Do any of you listen to Radio 4 Long wave ?

BADGER.BRAD

BADGER.BRAD

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If listening to the radio I tend to listen to radio 4 longwave one because my interest in radio ,dad was a radio operator in the occupation of Germany and instilled an interest in radio and Long Wave seems like real radio ( I'm also a radio Ham) two it doesn't suffer the ups and downs whilst driving in the countryside and just remains a good signal ( using a phone and streaming is the same )and three I just could not listen to the drivel and in my view horrid music on the average Local FM station, but do any others listen to Radio 4 on long Wave ?
 
Well my default is Radio 4 but FM. However, during the cricket test match season, it was and maybe still is only transmitted on LW so I would then select LW.

Dave
 
I don't have an AM radio in the car, just DAB. I do operate 80 & 160 in the evenings though....
 
It does seem like LW/MW is a fading thing although Shortwave seems alive with stations, I did try DAB but unfortunately the stations I would listen to are not transmitted in my part of Shropshire ( I can see the 2kw Titterstone Clee transmitter) but on top of that it the signal would vanish as I was going up hill and down Dale. Mad thing is I chat with people in Dudley, Wolverhampton and surrounding areas with 1 watt on 2 meters but cannot get a signal from a 1.5 kilowatt transmitter on a high spot in those areas where I would get the programs I would be interested in !

How do you find 160 meters Steve ? I don't use HF any more other than on RX but I have never heard anyone on the band in the 30+ years I have been licensed.
 
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BADGER.BRAD said:
It does seem like LW/MW is a fading thing although Shortwave seems alive with stations, I did try DAB but unfortunately the stations I would listen to are not transmitted in my part of Shropshire ( I can see the 2kw Titterstone Clee transmitter) but on top of that it the signal would vanish as I was going up hill and down Dale. Mad thing is I chat with people in Dudley, Wolverhampton and surrounding areas with 1 watt on 2 meters but cannot get a signal from a 1.5 kilowatt transmitter on a high spot in those areas where I would get the programs I would be interested in !

How do you find 160 meters Steve ? I don't use HF any more other than on RX but I have never heard anyone on the band in the 30+ years I have been licensed.
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I use 160 a bit like 2m, just chatting to a couple of locals. I started a new log for 2025, and have managed 97 countries so far, mostly on 12 & 17 with a bit of 40m in the evenings. I will admit, I do use a lot of digital these days, mainly in the evening as the shack is in a shared space with my wife.

Down here we have a fairly active DMR Cluster with 23 repeaters so you can talk from Basingstoke all the way down to Poldu in Cornwall on a handheld. It's like one big repeater covering most of the south west, and although they are linked via the Internet, access is via radio to radio (no hotspots) so it's "proper radio" ;)
 
I've not tried digital voice at all Steve, in fairness I've only just got back into the Hobby fairly recently after a fairly long break and only have 2 meter TX gear other than a little Baofeng 2/70cm. I have dug out a Realistic DX394 HF Rx so will have a good listen around the lower bands.
 
Can't remember the last time I listened to Radio 4LW. When I worked in London, always had radio 4FM on. Now I tend to listen to local stations and radio 4 Extra.
 
I have 2 1950s valve radios and R4 LW is my go to frequency with them.

I believe the there are no more spare valves for the transmitter so its not likely to be for much longer
 
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I do think the sound from anything valve always seems more pleasant ( rounded) , I have heard that the transmitter is on it's last legs it will be a sad day when it does give up ! It's the only station I listen to and I will be unable to listen on my travels as every other method just suffers constant drop outs ! Seems a bit mad that there are a number of modern 250 killowatt Shortwave transmitters still running for hire in the UK ( Wooferton fairly near to me is a hell of a big transmitter site ) That said I have also heard that many of the MW/LW transmitters are just too costly to run because of the high transmitter powers
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
I do think the sound from anything valve always seems more pleasant ( rounded) , I have heard that the transmitter is on it's last legs it will be a sad day when it does give up ! It's the only station I listen to and I will be unable to listen on my travels as every other method just suffers constant drop outs ! Seems a bit mad that there are a number of modern 250 killowatt Shortwave transmitters still running for hire in the UK ( Wooferton fairly near to me is a hell of a big transmitter site ) That said I have also heard that many of the MW/LW transmitters are just too costly to run because of the high transmitter powers
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Only too costly because uk electricity is so expensive due to green subsidies
 
