Changing Technology: A British Perspective.

[davideduardo]

The British government has delayed for about half a decade at least the closure of analog broadcast radio... AM and FM.

The reasoning is that many don't have DAB receivers and many in rural areas as well as in urban ones with irregular terrain just can't get reliable, if any, DAB signals.

A friend and www.worldradiohistory.com collaborator in the UK wrote this to me and gave me permission to share:

Some years ago, "experts" expressed an interest in stopping all MW transmissions in the UK and handing over the band to mobile radio companies to use for extra local channels. However, the experts have obviously never listened on MW in the winter months when reception conditions enable stations hundreds of miles away to be received. There has also been criticism of the sound quality of DAB transmissions, with the audio frequency range being compressed in order to pack more stations in to the multiplex. There have been many complaints that DAB coverage is very patchy in remote parts of the country. Battery-operated DAB sets are very hungry for batteries, compared with the long battery lives of AM and FM sets.

The people who want us to throw away old-technology radio receivers have not considered what would happen if the internet went down or the electricity grid was compromised and all the "new" short-range radio devices stopped working and the government wanted to send alerts and information to the general public. I am not talking about a nuclear attack but rather a series of extreme weather events. It is true that a handful of MW radio transmitters scattered across the country would enable everyone to receive those transmissions on simple hand-cranked or battery-operated receivers.

I find the observation about how digital radios eat batteries alive to be very critical. We no longer have useful battery operated TV sets as the few that are available are rechargeable, not disposable battery operated. That means that in an emergency one could watch for a few hours during a power failure and then... nothing.

 

[Kelly A]

The British government has delayed for about half a decade at least the closure of analog broadcast radio... AM and FM.

The reasoning is that many don't have DAB receivers and many in rural areas as well as in urban ones with irregular terrain just can't get reliable, if any, DAB signals.

I think the lesson is similar to what we've discovered on this side of the pond: With the complete domination of smartphones, the vast majority of consumers won't actively seek out the purchase of new or replacement radios. Let alone if the programming is the same as what they're used to is already on analog OTA. Even if regulators did force traditional media stations off the air, consumers won't move to DAB, especially if they can stream the same content via their phones. If not? Oh well..

The people who want us to throw away old-technology radio receivers have not considered what would happen if the internet went down or the electricity grid was compromised and all the "new" short-range radio devices stopped working and the government wanted to send alerts and information to the general public. I am not talking about a nuclear attack but rather a series of extreme weather events. It is true that a handful of MW radio transmitters scattered across the country would enable everyone to receive those transmissions on simple hand-cranked or battery-operated receivers.

This is a 60 year old hypothetical argument. In theory the concept is correct, but practically speaking; if members of the public have already moved on to their smartphones, not knowing or not caring that AM/MW exists, they certainly won't be in a position to use it when bad things happen. If nobody has a portable MW radio except a handful of older white males, it doesn't make sense to assume the band will somehow be the savior during an emergency.

I find the observation about how digital radios eat batteries alive to be very critical. We no longer have useful battery operated TV sets as the few that are available are rechargeable, not disposable battery operated. That means that in an emergency one could watch for a few hours during a power failure and then... nothing.

That's assuming anyone in Brittan in or the U.K. by volume, still owns battery powered radios, let alone will go seek the purchase of a DAB radio.

 

[Mikey Radio]

If nobody has a portable MW radio except a handful of older white males, it doesn't make sense to assume the band will somehow be the savior during an emergency.

Not only that, but AM/FM radio has proven several times over in many markets that it simply isn't and won't be that savior, or even a source of timely and accurate information. That theme has been discussed in other threads on this site, as have the many reasons why (the amount of automated stations, lack of staff at many stations available to go "live" and lack of resources to properly do so). There are lots of examples where there's been a severe weather event, sometimes with massive, wide-spread damage (flash flooding, tornadoes that have touched down and the like) and yet all the stations on the AM and FM bands throughout the market are just humming along with their regularly scheduled programming, fed by satellite and/or computer in most cases, especially in the evenings when many of these kinds of weather events tend to happen.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

Radio needed to go digital before the internet became reliable and dominate. But the cost of going to HD broadcasting was too steep for most broadcast stations

Yet, you can take a 15 year old computer with free software and put a high quality stream on the internet.

I have family in Braintree, Essex, England. The town has a low power FM that streams. I can listen to them here and it sounds great.

 

[kfbkfb]

Any info on what is done for emergency notifications in other countries that have shut down AM radio (and the Norway situation, which has [mostly] shut down FM radio too in favor of DAB)?

Are cell phone networks reliable enough for emergency notifications?


Kirk Bayne

 

[davideduardo]

This is a 60 year old hypothetical argument. In theory the concept is correct, but practically speaking; if members of the public have already moved on to their smartphones, not knowing or not caring that AM/MW exists, they certainly won't be in a position to use it when bad things happen. If nobody has a portable MW radio except a handful of older white males, it doesn't make sense to assume the band will somehow be the savior during an emergency.

