Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

Smooth Kent, Smooth Hampshire & Gold Manchester AM services ceased on April 30th.

Only Smooth Cheshire & LBC News London now remain from Global's AM services.

Thats sad to hear :(

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

With the prevalence of digital radios and online services to listen to stations now. The AM and MW bands aren't really accessed anymore. Makes sense to close them down.

Ya I suppose so but ya know what they say Stevie..... The actions of some affect all :(

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

I think it's fair to say not only does analogue AM belong to another era, so has the type of radio that used to be on it. The local DJ playing his choice of music from a local station to a local audience. Yes, we do have community radio stations now, but even some of them seem over produced, using AI voices in the news bulletins & generally pandering to younger audiences.

Memories of Kenny Everett playing everything from Pop to Classical in his shows on Capital is something I will always remember.

They even wrote songs about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGKrgJZhpzk

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

It surprising that Smooth Cheshire on MW hasn't been switched off.

I don't understand why Ofcom won't allow these frequencies to be used by, say, community groups who would be able to get an analogue berth alongside their online presence.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

I suppose its the fact that most people that are 40 or under probably don't even know what AM radio is now, let alone possess a receiver that has it. Not to mention that FM broadcast antennas are far cheaper & less bulky than AM kit

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

There's possibly some truth in what you say. The only MW tuners I have are in audio equipment which I will have had for at least 20 years, and it's probably that long since I've listened to anything broadcast on MW.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

LBC News on 1152AM (Saffron Green) will close at the end of October.

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2024/10/lbc...ncy-in-london/

Its all very sad.... I have a radio that goes down to .100Mhz and I like to go down there at night and see what I can hear!!!

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

I appreciate that the post is a few months old but I just stumbled on it.

I have a 10MHz off-air frequency standard that locks to the 198kHz signal, I will sadly miss it.

Yes theres really no reason to stop transmitting there!!

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

Well yes there is. If no one is listening what's the point in broadcasting it.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

The missus' favourite French internet radio station went off air, so she tuned in on LW to hear it. The pops, crackles, whines and fading were a trip back in time.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

This situation is normally the other way round!

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

The three LW outputs at Droitwich, Westerglen & Burghead are likely to continue well into 2025. But bear in mind the kit the BBC is using to drive LW is ancient & uses huge valves that are no longer manufactured. I'm sure some pensioners could do with the waste heat that is generated from these which just goes to waste.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

Talksport has had approval from OFCOM to close a further 7 of it's remaining AM transmitters, leaving 11 still operating.

The sites to close are :

Clipstone (Nottinghamshire),
Duxhurst (Surrey),
Lisnagarvey (in County Antrim, Northern Ireland),
Lydd (Kent),
Stockton (Durham/North Yorkshire),
Southwick/Brighton (West Sussex) and
Rusthall (Tunbridge Wells).

This means most of the South East coast & the whole of Northern Ireland loses it's AM coverage.

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2025/02/tal...-transmitters/

Thats horrible.

Why??

Personally I like the sound of AM mode better than FM (Im talking 10k -- So if you have an FM signal at 10k it sounds just as good to me (Like listening to a police scanner))

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

BBC Radio 4 Long Wave is set to get another reprieve beyond the 30 June Teleswitching removal deadline. It turns out that the service has a lot of listeners in Ukraine, who use it to get a reliable news service in English. Even though the power a Droitwich has been reduced to around half (which will preserve the life of the transmitter components) the service has not been noticeably affected due to 198 and adjacent channels no longer being in use buy other nearby countries.

A BBC representative has stated that a "impact assessment" will be made later this year before a final decision is made on closure of the Long Wave service

https://keeplongwave.co.uk/2025/06/1...-bbc-suggests/

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

The end is nigh for Radio 4 LW. It has been announced by the BBC that the LW service will close on Saturday 27th June at 0100 BST.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

I expect Richard will have something to say about that. I think he’s the only one who listens to it these days.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

I stream it, they tell me it's the future apparently.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

Hey - not so FAST!

I cant believe how many pirate stations you guys have there!

http://www.hfunderground.com/board/i...ard,46?theme=4

Ah man!!

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

Those listed are mostly Dutch (NL) pirate stations, with a few such as Energy & Weekend Music Radio operating in Ireland. The UK pirates have all but abandoned AM. There are also a lot of pirates on SW if you have the equipment to get it & not too much local interference.

Yes I used to listen to shortwave alot....

I saw a thread listing 1 on 1530,can you hear anything of that one where you are?

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

Cannot hear any pirates where I am to the north of London. You really need to be on the east coast to hear any Dutch ones. Could possibly get Energy 1440 at night if it wasn’t for the nearby high power Lyca Radio signal on 1458 which tends to swamp everything on adjacent frequencies.

Wow on 1.458 and they splash out 1.44??

They must be really close...

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

I’m 5 miles away from the Brookmans Park site which Lyca operates at 125 kilowatts. They also now have a permit from OFCOM to use 14Khz audio bandwidth, which doesn’t help either.

Wow... I can see why!!!

Im curious at night do you ever hear AM stuff from eastern USA?? (Cape cod,etc)

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

1st BBC Radio 5 live AM closure announced. Folkestone to close on 31st July 2026.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/work.../waw-folkstone

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

why isn't 5 live on FM?


I'm OK as I have DAB

I love AM radio!!

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

Not enough room for another national network on the band. They could turf Radio 1 off of FM, but it would not be a popular move. The BBC have already upset Radio 3 listeners in Wales by replacing Radio 3 FM with Radio Wales at most of the FM sites.

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

And another. Redruth in Cornwall to close on the same date.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/work...ws/waw-redruth

I hadn’t spotted the announcement, but apparently Bexhill further along the coast closed at the end of March.

I read CHU CANADA is supposed to drop thier AM MODE time station after today...

If they really do it,it will be sad....

http://www.hfunderground.com/board/i...165459?theme=4


EDIT:

I guess they did :(

I found another thread about 198 being shut down..

www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/777461

Its just very sad... These low band freqs are awesome!

Re: AM Radio fading into history
 

BBC Radio 4 LW says goodbye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHqFiDkH8Ic