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getting UK radio reception in Europe


Guest JudgeMental

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Guest JudgeMental

Is there any way of getting UK Radio in mainland Europe? as the BBC world service has pulled the plug a while ago *-)

 

don't want to invest in a sat system till I get my retirement van in a few years as just don't use the van enough to justify the expense. also Internet radio dependent on a connection.......

 

what about DAB?

 

just found this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/digitalmediumwave/faqs_feature.shtml#outsideuk

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We can get Radio 4 on 198 LW on our car radios and we are near Bordeaux. On our previous van we could get the same as far down as the Spanish border. We can also get 5 Live on rare occasions, I think it depends on the weather. In the van we have now the aerial isn't as good and we can only get Radio 4 nearer to Brittany.

 

As far as DAB radio is concerned, I asked if a UK one would work here, but was told that it would only pick up French digital stations.

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Guest JudgeMental

It looks like (if you follow link) that Digital Medium Wave (DMW) will be available in the future......It is being trialed at the moment here and in Belgium. Its early days for digital radio it seems

 

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Guest JudgeMental
David Dwight - 2009-06-03 8:32 PM

 

Eddie,

Are you saying that the BBC have pulled the plug on The World Service in Europe only. As I was listening to it this AM here at home.

David

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/institutional/2009/03/000000_western_euro.shtml

 

they withdrew the service a few years ago I believe, and only inexplicably broadcast to Russia! Africa etc...... Not knowing this, I struggled last summer in Italy and managed to get this Russian service occasionally only for it to drift away.Grrr......(Using my long range Roberts radio) but it was very poor quality.

 

 

I get AM world service in N/W France in the camper and I guess if you have a proper roof top aerial on your house this works.......But I think in the future probably a year or two The digital medium wave will hold the answer. do you not get FM radio via a sat dish at home?

 

but really want R4 as I want home news not world service *-)

 

 

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Contact BBC world service,they will send a schedule to you. In some cities it is available on FM. I picked it up in Prague and Athens.

In the right location you can also receive BFPS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) they stream some BBC radio.

As said before try the suitcase satellites for £50 about the same price as a half decent radio.

I don't think DMW will have the same propagation as analogue MW.

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JudgeMental - 2009-06-02 10:22 PM

 

Is there any way of getting UK Radio in mainland Europe? as the BBC world service has pulled the plug a while ago *-)

 

don't want to invest in a sat system till I get my retirement van in a few years as just don't use the van enough to justify the expense. also Internet radio dependent on a connection.......

 

what about DAB?

 

just found this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/digitalmediumwave/faqs_feature.shtml#outsideuk

 

Thats what we want, British radio whilst abroad. It always strikes me as odd that here in the midlands I can tune my radio and instantly get French or German stations. 5miles south of Calais R4 disappears on FM.

 

Does something called Worldspace still exist? It came with a small sat reciever that you poked out of the window or close to the window on the inside in the general direction of some sat in the sky.

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Hi,

 

We have a place in France, about 30km South of St Malo.

 

At 0855hrs we would get a mass of stations all talking over each other. Over the next few minutes they would fade away, one at a time, so by 0900hrs we would get acceptable reception of BBC Radio Jersey, and BBC Classic Gold.

But at about 1700hrs, the interference would come back.

 

Are these stations broadcasting on digital, and if so, would that help?

 

I suspect that the Jersey record library consisted of mainland cast-offs. ie. The Mountains of Morn (no, I don't know how to spell it).

 

602

 

602

 

We wondered if

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JudgeMental - 2009-06-02 10:22 PM

 

Is there any way of getting UK Radio in mainland Europe? as the BBC world service has pulled the plug a while ago *-)

 

don't want to invest in a sat system till I get my retirement van in a few years as just don't use the van enough to justify the expense. also Internet radio dependent on a connection.......

 

what about DAB?

 

just found this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/digitalmediumwave/faqs_feature.shtml#outsideuk

 

Judge- we took our DAB away 2 years ago and didin't get anything at all. A firend told me that the french use a different sysytem but i don't know for sure. Last year we were on La Paz northern Spain and i heard the Archers tune from the van next door, when i spoke to them they always listened to R4 on Long Wave.

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Guest JudgeMental

what about an external extension aerial for my Roberts LW radio.......

 

maybe then I could get R4 on 198 LW?

 

any recommendations for an aerial?

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I have a small Roberts all band receiver which has a socket to connect a counterpoise aerial. This was supplied with the set and is a small reel of single core wire which you can string up to increase the size.

When I was in Egypt I wound a few turns ofsingle core wire around the vehicle attenna and put it across the roof of the vehicle. This brought in many stations including BFBS in Cyprus.

If you are static on a site,try stringing some wire from the aerial to some nearby trees.

WARNING DO NOT USE THIS IF THUNDER STORMS ARE IMMINENT!!!

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Guest JudgeMental

my Roberts is FM/AM and short wave....no longwave?

 

so I wont be able to get R4 on LW I guess

 

I am confused........

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JudgeMental - 2009-06-05 2:08 PM

 

my Roberts is FM/AM and short wave....no longwave?

 

so I wont be able to get R4 on LW I guess

 

I am confused........

 

No you won't why be confused.

Generally Radio 4 is available on LW 198m and FM(VHF) 93.3

Radios 1,2 &3 are available on FM

Radio 5 on MW

British local radio is on a mixture of FM and MW.

A guide can be obtained from the BEEB

R4 LW can be received in Europe on the coastal areas and inland to a limit which is affecte by terrain.

A cheap suitcase sat system is your best answer or a few good books!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi yeti,

Sorted? Oh no he's not, the BBC are pulling the plug on FM, MW and LW broadcasts, everything in the near future is going DAB. Your existing DAB radio will only be any good if it's DAB+, as the old DAB system will not be compatible?. A bit like the 800,000 existing Freeview boxes that no longer work, now Digital TV is being switched over, this includes many versions of the top brand names. If you plan to upgrade your existing Radio, either for the home, car or M/H, make sure it's DAB+.

EM.

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He issorted to receive radio over satellite. I don't think the proposed changeover has been agreed by the ITU some of the spectrum will be retained for local community broadcasting and FM looks likely to remain generally unchanged,at present. The manufacturers have yet to design a less power hungry receiver and the coverage need to be broadened for mobile reception especially as the highways authorities now rely on TA announcements.

It will be the usual mish mash of disorganisation with non-technical civil servants involved like in 1979 when the frequencies were changed to what we have now.

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Guest JudgeMental
It is amazing that the BBC broadcast programing all over the world in every language imaginable BUT cannot provide a decent European wide English radio broadcast for some of the people who actually pay for the service *-)
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The World Service is partly funded by the Foreign office hence the new Pa**ee service to Iran.

It is still receivable on SW and MW and in some major European cities on FM. But it can be received with the other stations inc digital BBC6 & 7 on satellite.

There is still a lot of Governemnt influence on Aunty.

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