That is an educational issue, too. Most people don't realize that the majority of cellular "neighborhood" transmitters only have backup for a very brief period. And the phones themselves will not last long, particularly if they are constantly looking for a weaker signal.

We saw the results of this in Houston with last winter's freeze and widespread power failures. TV was useless as there are literally no good portable battery TVs that last more than a few hours and the cells died within a day and phones within 6 to 12 hours.

This, though, is sort of like getting people in earthquake zones to have bottled water, a few day's worth of food, batteries, lamps and first aid materials. Nearly nobody is prepared, even if the threat is real.

In a worst case example, an 8.0 on the San Andreas fault half-way between San Bernardino and San Francisco could interrupt power, communications, water (yes, much of SoCal's water comes from the other side of the fault line) and emergency services for a week of more for as many as 20 million people. About the only communication might be stations like KOA and KSL and low power ones from AZ, San Diego, etc.

 

[Kelly A]

That is an educational issue, too. Most people don't realize that the majority of cellular "neighborhood" transmitters only have backup for a very brief period. And the phones themselves will not last long, particularly if they are constantly looking for a weaker signal.

We saw the results of this in Houston with last winter's freeze and widespread power failures. TV was useless as there are literally no good portable battery TVs that last more than a few hours and the cells died within a day and phones within 6 to 12 hours.

This, though, is sort of like getting people in earthquake zones to have bottled water, a few day's worth of food, batteries, lamps and first aid materials. Nearly nobody is prepared, even if the threat is real.

In a worst case example, an 8.0 on the San Andreas fault half-way between San Bernardino and San Francisco could interrupt power, communications, water (yes, much of SoCal's water comes from the other side of the fault line) and emergency services for a week of more for as many as 20 million people. About the only communication might be stations like KOA and KSL and low power ones from AZ, San Diego, etc.

I agree with the premise, but you can attempt to educate citizens on a regular basis and it still won't matter. Until their smartphones are rendered useless for days at a time, even a brief thought of preparedness by having other electronic devices goes in one ear and out the other. .001% of the population under 50 even still have a portable battery powered radio around, let alone that know AM radio exists.

 

[davideduardo]

Any info on what is done for emergency notifications in other countries that have shut down AM radio (and the Norway situation, which has [mostly] shut down FM radio too in favor of DAB)?

I have no idea. Good question.

Are cell phone networks reliable enough for emergency notifications?

The issue is how long consumer phones will last before being discharged as well as how long any emergency power will stay running at the cell sites.

 

[davideduardo]

Not only that, but AM/FM radio has proven several times over in many markets that it simply isn't and won't be that savior, or even a source of timely and accurate information.

It only took one WWL in New Orleans to last days after the "big" hurricane to keep people informed. Not every station has to try to give service.

That theme has been discussed in other threads on this site, as have the many reasons why (the amount of automated stations, lack of staff at many stations available to go "live" and lack of resources to properly do so). There are lots of examples where there's been a severe weather event, sometimes with massive, wide-spread damage (flash flooding, tornadoes that have touched down and the like) and yet all the stations on the AM and FM bands throughout the market are just humming along with their regularly scheduled programming, fed by satellite and/or computer in most cases, especially in the evenings when many of these kinds of weather events tend to happen.

There is usually at least one if not several stations that have the staff, facilities, contacts and knowledge to do emergency services. That is all that it takes.

Back when the government was subsidizing emergency preparedness, they picked just one or two stations per market to be the primary information source, giving them generators and even underground studios (we had one of those at the transmitter site at WTNT in Tallahassee) and enough fuel storage to last several weeks!

They did not do that for every station.

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

Another solar storm like The Carrington Event of September 1859 might send us back to the stone age. Nothing could prepare us for that. Wouldn't it really suck when Alexa burst into flames?

 

[Mikey Radio]

It only took one WWL in New Orleans to last days after the "big" hurricane to keep people informed. Not every station has to try to give service.

There is usually at least one if not several stations that have the staff, facilities, contacts and knowledge to do emergency services. That is all that it takes.

Back when the government was subsidizing emergency preparedness, they picked just one or two stations per market to be the primary information source, giving them generators and even underground studios (we had one of those at the transmitter site at WTNT in Tallahassee) and enough fuel storage to last several weeks!

They did not do that for every station.

I wasn't necessarily referring to hurricanes where there's some time to prepare and it's forecast at least hours in advance. I was more speaking of large tornadoes or sudden downpours which cause widespread flash flooding, both of which happen without much if any notice, have resulted in widespread damage, entire neighborhoods being wiped out with large-scale power outages, traffic nightmares and loss of life in their wake. In those situations, its not unusual to find no stations on the AM/FM dials going "live" to give information, updates, direction and the like when it's needed most, especially since much of "tornado alley" or where these types of events can happen, aren't in larger radio markets. I'd wager that few stations even broadcast tornado watches or warnings anymore (again, usually they happen in the evenings when many stations are unattended and automated) to forewarn listeners, and most people probably get those types of warnings via their phones.

