Return-Path: X-Spam-DCC: paranoid 1233; Body=3 Fuz1=3 Fuz2=3 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.1.3 (2006-06-01) on lipkowski.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.5 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,HTML_30_40, HTML_MESSAGE,RATWARE_GECKO_BUILD autolearn=no version=3.1.3 Received: from post.thorcom.com (post.thorcom.com [195.171.43.25]) by paranoid.lipkowski.org (8.13.7/8.13.7) with ESMTP id sBVKhJkU028642 for ; Wed, 31 Dec 2014 21:43:19 +0100 Received: from majordom by post.thorcom.com with local (Exim 4.14) id 1Y6Pzw-00033I-68 for rs_out_1@blacksheep.org; Wed, 31 Dec 2014 20:36:04 +0000 Received: from [195.171.43.32] (helo=relay1.thorcom.net) by post.thorcom.com with esmtp (Exim 4.14) id 1Y6Pzp-000339-9M for rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org; Wed, 31 Dec 2014 20:35:57 +0000 Received: from icp-osb-irony-out7.external.iinet.net.au ([203.59.1.224]) by relay1.thorcom.net with esmtp (Exim 4.84) (envelope-from ) id 1Y6Pzl-00019t-HM for rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org; Wed, 31 Dec 2014 20:35:56 +0000 X-IronPort-Anti-Spam-Filtered: true X-IronPort-Anti-Spam-Result: AuwDANpcpFR8qOU1/2dsb2JhbAANT4NYWLN5BpIygx6CXQISgQoBAQEBAYUKAQEESSINEQsNBwQJFg8JAwIBAgFFEwgBAbsAlVAghgOECoUTCQ8uGIQpBYw+i1eFDYd9gzmEJFuBBIE/AQEB X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="5.07,675,1413216000"; d="scan'208,217";a="584822698" Received: from unknown (HELO [192.168.0.2]) ([124.168.229.53]) by icp-osb-irony-out7.iinet.net.au with ESMTP; 01 Jan 2015 04:35:44 +0800 Message-ID: <54A45E1F.1000704@netspace.net.au> Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 07:35:43 +1100 From: Richard Rogers User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:24.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/24.6.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 To: rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org References: <5861243094DD42FDA080300B6BE9500F@White> In-Reply-To: <5861243094DD42FDA080300B6BE9500F@White> X-Scan-Signature: 6b0411a0208d534ec13cf5eb48c0cfb7 Subject: Re: LF: Closure of German Longwave Broadcast Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------040408060105080100070806" X-SA-Exim-Scanned: Yes Sender: owner-rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org Precedence: bulk Reply-To: rsgb_lf_group@blacksheep.org X-Listname: rsgb_lf_group X-SA-Exim-Rcpt-To: rs_out_1@blacksheep.org X-SA-Exim-Scanned: No; SAEximRunCond expanded to false X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.56 on 10.1.3.10 Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 1683 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------040408060105080100070806 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Very well said. On 01-Jan-15 2:21 AM, Markus Vester wrote: > As announced before, the German longwave broadcast transmissions on > 153 and 207 kHz (Deutschlandfunk) and 177 kHz (Deutschlandradio) will > be terminated with the New Year 2015. Presumably mediumwave AM > transmissions will follow one year later. It has been claimed that the > continuation would be too costly, considering the relatively small > number of AM listeners. > Along with others, I think that this is a sad landmark in radio > history, because > - AM radio is simple and intuitive. The concepts of AM > transmission and reception are easy to conceive, even by a child. And > it's motivating to play with it. In a few years, the kids can still > build a diode receiver, but listening to the small surrogate > oscillator Daddy has hidden behind the sofa will surely not be the > same thing! > Then try to explain digital audio broadcasting to your grandson, all > the way from end-to-end (microphone to speaker. I even have strong > doubts that there is a single expert person now who understands the > whole chain. Every engineer is supposed to be working on the details > of a small subpart, knows little more than he "needs to know", and > communication is done by formal processes and requirement > specifications. Of course this is a general trend in industry, but I > don't think it is very desirable. > - AM is linear. Listening to 153 kHz in the evening hours, faint > Algerian music can be heard in the background. When I was young I was > fascinated by those distant sounds, and it probably contributed > strongly to my later interest in "DX". You can actually hear that the > radio waves have come a long way, experience selective fading, and > solar effects, or subtle ionospheric effects like Luxembourg > crossmodulation. Modern digital radio considers all this undesirable > interference - what you get is either perfect mp3 stereo, or nothing > at all. > - AM is a historic legacy. Especially on longwave, each transmitter > and antenna coupler is a unique installation, and the antennas are > impressive monuments. SAQ is a good example: While it's no longer > needed for transatlantic communication, it's still being kept alive as > an educative and fascinating world heritage. Why not keep at least one > large LF broadcast transmitter? > - LF and MF radio is efficient. The half-megawatt Donebach transmitter > probably consumes a million Euros worth of energy per year, and in > addition, there is antenna and transmitter maintenance to be paid for. > But it provides gapless service across many million square kilometers. > Similar coverage with DAB will probably require a thousand or more > digital transmitters, which in total may well consume a higher amount > of power and secondary costs. One difficulty about keeping LF > transmitters alive may actually be there are so few of them - as most > engineers seem to be working on software and silicon chip-level > hardware, it may become hard to make spare parts and find experienced > service people for high-voltage RF in the future. > - Radio helps to protect against spectrum pollution. Members of the LF > group are only too aware of the inflation of inadequately filtered > SMPS power supplies, "dirty" ADSL and PLC communication over > unshielded copper lines, and upcoming threats like inductive e-car > charging devices. Currently there are still EMC regulations in place > which at least provide some limit on radiated and conducted > interference above 150 kHz. But when there are no more AM broadcast > listeners, why should anyone invest effort to protect that part of > spectrum against local interference? The situation for those few crazy > LF enthusiasts who enjoy digging down to the noise floor may soon > become comparable to that of backyard astronomers in an urban > environment - ie plain frustrating. > End of rant... > Anyway, all the best for the new year, > Markus (DF6NM) > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2015.0.5577 / Virus Database: 4257/8841 - Release Date: 12/30/14 > -- 73, Ric VK7RO --------------040408060105080100070806 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Very well said.

