in Sydney,replaced by the previously gone Dance Super Digi
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So Perth doesn’t get The 90s on DAB?
I think The 80s is much better anyway 
Perhaps when Elf Radio finishes after Christmas…
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Does anyone have a Sangean DPR-39?
http://www.canohm.com.au/sangean-pocket-radios/sangean-dpr-39.html
I had a Sangean DT-120 (the AM/FM version), it was good & got quite a bit of use, but it only lasted about 2 years, before it got a mind of it’s own, doing random things.
I’m thinking of upgrading to the DAB+ version, & even though it’s cheaper than what the DT-120 was at the time, I’m not sure it’s worth it if it’ll only last a couple of years?
If anyone has the DPR-39, what’s the FM & DAB+ reception like, & is the sound quality good?
Gorilla also has some form of dance music format, doesn’t it? If so, the return of “Dance Super Digi” doesn’t add much to the Sydney DAB+ landscape IMO. Fair enough, have a dance music-themed station on Sydney digital radio but is it really necessary for there to be two from the same network?
Incidentally, here’s how I’d program the SRN/BOG stations in Sydney if I was ever in charge:
2SM 1269: Same format as now, but with more professionalism and localism to properly compete with the MRN talk stations.
2SM Classic: Relaunched version of “Fun Classic Hits” predominately focusing on music from the 60s to the 80s, with some 50s and 90s tunes thrown in.
Gorilla Dance Hits: Dance-themed music station.
Zoo Music Variety: Relaunched with the regional FM network music format for Sydney, excluding syndicated content for rights reasons.
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I don’t know much about the DPR-39, I have the DPR-34 Plus, and it is good unit for it’s size.
Sound quality is good, reception isn’t as good as larger units, partly because the aerial is shorter, but I don’t many issues with reception - still possible to get Sydney FM and DAB from my place near Newcastle with only the odd drop out on DAB when walking around…
My only real gripes with the 34 Plus are that the jog wheel is a bit hard and fiddly to use to change stations and to switch from FM to DAB… The display can be hard to read too.
The DPR-35 is currently on sale at JB Hifi for $140, only a little bit more than the DPR-39 at $116, and looks to have a different wheel mechanism, so it may solve one of those above issues.
http://www.canohm.com.au/sangean-pocket-radios/sangean-dpr-35.html
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