[cma-l] Raspberries, Steroids and Low Cost DAB
Canalside's The Thread
office at thethread.org.uk
Wed Dec 3 16:19:09 GMT 2014
Richard and all our Community Radio fraternity of great loveliness and
jubblyness
I’m just extending the discussion slightly as a reminder to where we all
were ten years ago. We / I have learned a hell of a lot in the last ten
years and there is plenty more to learn. I think we are all richer with
knowledge via ‘’’experiences’’’ than anything else, and dare I say ‘’’by
making the odd mistake’’’ or two LOL :-) or cock-up !
However, having said all of this Community Radio to me is fascinating in the
fact that I don’t think we or the authorities, the tecky folk and MP’s know
what we are meant to be about, as everything contradicts everything else.
Let’s take the very very early Statement made by one of the Community Radio
boffins ‘’we are 20% Radio and 80% Community’’ right or wrong,
agree or disagree, what a sweeping statement this is. All well and good of
course if someone is doling out a ruck of free money (Government Fund or
Grant etc etc) in otherwords, yes we are a Radio Station but technically
we’re not
it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because the powers that be
deliberately make it difficult with restrictions for us to be a Radio
Station so the Radio doesn’t matter ! or does it ? it must do because we
are all now talking about DAB and moving up the Radio ladder.
Ah ??? but if we move up the Radio Station ladder does that not in itself
affect the viability of the Commercial Stations ? if so, why are we doing
it ? we’re not allowed to affect that are we, as we are not competition ?
or are we competition ? I don’t know anymore, in fact I don’t think I ever
did, I don’t know now and no doubt won’t in the future
. It’s almost as if
all of us are idling our time along trying do our best, but we don’t really
know what our best is, or what our best is supposed to be !?
Can anyone help me this please ?
1) Are we training people to be good on Community Radio on ‘our’ own
Stations ? if so, and these folk go on our Station they become competition.
Please hear my words. Restrictions of any kind are red herrings, and always
have been
if everyone turns off the local commercial Station and switches
to us, because we are ‘better’ then you can implement 500 restrictions, they
mean nothing.
2) Are we training people to go onto Commercial Radio / BBC ? make
all their mistakes live’ on our Station and then move on
. That’s fine, I
don’t mind, but if this is the case then we need a HUGE Community Radio fund
(5 – 6 Million £££) spread out equally and then competition doesn’t matter.
Just so that everyone remembers what the conversation is about following my
ramblings, the question is this :-
If we are NOT meant to be competing then why are we bothering even having a
discussion about trying to improve FM or moving onto DAB ?? just let
commercial radio transmitters trample all over us and throw the DAB kit in
the canal
you can use this one if you wish, there’s one here right in front
of me (Macclesfield canal)
It’s a nonsense, of course we’re trying to compete, we’re competing so we
can earn the money to be a Community Radio Station --- spending the money ON
and INTO the Community. So my original analysis that it isn’t how we earn
our money but what we spend it on that matters. Regulate what we spend it
on. Either give us a decent Community Radio Fund OR Lift restrictions, at
the moment we have neither.
I think we need to get all of this nailed down once and for all before we
all drift off into DAB Noddy-Land spending lots of cash
. Oh sorry, I
forgot .. we haven’t got any cash.
Regards
Nick Wright aka Mr H Dumpty
_____
From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Richard Berry
Sent: 03 December 2014 11:34
To: The Community Media Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Raspberries, Steroids and Low Cost DAB
We could argue about the benefits of DAB all day, and we’re all up against
it when it comes to forking out more cash. But, let’s put it this way: Do
you stream your stations? When we first started streaming in (About 1997)
the audience wasn’t huge and the costs climbed – and continue to do so. But
we do it, because listeners expect it. There may come a time when our
listeners also expect us to be on DAB. What happens when your listeners buy
a new car, or a new radio that has DAB. They can get the BBC in digital, but
need to push a few buttons to get your station. Think of it as
future-proofing. This is not me saying “FM is dead” far from it, but we all
should consider where our listeners might be. For our listeners we know the
online is the preferred platform, but we are still thinking about DAB.