I know this is becoming a ham nerd thread, .. so I'll join in! What do you use for an aerial for Top Band/80m @Jelster ? I've just hung up a 80-10m EFHW and tried it out yesterday, fairly successfully, but I'd like to get on 160. I did put up something but the Boss objected to it as too obvious, so I think it will have to be a compromise loaded vertical. A shame as my back garden is about 50m long, and the front a further 30-odd, so I could get a full dipole in, I'll have another go with some stealth wire from Sotabeams at some point. de GI3KME
 
lindsay said:
I know this is becoming a ham nerd thread, .. so I'll join in! What do you use for an aerial for Top Band/80m @Jelster ? I've just hung up a 80-10m EFHW and tried it out yesterday, fairly successfully, but I'd like to get on 160. I did put up something but the Boss objected to it as too obvious, so I think it will have to be a compromise loaded vertical. A shame as my back garden is about 50m long, and the front a further 30-odd, so I could get a full dipole in, I'll have another go with some stealth wire from Sotabeams at some point. de GI3KME
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I have about 20m of wire in an inverted L via a CG3000 smart tuner. It works incredibly well, giving me all bands 160-10, but SWR at the bottom end of 10 is about 2.5, everything else is 1.5 or better. 106 DXCC in January, mostly on 12m but a mix of everything but 30m (I never find anything I want to work on that band for some reason).

I do a lot of digital stuff (FT8/FT4) as is much quieter than me talking :LOL:

G0WSJ
 
That's interesting, re the wire and tuner. I often thought of buying one of those tuners. My EFHW brought me 18 DXCC's yesterday and early this morning on a mixture of 12m and 30m, including ZL this morning and CE and HS yesterday afternoon. I'm mostly operating FT8 too, although I want to go back to SSB somewhat outside of contests. OK thanks.

Re LW, I have the hiFi tuner set with that as a preset channel, and on my bedside radio, but my cars only have DAB and FM now.
 
In the 1960s, I remember a friend telling me that FM would never replace AM.

More than 60 years later, he doesn't appear to have been proved wrong, yet...

Pentacon FM 67-9006.JPG
 
Jelster said:
I have about 20m of wire in an inverted L
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That sounds good even me with my small garden could achieve that ! Have any of you played with the LF bands ? I haven't really done a lot in the past on HF despite getting the Morse pass, most of my operation was mobile as a HGV driver so it just didn't suit. CTCSS put a stop to the mobile operation as I never knew what tone was needed for each repeater and a lot of my equip was old tech anyway but I do fancy having a go on the low bands.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
That sounds good even me with my small garden could achieve that ! Have any of you played with the LF bands ? I haven't really done a lot in the past on HF despite getting the Morse pass, most of my operation was mobile as a HGV driver so it just didn't suit. CTCSS put a stop to the mobile operation as I never knew what tone was needed for each repeater and a lot of my equip was old tech anyway but I do fancy having a go on the low bands.
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Well I operate 160-10, although my antenna won't tune on the low end of 160 so I can't do FT8 down there, and after moving the shack around, I'm getting RF feedback on 10m which screws up all my USB connections :headbang:

I have, this weekend, managed to complete DXCC on 17m, so that's 2 bands done already this year. I was on 80m lst night and worked Egypt. My BiL is also licensed, and he lives on a narrow boat. He has a similar set up to me, but his antenna is helicly wound up a 12 grp mast on the back of the boat, and he works all over the place, so you can be successful with very little real estate if you think outside the box. I plan to try & get in an 80m delta loop when the weather gets a bit better.
 
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