ARLA/CLUSTER: Movimento para salvar a Onda Longa na Irlanda e na Europa

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Saving RTÉ 252 Long Wave, Ireland’s long distance broadcast service

Listeners are campaigning to save a long wave radio station from
closure, but the management are adamant it will close.

RTÉ Radio 1 is the general information and entertainment service of
the Irish Republic’s public service broadcaster. UK listeners can
currently hear the station on internet, Freesat (satellite radio) and
252 kHz long wave.

The main subject of our story – the long wave station at Clarkstown,
Ireland – became the replacement for the much missed medium wave
station at Athlone. RTÉ hoped the long wave signal would better reach
the Irish diaspora as far as London to help them keep in touch with
home.

A long wave service can cover distances of over 500 to 1,000 miles in
daylight, and even further at night. Many European nations have
citizens working and living in other European countries, who want to
stay in touch with home. There are extensive seagoing industries —
fishing, shipping, oil — and the LW signals warn them of storms
coming. These days satellite communications are widely used and the LW
broadcasts are less important.

The drawbacks of LW are that large antenna systems are needed, which
take up a lot of space; high power is needed to produce a very strong
ground wave for daytime reception; and only a limited number of
stations can be fitted into the band, so they must all share
frequencies and take steps to avoid interfering with each other.

Over the years, radios coming onto the market in Europe frequently do
not include the long wave band.

Read the full story at:
http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2016/06/03/saving-rte-252-long-wave/

Our thanks to Mike Terry for spotting this item