Having a clear run at the whole FM band for community radio would be great,
but in 10 years time is that like asking someone to listen to long wave?
It’s a perfectly fine technology, but less people will have access to it and
it might feel a bit old fashioned. Just a thought
Richard
Richard Berry
Spark FM Station Manager
Room 101B, David Puttnam Media Centre,
University of Sunderland, SR6 0DD
(+44) 0191 515 2239
<https://www.facebook.com/sunderlanduniversityFADM>
cid:image001.png at 01CF83D7.DCFA9250
<http://www.twitter.com/richardberryuk> cid:image002.png at 01CF83D7.DCFA9250
<http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/faculties/adm/>
cid:image003.jpg at 01CF83D7.DCFA9250 <http://www.sparksunderland.com/>
spark_logo_masterbrand
From: Canalside's The Thread [mailto:office at thethread.org.uk]
Sent: 03 December 2014 09:01
To: 'The Community Media Association Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Raspberries, Steroids and Low Cost DAB
Sorry everyone for a rather Numpty-ish question, but if all this goes well
and ‘’’within’’ a Community Radio Budget are saying this would be an
‘’’AS-WELL AS’’’ or an ‘’’INSTEAD OF’’ ie:- either / or ???
I don’t see any benefit at all if you have to switch off FM and go just DAB
.just so folk don’t get selective memory loss I would like to point
out that the DAB discussion started about 5 – 6 years ago with the original
suggestion of ‘shifting’ all the Big Stations over, thus leaving FM for
Community Radio, which of course would mean a heck of a lot of Community
Radio.
Obviously the discussion has gone off on lots of different routes since.
Nowt wrong with that may I say
not complaining, just making a point
All the best everyone
Regards
Nick
_____
From: cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk
[mailto:cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] On Behalf Of Artisan
Broadcast
Sent: 03 December 2014 08:44
To: The Community Media Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Raspberries, Steroids and Low Cost DAB
Hi Pete and Glyn
I attended the earlier demo in Baldock and was very impressed with what can
be achieved on such a low budget.
In some ways, I wish this had been on the table five or so years ago when we
were looking to start our local station, else I might have chosen this route
instead of FM. (That'll generate some discussion) ;-)
I'm seriously itching to look at getting involved with this trial and I'm
considering setting up a separate group to share experiences, advice and
knowledge. If you're interested in being a part of that let me know.
Cat
--
Catherine Lake
Consultant Engineer
Digital Media & Infrastructure
http://www.artisanbroadcast.uk/
On 2 December 2014 at 15:56, Peter <peter at engineeringradio.co.uk> wrote:
I have been following the open digital radio project for quite some time.
This is a similar thing that they have trail on in Switzerland. It does lack
a GUI, so some Linux CLI experience is required. There are more things that
could be improved on as well, but it is a fully working system at present.
This software can work on standard PCs that are dual core upwards.
I am looking into using the software on a VM system (like Hyper-v or Xen).
It does show that a lot of engineering in radio including RF is becoming
more and more computer orientated.
PeteOn 2 Dec 2014 13:13, Associated Broadcast Consultants <info at a-bc.co.uk>
wrote:
>
> Yesterday Ofcom held a second demo of Low Cost DAB at Riverside House in
London. On the link below you can read all about it on our blog.
>
> http://a-bc.co.uk/blog/
>
> --
> Glyn Roylance - Principal Consultant
> Associated Broadcast Consultants
>
_______________________________________________
Reply - cma-l at commedia.org.uk
The cma-l mailing list is a members' service provided by the Community Media
Association - http://www.commedia.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/community_media
http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
Canstream Internet Radio & Video: http://www.canstream.co.uk/
_______________________________________________
Mailing list guidelines:
http://www.commedia.org.uk/about/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/
_______________________________________________
To unsubscribe or manage your CMA-L mailing list subscription please visit:
http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l
_____
<http://www.avast.com/>
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus
<http://www.avast.com/> protection is active.
---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20141203/bfab31db/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1622 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20141203/bfab31db/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2685 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20141203/bfab31db/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 1847 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20141203/bfab31db/attachment.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 1728 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20141203/bfab31db/attachment-0001.gif>
More information about the cma-l
mailing list