Latest Updates and News

September 28th
On the UK local ensemble Gloucestershire, the service Smooth Glos has ceased.
Snapshot updated.

September 28th
An additional service has popped up on the UK ensemble Portsmouth.
Angel Gold is broadcasting in DAB+ at 40 kbit/s.
Get On DAB Radio has ceased.
Snapshot updated.

September 27th
Snapshot added of the OIV Croatia DAB+ ensemble for Splitsko-dalmatinska županija (Split-Dalmatia County).

September 27th
Snapshot added of the Netherlands local ensemble for Den Haag, DAB Lokaal 5C.

September 27th
Two additional services have popped up on the UK ensemble South Durham.
Nation 80s and Nation 90s are broadcasting in DAB+ at 32 kbit/s each. Nation Radio has been relabelled Nation NorthEast.

September 27th
Snapshot of the Netherlands local ensemble 9D LEIDEN added.

September 27th
Snapshot updated of the Netherlands local ensemble for Noordoostpolder & Urk, DAB+ NU.
Addition of RADIO NOP since the previous observation.

September 27th
Snapshot of the Netherlands local ensemble RANDSTAD-ZW added.
At the time of the observation, a service Glazen Radiohuis was running without an audio stream. It is since reported to have ceased altogether.

September 27th
Snapshot of the UK ensemble MiltonKeynes DAB updated.
Addition of Pure Dance since the previous observation.
The existing service HORIZON RADIO has been relabelled Horizon Radio.

September 27th
That new-fangled service that some predicted would never take off but is now known as BBC National DAB covering more than 97% of the UK population was launched thirty years ago today. Long before that, in the mid-1970s, the BBC had conducted tests into a potential digital radio service when a NICAM signal was broadcast from Pontop Pike at 47 MHz. These signals gave excellent results to fixed antennas, but not for portable omnidirectional antennas close to ground level. Subsequent experiments using COFDM, and so more like the DAB we know today, took place in South London in 1990 using TV channel 28 (531 MHz) from Crystal Palace with an active deflector at Kenley. These proved the modulation system worked, but also indicated that UHF was not the most suitable band. The following year, DAB was demonstrated in Birmingham using a frequency in Band III, to acclaim from journalists, broadcasters and industrialists. [Were any Wohnort readers on that coach?]. The first broadcasts as a regular service used five transmitters in the London area. The current Ofcom Technical Parameters sheet lists over four hundred sites across the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The offer continues to evolve, with three new DAB+ services added earlier this month.

September 27th
On the UK local ensemble Coventry, an unlabelled "ghost" service that has persisted for several years has ceased. Recorded by multiple correspondents in multiple locations on multiple occasions and with various monitoring receiver types, this was likely an "orphaned" entry in FIG 0/17. Ash Elford recorded an explainer about this particular thing in 2024, which is still available on YouTube. This was probably the UK's, if not the world's, longest-running suspected mis-configuration. Anyone nostalgic for this state of affairs should retune to the Hereford-Worcs local ensemble.

September 27th
On the UK local ensemble Hereford-Worcs, the Audio Components formerly associated with the services Capital UK, Heart UK and Smooth UK have ceased. Unlabelled services with the SIds of those services appear to persist in the FIC and continue to be listed on some receivers. The unlabelled remnants appear to retain their PTys - Pop Music, Pop Music and Easy Listening respectively.
Snapshot updated.

September 27th
On the UK local ensemble Wolv'ton & Shrop, the service Hits Radio BC&Sh has switched from 80 kbit/s Mono to 112 kbit/s Joint Stereo.
The packet data service EPG Wolv & Shrop has ceased.
Snapshot updated.

September 27th
Snapshot of the UK local ensemble Oxfordshire updated.
HITS RADIO OXF'D has been relabelled Hits Radio Oxfd since the previous observation.

September 27th
Snapshot of the UK local ensemble Northamptonshire updated.
HITS RADIO UK has been relabelled Hits Radio Nhnts since the previous observation.