What was the signal strength and quality for the Sydney and Canberra digital stations like at the Bowral lookout on your car radio?
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Used to heavily, but has gone quiet on it in recent years.
Ironically at the same time they plunged much of NT and surrounding jurisdictions into a radio free black hole by turning off domestic SW supposedly to redirect funding for such a project.
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Wasnāt there a claim that ABC radio on VAST was a good enough replacement?
That was one of the weasel word liners from the ABC, but you canāt receive that whilst mobile in a vehicle, aircraft or boat. Complete joke and dereliction of duty to those the ABC has served for decades.
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I havenāt worked out how to display the signal strength on this radio yetā¦ nevertheless, Canberra was probably at the minimum strength needed for stable reception as when I moved from my spot, there were only a few more brief pockets of reception.
I could not get Canberra DAB with my vehicle facing south i.e. towards the lookout. I had to park on the opposite side near the dunnys (car facing north, antenna facing south). The only other spot with reception was when I drove out of the lookout precinct; all gone once back on the main road.
I put 2CA, My Canberra Digital and Snow FM in my presets so will be able to check for possible tropo reception now. I think it will be a very tough ask to get anything from them in Sydney on a car radio, though.
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Do you think this was due to a licence issue or someone having a whinge?
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Thanks, that was similar to the reception I got on my portable at the lookout. The maximum strength and quality was at the picnic table, unfortunately you cannot drive down closer to the lookout where the signal is at its strongest.
Re Canberra Dab+ dxing in Sydney, probably around the Dural Lookout, and Galston when there is strong tropo from Canberra. Non tropo reception of Eagle Fm is at its best in these areas, so maybe worth a try.
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Only on satellite Foxtel. Not on cable.
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Yeah- the Porter Lookout at Dural is a top spot. I would also suggest parts of the eastern suburbs which have a good takeoff to the SW. Iāve had Canberra pretty strong at La Perouse before.
Although not strictly within Sydney, the Burragorang Lookout (Nattai) would be another good spot.
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Has been on Optus cable for years. Analogue managed by Optus North Ryde/Belrose and digital cable when taking the Foxtel digital product.
Relatives of mine still have Optus cable (NBN installation idiocy delaying the end of it) and the ABC & SBS stations are there.
Optus I believe have broadcast quality sat receiving facilities in the three eastern capitals where the Foxtel sat is placed into the cable stream and local terrestrial TV signals are added by Optus.
In moments of extreme rain fade, the Foxtel channels glitch and and stop whilst rebroadcast pf local terrestrials continue.
do they still have Optus Vision? Is it a relay of Foxtel these days? Do they still have channels exclusive to Optus Vision? Optus Sport perhaps?
The cable TV on Optus HFC is now a direct relay of the Foxtel DVB-C signal. If you have a Foxtel-issued Foxtel box, you can plug it into an Optus HFC socket and itāll work.
However, Optus have also teamed up with Fetch TV to offer pay TV through streaming. On Fetch TV, they have their Optus Sports 1-10 channels.
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That was the analogue cable service from Optus. When they went digital, they switched to taking the Foxtel digital offering, basically a rebroadcast over Optusā cable system, off the satellite from Foxtel.
The Optus cable service as described will be switched off by Optus once enough customers migrate to the NBN.
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Iāve noticed on my DAB+ radio that SBS Chill has shortened to just āChillā.
Itās still known on-air as SBS Chill though.
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Perhaps itās a salute to the unusually chilly weather weāre enjoying today?
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Notice I get SBS Radio Sydney on 97.7, making this a rare case where the DAB signal is received without the corresponding analogue signal.
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At least as far as FM goesā¦ where I am, stations like 2CH and 2SM are pretty much unlistenable at night.
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I canāt get Joy very well on FM if at all but fine on digital in Geelong
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Nor does 2GB, they donāt get out of Sydney too well at all.
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Why is Joy on DAB+ anyway? Itās only an inner city license.