BBC Radio Ulster shutdown message, Lisnagarvey. 1341kHz

[@hav431am]

Its still playing to this day

[@aubmckibben6758]

I thought this transmitter would avoid the axe befalling many AM stations throughout the world, especially since the costly refurbishment of the Blaw-Knox radiator in the early part of the new century. The extensively refurbished tower was expected to allow the tower stand for approximately another hundred years or so! BBC Lisnagarvey was the most powerful medium wave transmitter in the UK when commissioned in March 1936 and was a visionary engineering project as part of Peter Eckersley's "Regional Scheme" providing good signal strength radio coverage throughout the UK. Lisnagarvey was a big step-up from the low power 'local only' coverage of the original transmitter (2BE) located at the old Belfast power station. Sadly, I dare say the next step will be the felling of the tower? I'm fortunate to have an 'aged bolt' from the mast - a memento of the recent refurbishment. It's a sad piece of history lost. Vale "Blaris" (the name given to "BBC Lisnagarvey Transmitting Station" by more local folk.

[@stephenhall6595]

Looks very different from Brookmans Park the old major BBC Transmitter near my home.

[@zarathustra20]

It's been broadcasting that retune loop for over a month now... audible here in Manchester, UK.

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

Waste of modulation

[@tonymagnier9846]

I had to laugh when the announcer says "You'll find better reception on alternative frequencies" and your xhdata almost exploding with s/n MW RF.

[@marcusdamberger]

Amazing to see a Blaw-Knox tower in Europe. I've seen the WLW tower, very impressive at nearly 750ft. Most of the AM's in the U.S. are also going the way of the dinosaur. Many of them in smaller markets and even medium size markets just can't make enough anymore. However, a ton of them are now applying for FM translator service as a lifeline, and most of them are promoting their FM signal as the primary way to get them. There is talk of just fully converting AM over to all digital AM HD Radio. Half of all new cars now have HD Radio tuners built in, so maybe it will be a saving grace to keep AM alive. There us a hybrid AM HD Radio service they can do, but it tends to cause skywave interference especially at night. So most stations that do have digital AM service shut it off from dusk to dawn. It sounds as clean as FM, but if they were to dedicate all the bandwidth to digital service the quality could be improved especially error correction. I guess die hards for AM would feel digital service wouldn't somehow be true AM anymore. From the perspective of listing to DX stations. But how do you save a dying service from extinction when it's audience who traditionally listened to AM are also dying off every day? Somehow got to reinvent it I think, and maybe a digital service would be a good repurpose. People in this day and age are just not interested in listening to static and nearly telephone quality audio. Especially here in the U.S. when they narrowed the bandwidth to pack them in more in the 80's..

[@MarkMcCluney]

That transmission station is just a few miles away from here. I had no idea it was due to close. Thanks Oj.

[@tonymagnier9846]

And there's the iron giant coming into view! Booms into Cork city on the "grey line" but have heard it's groundwaves in Cork during the day. Pity they're shutting it down but seemingly expensive to run. BBC Radio Foyle 792 also on a loop and 801 BBC Radio Devon also about to close. The upside of all these closures is frees up freqs for better transatlantic DX opportunities in the winter months.

[@kahlid-ataya]

can we still listen to the BBC in the middle east on AM at 720 kHz

[@michaelellard4664]

On occasions used to receive it in Cork.

[@geoffcrabbe4323]

Before this SAD shut down This was my BIG AM station to listen to for all the the local info on my AM radio collection.I Remember at 13 listing to it on my little loo roll home brew crystal set, made out of an old B+W tv set yoke wire and diode hooked to a 140 foot of wire and good earth at home With a pair of SG BROWN headphone,s My Dad bought me in the local market (Still Got) without putting them on i could listen in .. CLASS ..And think you buddy for Logging This...CHEERS....

[@LeeLocke]

Another one bites the dust.

[@Steveuk405]

This rush to close AM is a big mistake. Not the first big mistake that this country will make and certainly not the last. The coverage that AM gives can be so much better than FM and don't let me start on Diabolical Audio Broadcasting! And why listen on your TV when the power it uses is more than a radio anyway and certainly not portable!

[@jonathaneastwood2927]

So how am I going to listen to Ulster on my DAC90A late at night in Cambridge now!

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

Are you? It looks like pantry transmitter and Internet streaming will be the only option..... or a very very tall mast with a big FM band yagi pointing for Ulster!

[@jonathaneastwood2927]

Already losing my BBC local here in cambs on 1026khz and local Absolute relay on 1197khz... dials getting a bit empty now

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

It's a very sad state of affairs, hopefully a few rouges will set up like they did in Holland.

[@mikemallen9378]

This dash to closedown AM radio is a huge mistake, its not been thought though properly.

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

Agreed.

[@robtitheridge9708]

every one seems to be speeding up the shutdown of there AM transmiters. maybe the pirates can make a legal come back?

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

Act now, apologise later.....

[@LeeLocke]

Ahoy!!

[@oldblokeh]

Very sad.

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

I would hope that the mast is preserved, it's the only Blaw-Knox radiating mast in Western Europe.

[@oldblokeh]

@@IrishvintageTVRadio Let's hope so.

[@terryblackman6217]

Another one bites the dust. 👎

[@barrygeary1890]

I often passed this near new what it was for i listen to Hugo Duncan on BBC radio ulster on my free sat tv in the radio list i love the bbc ulster station ❤

[@zx8401ztv]

What a bloody shame :-( You would think the bbc with all the money from tv licenses and commercial business should be able to keep there transmitters running. The bbc is a monopoly. Oh my mate has the same xdata radio you have, i would have to fight him to the death to remove it from his shelf of radios lol. One thing he hates is the utter crap clock, it never stays right for long, its in cloud cookoo land :-D

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

The clock can auto update through RDS on FM I believe, I never set it and it's always spot on. If only used for SWL listening it may miss RDS .

[@zx8401ztv]

@@IrishvintageTVRadio , maybe he got the crap one. I had to fix his tecsun pl660 as it would go blank or just no receve at all, the ribbon cable from the control pcb to the main pcb was playing up, a bit too short, i put one in an inch longer, less pull on the crap connectors.

[@LeeLocke]

@@zx8401ztv Top tip Zx.

[@hav431am]

Its very sad for people living in wyre who like Ulster, well, again, there is sky, but what if they dont have sky?

[@barrygeary1890]

Never knew it was a am trasnmitter just passed it a few time when im up that direction