If this is the case Digital radio should only be licence to markets with populations of 200k+
Newcastle, Gosford, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Geelong.
I cannot see fm ever being switched off in my life time. So Dab+ will only be a supplementary service to fm.
Do it properly with reasonable power to the big regional areas only.
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Finally some sensible planning. No doubt plenty of lobbying behind the scenes by Edge Radio and the CBAA
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Thanks!
I donāt see any mention of technical details - I imagine they will be on the same multiplex as the commercial stations?
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Posted this a while back about the Edge Radio situation, and Iām glad that it seems like sensible planning will prevail and I hope that becomes a template for other similar markets, even if only for community services and not the commercial ones in similar situations.
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Yes. All non ABC/SBS DAB+ in Hobart is on SCA/Grantās 9A multiplex from Mt Wellington.
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The RA3 DAB ordeal is a bit strangeā¦ Edge are RA3 for a reasonā¦ Itās a sub metro station, itās not an RA1 station. You lose Edge as soon as you get on the Southern Outlet for Kingston, only a few km from the CBD.
If Edge can have DAB+, then why canāt Huon FM, Tyga FM etc?..
Why couldnāt JOY in Sydney etc be eligble for direct DAB+ access under the same principle?
I understand the population overlaps, but for a 2.5% license area overlap?!!
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Valley FM Tuggeranong and QBN FM Queanbeyan could probably have a similar case in Canberra.
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Re. Double Jā¦
Yes, it plays too many mediocre new releases for my liking. The music policy is 75% new releases and 25% classic alternative; even if it were 50/50 Iād listen more often. The only time worth listening is when they have a āback to the 90sā weekend, or when they play entire Hottest 100 countdowns in full from the 90s/early 00s.
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Whilst researching how DAB works in the UK, I found this site which lists the available DAB services on multiplexes throughout the world:
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Did the loop drive from Sydney-Moss Vale-Kangaroo Valley-Berry-Wollongong-Sydney this afternoon.
I listened to SBS Chill (mux 9C) on the Sydney-Moss Vale leg. Reception was rock solid with not a single dropout until the outskirts of Mittagong town. Hereafter it was very hit and miss; more miss than hit after Bowral. No reception at all in the heart of Moss Vale. Atop Mount Gibraltar (āThe Gibā), Sydney DAB was error free. No sign of Canberra DAB at the southern facing Bowral Lookout. I did get 2XX with RDS on 98.3, though, so it must have been close. It could well have been there at threshold levels but too weak to scan in.
I didnāt try DAB from Kangaroo Valley-Berry as even the analogue was struggling on this zero tropo westerly wind day. 2BRW Braidwood is currently simulcasting on 88.9 and 94.5; presumably they will cease transmission on 94.5 in the near future. They started broadcasting on 88.9 about a week ago. The coverage of 88.9 is far superior to 94.5, in the main because co channel interference from 2RSR is much less severe than that from FBI.
Next stop was Gerroa Headland; no DAB reception here. Reception is possible in the higher parts of Gerringong, though, such as along Tasman Drive. I could not scan in the ABC/SBS mux from here so it must be the weakest of the three from Sydney.
The final leg of the trip was conducted in DAB silence for the most part with MMM Classic Rock on; reception is near non-existent south of Bulli Tops at least while mobile. Only a few small pockets of reception were noted, such as the Kiama Bends and near the Nan Tien Temple at Unanderra. Patchy reception returned at the bottom of Mount Ousley near UOW but then vanished again until the ābig dipperā near Cataract Creek.
Dropout free reception from Bulli Tops all the way home.
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I wonder if this has more about UTas lobbying the ACMA to move TX sites and going DAB only than anything else.
I suspect UTas will want to sell the current TX site as soon as their super new complex next to the theatre royal is fully completed.
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Snow FM on digital radio in Canberra has changed its short name to Snow and long name to Snow Digital.
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Not a direct simulcast of Snow FM?
It appears it still is a direct simulcast.
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Thanks
All ABC stations and off in Melbourne, had a text from a producer, they think theyāre caught up in the telstra outage.
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The full powered DAB multiplex has started broadcasting in Canberra.
It currently only has āDAB+ Test 1ā and āDAB+ Test 2ā which broadcast the same looped message.
Test 1 has the better quality.
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Thanks for noticing that! I see that Test 1 is 64 kbps and Test 2 is 32 kbps, which may explain the quality difference?
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I suffered a couple of minor DAB dropouts whilst in central Clovelly this morning, using my i30ās stock radio. I had SBS Chill on at the time (highly recommended when dealing with Sydney traffic).
The dropouts were possibly due to blockage and/or interference from the nearby shops.