Long Wave radio era set to end with switch-off (economist.com)
123 points by edward 2 days ago
ChrisArchitect 2 days ago
alentred 8 hours ago
That's such a pity. Building a simple AM radio receiver was a simplest and coolest electronics project to do with kids.
You need two transistors, a ferrite coil and a small set of simpler elements. And it is so simple you can actually explain what every part of the circuit does.
And then the reward... Once built you could listen to BBC regardless of where you are in Europe. My kids just LOVED IT, no Netflix K-Drama replaces this experience. My daughter was listening to BBC on her radio every night going to sleep.
8bitsrule 3 hours ago
Hmmm, fancy indeed. With 150kW feeding a dipole at 700 feet, I imagine that a cat's-whisker [0] would have done well-enough in London...
Symbiote 3 hours ago
Yes, I did exactly this in England 30 or so years ago. It was one of the suggestions in an electronics kit for children, the one with springs to connect the components together.
mpweiher 3 hours ago
We did that in my physics high school class.
Then we took away components until we had virtually nothing left, a diode I think(?), and still we had some signal.
Turns out there was a transmitter on the top of the hill the school was also on.
Fun times.
raverbashing 7 hours ago
Look at this fancy pants needing a transistor for that /s
(but yes I do miss those simpler days - but I guess the basics now is making an Arduino flash an LED)
Symbiote 7 hours ago
BBC Radio 4 can be streamed here, including internationally: https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/live/bbc_radio_fourfm
Or
mplayer 'https://a.files.bbci.co.uk/ms6/live/3441A116-B12E-4D2F-ACA8-C1984642FA4B/audio/simulcast/dash/nonuk/pc_hd_abr_v2/aks/bbc_radio_fourfm.mpd'
vlc 'https://lsn.lv/bbcradio.m3u8?station=bbc_radio_fourfm%22&bitrate=320000%22'
karambahh 3 hours ago
For other readers, please be aware that only BBC World & BBC Radio 4 can be streamed outside of the UK.
For about a year now, BBC has been aggressively geoblocking other radios.
plantain 6 hours ago
No more foxhole radios for the PoW https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxhole_radio
KaiserPro 4 hours ago
There is precisely one thing that keeps 198LW online: economy seven.
I think the reason why its been left on so long is that it took so long to migrate to digital meters https://tradehelp.gdhv.co.uk/support/solutions/articles/7900...
I am also annoyed that I missed the last signal.
Symbiote 3 hours ago
The last signal will be on 30 June. It's (apparently) broadcasting a loop listing alternative ways to listen to Radio 4 now.
sidderl 4 hours ago
Not quite the same as hearing it live, but the final programme transmission has been recorded here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlflWWZpb30
icosian an hour ago
I'm sad to hear the service has gone off the air. I was a constant listener to BBC Radio 4 on 198 kHz growing up in Dublin. It was a valuable window onto the world.
Listening to the last transmission there, I note that the continuity announcer, (the Irish) Al Ryan, signed off with 'oíche mhaith', i.e. 'goodnight' in Irish. A nice nod, I think, to all the former LW listeners in Ireland.
danielabinav160 7 hours ago
LW is still a fallback when internet and mobile go down simultaneously. Quietly important.
jonplackett 4 hours ago
It’s funny that at just the phrase ‘Long Wave’ my mind jumps back the “long wave radio Atlantic 252”.
I miss the days of jingles.
nenadg 5 hours ago
They can pry long wave radio from my cold dead hands
sidderl 4 hours ago
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901
One can listen to the live closure broadcast via this WebSDR website, by tuning it to AM 198 kHz.
"You are listening to 198 kHz longwave. BBC Radio 4 is no longer available on this frequency. However, you can find Radio 4 many other ways. You can find BBC Radio 4 online, via BBC Sounds. Radio 4 is available on DAB digital radio and through your digital television, including freely. Radio 4 is also available via FM radio, on 92 to 95 MHz and 103 to 105 MHz. Plus, you can listen via your smart speaker: just say 'play Radio 4'. Information on how to listen can be found on the BBC website, at bbc.co.uk/reception."
FerretFred 2 hours ago
That's a real shame given the distance LW could travel: I wonder what they're going to use the frequency band for? I've tried using DAB on so many occasions and thrown it out in disgust.
> Given these factors, investing in upgrading the LW equipment is not considered a cost-effective solution for licence fee-funded services
And that's another problem - maybe the Government should step in and set up a proper Civil Defence-style warning/information system - we may well need it in a few years - it's a shame our official National Broadcaster can't fulfill the role.
asdefghyk 9 hours ago
Side Note - VLF ( Very Low Frequency ) signals (3-30 kHz) propagate via surface wave or skywave, offering stable communication for submarines through saltwater.
ransom1538 6 hours ago
Why would humans need to communicate on channels bots cannot control?
microgpt 6 hours ago
Why do you think bots don't control the mass media, of which longwave is just one outlet? Go to the website of any outlet that has longwave, read the AI nonsense there, realize they're transmitting the same on longwave.
mybrowsercache 6 hours ago
Listened to this in Denmark in the car just yesterday. It usually sounded awful but was the only English language news source in the car, so I’m going to miss it. Since the BBC sold the transmitters and rented them back, let’s hope we don’t get US-style right wing talk radio as a replacement.
At the moment they are running a goodbye loop, so you can still hear something.
At least there’s Radio Caroline still on 648kHz AM, so there will be a British voice still on the air.