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25 responses to “Comments”
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Bbc as make broadcasting history, keep longwave please
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Please keep BBC 198 Droitwich on longwave on the air. In wintertime during long cold nights when there is little atmospheric static I can hear this station all the way across the Atlantic Ocean from my home in Central Canada! Your longwave signal covers all of the UK, even outlying islands where other radio signals don’t reach. When I was travelling around Eurtope a few months ago I could get Longwave fro the BBC almost everywhere. In an emergency when the power is out and the cell towers are down, you will be glad you kept this backup alive.
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Hello there, I listen on Long Wave (except when Droitwich is distorted and they need to give it a kick !)
Keep Long Wave,
It has that warm feel, especially the shipping forecast when it is windy outside and and you are tucked up in a warm bud, snuggled under the covers, with a simple cheap radio.
Keep Long Wave,
I remember driving around the coast in north Cornwall and Long and Medium Waves were they only thing I could listen to, as VHF was in and out and as for DAB glitch, glitch glitch……
Keep Log Wave,
With Putin sabre ratling, do we really want to rely on DAB, the amount of times it goes off, due to GPS antenna issues or Sat Dish problems, or BT Fibre issues, its a complete laugh.
Keep Long Wave
One TX to cover the entire UK, Now we don’t have interferers on the same channel
Keep Long Wave!
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The properties of longwave is such that I’ve heard Medi 1, 171khz in South Australia which is roughly a distance of 16,502km as the crow (radio wave) flies.
It’s shortsighted to get rid of longwave and put all your eggs in the digital basket. AM radio is the most portable medium. Even it gets noisy, you can still hear it.
On the move it’s not always imperative to have a Hi Fi experience. Just good clean information…
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In Hungary, the broadcast can be heard day and night on 198 khz. I recently visited the Canary Islands, I took the pocket-sized Belka V3 receiver with me, and on the islands you can also receive BBC 4 broadcasts from the same transmitter. Wonderful thing. I visited Iceland 2 years ago, the broadcast can be heard there as well. They also broadcast on long wave in Iceland, we drove around a quarter of the island with the rented car. The FM broadcast was regularly interrupted, but it always sounded stable on the long wave.
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I do think AM broadcasting (both MW & LW) still have their place in the modern world, and this is coming from someone in their early 30’s.. Internet services may be handy, but can’t replace a proper broadcast. The ability to broadcast over long distances and across borders could be vital in the years going forward. The Internet infrastucture could easily come crashing down for many different reasons. Also, Russia have said they could target satelittes in thir conflict. If that were to happen, the loss of GPS would bring the whole digital world crashing down quite quickly. You never know if we need to be broadcasting into Europe again like we did during WWII. Plus, with digital platforms, the content you are delivered is decided by algroythms, so what one person is delivered will differ from another person. We still need actual broadcasts where everyone hears the same thing.
Another issue is you can’t really buy a radio receiver with AM bands anymore. If you go into a shop like curry’s everything on offer only has DAB and FM. If you can find something with an AM band, it would only be MW. It is the same with modern cars as well now. Perhaps Europe needs to do the same as the US are and bring out a law to protect the AM bands and educate people as to the pros and cons of the different bands and technologies.
I say keep AM alongside FM and DAB.
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The BBC began broadcasting the World Service on short wave in Eastern Europe when war broke out in Ukraine. Old technology has its uses and is far less vulnerable. Five Live with its 24 hour news coverage would be an extremely useful resource in such a scenario. Keep AM as a national backup and broadcast Five Live on 693 & 909 Medium Wave and 198 Long Wave.
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Long wave transmission is a tried and tested means of conveying entertainment and news to the public which has been the case for over several decades. The move to a digital means of transmission, which now seems to be the replacement for the older types, has its benefits but herein lies its Achilles heel in the fact that it is complex right down to the end user’s means of receiving equipment.
My argument for maintaining long wave transmission is its simplicity and reliability and far reaching signal capabilities should the country find itself in a state of conflict or civil emergency where authorities needs to disseminate information which could be pivotal to survival.
When all other means may have failed, long wave continues to punch its way through being received on a small, simple battery powered receiver.
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As you state in your LW & National Security section, in these volatile times, a communications platform which is not dependent on internet should be seen as invaluable. I would see maintaining MW/LW and FM(VHF) as a greater priority for the BBC than many of the media-reported ridiculous ways they spend their (our) money.
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MUST be kept, for National Emergencies etc. I didn’t receive the government’s recent test via phone text message, because my phone didn’t receive the signal. Long Wave radio is the only RELIABLE option. Also when in the mountain country, in Wales or Scotland, sometimes LW is the ONLY signal that can be received.
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Long wave broadcasting works well, is reliable, and doesn’t suffer from ‘shadow’ areas where the FM signal is weak.
Plus, I have several vintage radios which have LW but no FM… it’s my method of choice to listen to Radio 4! Reception is good with a decent receiver.
And… it’s part of our heritage.
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Hei there,
As somebody from Daventry I caught the radio bug at a young age and have grown up around it. When I was younger I was able to go and visit the transmitting station (Long Wave had long gone but was still being used as a short wave until the 90’s). It’s a real shame that Long Wave can’t be repurposed. A lot of countries are using AM bands for DRM so are able to continue broadcasting analog alongside digital transmissions. It’s a shame only the World Service uses DRM in this country. A heads up for anybody interested – Daventry Museum is doing an exhibition next month celebrating the centenary of the BBC’s Long Wave transmissions if anyone wants to pop by … https://daventrymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/echoes-of-daventry-calling-100-years-on/LikeLike
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Back in the 70s I visited the Droitwich transmitter site of 198khz the car radio was overloaded and you could only pick up BBC stations, I now live near Leicester and still listen to BBC Radio 4 on 198
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As others have commented, AM radio could well be the only means of communication in the event of a national emergency as the whole country can be covered with a maximum of three transmitters, unlike FM radio that needs much more. I guess it’s hard to find radio receivers that cover long wave these days so that could be a problem. I have a number of vintage valve receivers that work very well to receive Radio 4 long wave, the quality is usually very good. Radio 4 long wave can also be received in most of mainland Europe. I do hope this valuable resource can be kept.
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I can listen to BBC Long Wave 24/7 using a simple Crystal Set radio with a long wire aerial down my garden and earth connection. Just one diode, tuning coil wound on cardboard tube, and tuning capacitor, connected to headphones. No battery needed, can get parts on Internet. When Power goes down and no Internet or mobile phone would be able to keep up to date WHEN WW3 starts!
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Please keep 198Khz BBC4 running. It is part of our pleasure to listen BBC 4 programs,
As radio amateur and short wave listener continue study VLF propagation.
It serve us as atmospheric propagation conditions. Sometimes we receive BBC4
even during day time and in summer time when VLF conditions are not quite good.
73’s
Fortunato from Malta
9H1ES
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Here another daily listener of BBC 4 LW.
Just turn on the radio at any time and enjoy the great programs of this station is a daily joy for me. And bringing me news and important information on what’s currently going on.
Also England, you’ve got a niche position here, being the sole broadcast station with a reach over all of Europe 24/7, keep it we need it, you need it.
Greetings from the Netherlands
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Keep Longwave 
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