Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

I can't sleep properly at the moment (pain), so I now sleep downstairs and leave the TV on Radio 4 overnight to keep me occupied and hopefully help me get back to sleep after the times I wake up. After Radio 4 closes for the night, it goes over to broadcast the World Service.

At 3am last night I was awoken, not to the expected Radio programmes, but to sounds of weird tones and the noise that we used to hear when we had dial up when it was connecting.

I'm a bit frightened to be honest as, after falling asleep again and hearing the normal programmes when I woke up again later on, i'm wondering if I was hearing sounds that weren't really there (I have a brain injury).

Was anyone else listening to the World Service via Radio 4 in the early hours of this morning at about 3am that can confirm whether these noises were actually there or not?

Would Virgin or the BBC have replaced the broadcast with this as a test or due to a fault?

I'm just trying to put my mind at rest as I can't stop thinking about this today.

Many thanks.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

You could use BBC Sounds to see if it's on the streams at the time you heard it

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/schedul...service#on-air

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

I can confirm the noises. They seem to be a set of test tones and also what sounds like short data bursts. I've heard them before overnight. I guess it's the engineers doing some tests.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

Some major work carried out on the EPG last night, probably about that time. In came BBC3 at 107, BBC4 changed to 108 - maybe that had something to do with it?

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

Good idea, but unfortunately it says 'Not available' for the overnight simulcast of the World Service. I suppose they expect people to access the overnight programmes from the World Service itself.

I wouldn't know if I would have heard these noises if I had had my V6 tuned to the World Service itself, but couldn't find any present when I checked the World Service around at 3am on BBC Sounds.

---------- Post added at 11:39 ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 ----------

Oh thank you so much heero, I thought that something was going wrong inside my mind/brain like bleeding or a stroke.

You've put my mind at rest and i'm so grateful.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

A wee radio would be better than having a TV and V6 on all night and use less electricity too. Also less chance of VM annoying you with technical stuff.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

After a bit of digging about, it's the BBC checking the RBS system:

Source

Lindos test files: MP3

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

Mzny thanks for your suggestion.

I was told that putting the V+ into standby only saved a miniscule amount as it just cuts the video/audio output. Does anyone know if this is still the case with the V6?

When the V6 is tuned to a radio station, thd TV screen goes completely black, so would this mean that, as no LED lights are being used, it hardly uses any power?

If it would save anything I would certainly take up the suggestion to use a radio as I am keen to help the environment and energy prices are to shoot up again in April.

---------- Post added at 14:28 ---------- Previous post was at 14:21 ----------

Ahhh, so that's what it was all about then! I thought the worst when I woke up, with the effects of the medication that I have to take, hearing this in the middle of the night in a dark room. I know that I will pass one day and thought that the process of passing over had started in the early hours of this morning!! I believe in life after death (I've seen and heard spirits for most of my life), but none sounded like the noises in your links :D

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

V6 uses a lot less power when in standby.

If you want to still use the V6 but turn the TV off completely, use headphones or some PC-style speakers plugged into the audio jack socket.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

Smegging Nora. If I’d woken up and heard that at 3am I’d have worried for my sanity.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

Thanks SP. I didn't even know it had an audio jack! Earphones might keep me awake I think, so I'll look into getting some PC-style speakers or a little radio. They say that DAB radios also use a fair amount of power, so a cheap FM radio might be better.

---------- Post added at 14:37 ---------- Previous post was at 14:36 ----------

Haha it sure got me worried Chris :D

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

Have a look at getting a speaker pillow like this one for example: https://soundasleeppillow.co.uk/

(Many other brands available)

I had one for years. They’re great for drifting off with the radio on without risking strangulation by headphone cable. You can get Bluetooth ones which need recharged but there’s really no need. Basic ones that connect via 3.5mm jack to your radio or phone work perfectly well and don’t require a power source.

Best thing is if you share a bed with someone, they can’t hear it.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

With the savings you make on leaving the V6 in standby, you could get something like a Roberts Radio Stream 94i and listen to any station from around the world. You could even get one of their speaker pillows. If you are lucky, they may have a bundle deal for both.


Those tests are really weird if you aren't expecting them. Testing in the dead of night is simply a time slot when the engineers don't expect many people to be listening. Not great when it wakes someone at some unearthly hour.

Re: Strange noises when listening to Radio 4 at 3am last night..
 

The fact that the modulation is pretty well flat out don't help. It's really loud.