[cma-l] Community Radio 50% Rules

Mon Oct 11 16:22:11 BST 2010

Putting the emotive stuff to one side, it seems that all you guys need to obtain is a good technical analysis of what you need as opposed to what you have.

There are too many points to address individually, but there are answers to all of them and feasible solutions to most.

You can apply for more power if you can show that what you have isn't enough to enable your Key Committments.

You can relocate your transmitter and/or be assigned greater height if you can show a genuine need.

You could apply for an alternative or additional frequency or for greater protection if there is a good enough case.

We've found that most problems of this nature - if they're not just down to bad reporting or poor quality receivers - are the result of not getting the homework right before you start.

Sorry - but the truth often hurts!

We - and several other companies in the same field - offer such an analysis and it's generally done without charge on the basis that we will probably get the job if there's an upgrade to be done.

It's up to you to make the first move!

Ian Hickling

Partner

transplan UK

From: office at ccr-fm.co.uk
To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:13:14 +0100
Subject: [cma-l] FW: Community Radio 50% Rules

From: Office - ccr-fm [mailto:office at ccr-fm.co.uk] 
Sent: 11 October 2010 12:45
To: 'Julian Mellor'
Subject: RE: [cma-l] Community Radio 50% Rules

Re:-

Re :- Julians e-mail

Excellent point made by Julian ………………… looks like we’re splashing about in the same boat . ??!                taking in water and the pump can’t cope !        round and round and round we go with this argument …….. over and over and over.

As I have said, the discussion is quite simple. We are aware of lack of frequencies and we are aware that some of us are lucky to have a frequency at all ………………….. however, this part of the debate is a red herring and has nothing to do with the point being made.

In a democracy if someone wishes to listen to Canalside Radio within our MCA or our TSA (2 miles outside the zone that we keep having drilled into us) then they should have the right to, and be able to …………… what shouldn’t be happening is that the commercial station          2 digits away, is bleeding over the top !      we are losing potential listeners, simply because they can’t tune in ………… this is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE !

We do not want more height ………… we have no desire to start ‘’chucking our signal’’ all over the north west ………….. what we need is a little more power in order that we can prevent ourselves being BULLIED AROUND on our own patch.

I would argue that places like South Macclesfield, North Poynton and East Wilmslow have more in common with Canalside Radio than they ever do with the likes of bloody Key 103 which at the end of the day is a Manchester station ………………. Country bumpkins in North East Cheshire have absolutely nothing in common with Mancs whatsoever !

In fact ………….. we have been doing some research of our own over the past 4 months and according to our survey there ain’t ONE person in Bollington who listens to Key 103 ………………….. so ….. WHAT THE HELL’S THAT ALL ABOUT THEN ?

We are on 102.8 ---------- the same as Chorley and Ram in Derby ------------------------------- there are odd little spots (behind hills) where we have a little bit of a ‘hand bags at ten paces’ with the Chorley boys ………… I liaise with them from time to time. Our signal drifts quite a bit to the North West, but going south (due to the hills) it is dreadful ……………. It is reasonable to accept that there are going to be little issues ………………….

I travelled to Lincoln on Saturday to watch my football team Macclesfield Town ………………. Goodness knows what signal strength Ram are on ?? but it is bordering on the ridiculous !       they are all over Nottingham, Mansfield, Chesterfield, Worksop etc etc ………………….. and, ……….. furthermore, when we drive over the small hill in Bollington towards Saltersford, which as the crow flies is LESS than our 5km allowance ………. We get BLOWN AWAY by Ram fm in Derby !

The moral of the story is that I am 100% certain that those community stations who are being bullied off the airwaves by commercial radio need another 10 – 15 watts to protect themselves in their own area …………….. they do not need height, which I believe could open up some more cans of worms.
Then again, I am but a mere insect in these matters ?!                but possibly correct nonetheless ………………. If we don’t try it, we’ll never find out.

Why is everything Black and White …………… can we not invent the odd grey area ?      the bill is crying out for it !

Regards

Nick

Forward this on if you wish ……..

From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk [mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Julian Mellor
Sent: 11 October 2010 09:18
To: CMA-L
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Community Radio 50% Rules

Stroud's situation is absolutely mirrored here in Somerset - pesky hills and valleys.

Soo at Ofcom tells us that increasing the height of our transmitter (which they'd allow) would have a greater impact on reception than increasing output power, but the landlords aren't happy with the idea and I suspect the planners might have a wobbler as well.

Equally we are aware that some households are amazingly inept when it comes to tuning a radio and don't realise that trying a different room, changing position in the room, or just turning the radio round can make a big difference.  

That aside though, we can do nothing when people complain to us about poor reception, apart from suggest they try the web stream.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that a commercial station in Wales (about two hour's drive from here) that transmits on the waveband next to ours has a stronger and overpowering signal when one is listening just a few minutes away from our studio.

Julian

10Radio

Somerset

On 11 Oct 2010, at 01:42, claire penketh wrote:

 Absolutely!!!!! Here in Stroud we have a nightmare topography of valleys and hills, reception has been traditionally been really tricky here, even for the mainstream media.  Despite the fact that there is no commercial station in Stroud itself, as Star FM handed back their licence, and only the ubiquitous Heart  blasts from Gloucester, we had to trim our  transmitters output to just over 20 watts in order to comply with OFCOMS regs 

The feedback we get from people is that they love us, but can't pick us up easily. Tricky to reach the whole community really...

Claire Penketh

Station Manager

Stroud FMl

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