On 01-Jan-15 2:21 AM, Markus Vester wrote:
As announced before, the German longwave broadcast transmissions on 153 and 207 kHz (Deutschlandfunk) and 177 kHz (Deutschlandradio) will be terminated with the New Year 2015. Presumably mediumwave AM transmissions will follow one year later. It has been claimed that the continuation would be too costly, considering the relatively small number of AM listeners.
 
Along with others, I think that this is a sad landmark in radio history, because
 
- AM radio is simple and intuitive. The concepts of AM transmission and reception are easy to conceive, even by a child. And it's motivating to play with it. In a few years, the kids can still build a diode receiver, but listening to the small surrogate oscillator Daddy has hidden behind the sofa will surely not be the same thing!
 
Then try to explain digital audio broadcasting to your grandson, all the way from end-to-end (microphone to speaker. I even have strong doubts that there is a single expert person now who understands the whole chain. Every engineer is supposed to be working on the details of a small subpart, knows little more than he "needs to know", and communication is done by formal processes and requirement specifications. Of course this is a general trend in industry, but I don't think it is very desirable. 
 
- AM is linear. Listening to 153 kHz in the evening hours, faint Algerian music can be heard in the background. When I was young I was fascinated by those distant sounds, and it probably contributed strongly to my later interest in "DX". You can actually hear that the radio waves have come a long way, experience selective fading, and solar effects, or subtle ionospheric effects like Luxembourg crossmodulation. Modern digital radio considers all this undesirable interference - what you get is either perfect mp3 stereo, or nothing at all.
 
- AM is a historic legacy. Especially on longwave, each transmitter and antenna coupler is a unique installation, and the antennas are impressive monuments. SAQ is a good example: While it's no longer needed for transatlantic communication, it's still being kept alive as an educative and fascinating world heritage. Why not keep at least one large LF broadcast transmitter?
 
- LF and MF radio is efficient. The half-megawatt Donebach transmitter probably consumes a million Euros worth of energy per year, and in addition, there is antenna and transmitter maintenance to be paid for. But it provides gapless service across many million square kilometers. Similar coverage with DAB will probably require a thousand or more digital transmitters, which in total may well consume a higher amount of power and secondary costs. One difficulty about keeping LF transmitters alive may actually be there are so few of them - as most engineers seem to be working on software and silicon chip-level hardware, it may become hard to make spare parts and find experienced service people for high-voltage RF in the future.
 
- Radio helps to protect against spectrum pollution. Members of the LF group are only too aware of the inflation of inadequately filtered SMPS power supplies, "dirty" ADSL and PLC communication over unshielded copper lines, and upcoming threats like inductive e-car charging devices. Currently there are still EMC regulations in place which at least provide some limit on radiated and conducted interference above 150 kHz. But when there are no more AM broadcast listeners, why should anyone invest effort to protect that part of spectrum against local interference? The situation for those few crazy LF enthusiasts who enjoy digging down to the noise floor may soon become comparable to that of backyard astronomers in an urban environment - ie plain frustrating.
 
End of rant...
 
Anyway, all the best for the new year,
 
Markus (DF6NM)
 

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2015.0.5577 / Virus Database: 4257/8841 - Release Date: 12/30/14



-- 
73, Ric   VK7RO
--------------040408060105080100070806--