XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated, rec.radio.amateur.space

EI7GL....A diary of amateur radio activity

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BBC to close another batch of Medium Wave radio transmitters in 2021

Posted: 19 Apr 2021 06:00 AM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/04/bbc-to-close-another-batch-of-medium.html



In a posting on the 14th of April 2021, the BBC announced that they were
going to close the medium wave service for ten regional stations in May &
June of this year. With fewer and fewer people now listening to medium wave radio, the BBC felt that the transmitter didn't offer value for money.
"As I have written about in previous blog posts, we have been closing some Medium Wave (MW) transmitters across the UK which no longer offer
sufficient value for money for licence fee payers."
"A large and increasing share of radio listening in the UK - including to
the BBC - is digital, and the BBC is committed to a digital future for
radio. In recent years we have made significant investment in local DAB expansion, all of our local radio stations are available on digital
terrestrial TV (such as Freeview), and we have transformed our online and mobile offering with BBC Sounds."
A total of 14 medium wave transmitters will be closed down and these are
shown below...

Most of them are reasonably low power with powers between 0.5 to 2 kW. The large one is the 160 kW Radio Ulster transmitter near Belfast which would
have been heard all over Europe at night.
They also announced that four regional transmitters will be reducing their output power.

The current power levels are shown above as it's not yet clear what the new power level will be.
"In addition, the following stations will have reduced MW coverage:Radio
Wales
Impacted areas including North of Snowdonia, Anglesey, Bangor, Caernarfon, Conwy, and Betws-y-Coed and Areas around Wrexham and east of Snowdonia.
Still available on, FM, DAB, and online and on all TV platforms
(Terrestrial, Satellite, and Cable)
Radio Gloucestershire
With areas around Stow-on-the-Wold being impacted DAB will likely be the
best option for most listeners. Available on 104.7 FM around Gloucester,
95.0 FM around Stroud and 95.8 FM around Cirencester. Still available on Freeview/Youview and online (through a smart phone, computer, or smart speaker)"
The BBC announced its intention to close MW transmitters back in 2011. It's likely that more will close in the years ahead.
Link...
1) Next phase of changes to some local BBC radio Medium Wave services - Apr 2021

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Another Sporadic-E opening on 28 MHz for the 4th day in a row - 18th April
2021

Posted: 18 Apr 2021 09:24 PM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/04/another-sporadic-e-opening-on-28-mhz.html




Sunday 18th April 2021: The 28 MHz band opened for the 4th day in a row
with a modest Sporadic-E opening to the south of Spain and Scandinavia.
Most of the signals from Spain were slightly long at 1600-1700kms with
nothing coming from the centre of the country.
The opening to Scandinavia was unusual in that it was the first Sporadic-E opening in that direction this year. The FT8 signals were strong enough
that it prompted me to do a few scans and I heard two beacons.EI7GL 28298.0 SK7GH/B 13:06 18 Apr IO51TU<ES>JO77BF Sweden
EI7GL 28237.4 LA5TEN/B 12:25 18 Apr IO51TU<ES>JO59JP Norway

The LA5TEN beacon near Oslo is also probably one of the most consistent
signals that I hear from Scandinavia so it was no real suprise to hear it first.
As the map shows above, there was some weak F2 propagation to South Africa
and Brazil.
For some reason, some of the 10m spots showed up as Grey but they were all
on 28 MHz as that was the only band I monitored. Overall, I heard 93
stations in 18 countries on FT8.
The Solar Flux was at 75.

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