Actually, with all due respect @DavidEduardo (and I do respect you and your commentary and insight), you were one who was citing all the reasons why that type of reactionary and live coverage wasn't feasible for stations in many markets when this discussion came up months ago.

 

[ZantennaG1]

This is an interesting thread. I occasionally will come across a bunch of complaints about DAB's reliability away from towns, and then they try to squeeze in too many channels as well, causing the quality to go down. I won't dive much further into that, but it is what I've read. By the way, I do have a hand-crank/solar-power radio that can charge my phone in an emergency, so I guess there's that.

 

[davideduardo]

Actually, with all due respect @DavidEduardo (and I do respect you and your commentary and insight), you were one who was citing all the reasons why that type of reactionary and live coverage wasn't feasible for stations in many markets when this discussion came up months ago.

Keep in mind, again, that it only takes one station per area to provide the needed services.

In many cases, for emergency situations like a tornado or a chemical spill or a refinery fire we depend on the emergency system that is not activated by stations but by civil and government authorities.

Here in the CA low desert I've been several in public places like a market or even a movie where everyone's phone sounded an alarm notifying us of extreme weather. I have also gotten such notices at home in the middle of the night for flash flood advisories.

Of course, in today's economy many radio stations in small markets can't be staffed fulltime. Some are never live and are so fully automated that the owner checks in in the morning and only comes back when they have sold something that needs to get on the air. Naturally, those stations are not going to give any service other than emergency activation which are automatic.

The point is that terrestrial radio is the least vulnerable to disaster failure. And we have some stations ready to deal with this, and others that can be activated by the emergency system. Your wireless carrier has no news department at all.

 

[davideduardo]

By the way, I do have a hand-crank/solar-power radio that can charge my phone in an emergency, so I guess there's that.

As Kelly said, probably less than 1% of Americans are prepared that way.

A few years ago, when it was over 110° outside, we had a power failure. We did not know so many of our neighbors were "friends" until they heard our generator running and our AC operating. Most people are not well prepped for emergencies.

 

[ZantennaG1]

As Kelly said, probably less than 1% of Americans are prepared that way.

I wonder if that's where the idea of Mark Trail came from, NOAA was probably hoping a cute character with a memorable name would increase that 1%. Instead, it appears as if the people who want to be prepared already are, and then just about everyone else apparently can't be bothered.

A few years ago, when it was over 110° outside, we had a power failure. We did not know so many of our neighbors were "friends" until they heard our generator running and our AC operating. Most people are not well prepped for emergencies.

Do you watch the 9-1-1 show on Fox?, because that's what this reminds me of. LA had a blackout, and one family still had a working generator, which the husband used to host a party of "friends" and neighbors.

 

[Mikey Radio]

I wonder if that's where the idea of Mark Trail came from, NOAA was probably hoping a cute character with a memorable name would increase that 1%. Instead, it appears as if the people who want to be prepared already are, and then just about everyone else apparently can't be bothered.

It's not just a case where many can't be bothered IMO, but I think some people simply aren't wired to plan for "what ifs" and to think ahead that way. I, for instance also have a crank AM/FM radio with the ability to charge my phone, lots of my stuff is on a large UPS to keep it going for some time after a power loss, I have a stove with plenty of propane, non-perishable foods, water, matches, battery powered lanterns and lights and even quiet battery powered fans to place on the nightstands to keep us cool while we sleep and the list goes on. That said, even when a major storm system has been forecast for days, the gas pumps and grocery stores are usually tolerable until a day or 2 out when the majority suddenly go into "panic mode" and in some cases the batteries, toilet paper and water are long-gone, gas stations and stores have supply issues, etc. Of course, keep in mind that each holiday season there are people still searching for trees and decorations and panic buying gifts a few days before Christmas as they're not only unprepared, but either don't have time to think ahead or they're procrastinators by nature.

 

[Kelly A]

It's not just a case where many can't be bothered IMO, but I think some people simply aren't wired to plan for "what ifs" and to think ahead that way.

You're right. Should cell phones, or the public Internet go down in a major metro for any length of time, the majority of consumers will just curl up in the fetal position not knowing what to do next.

Like David, I've got a whole house generator that starts and takes the entire house load automatically. I've also got satellite TV, SpaceX Starlink Internet, and a well. I could literally run for weeks, or even months completely off the grid. Part of living out in the sticks at the tail end of utilities is being prepared. My neighbors, closest is about an eighth of a mile away, have left home and checked into a hotel when the power goes out for days. But as mentioned prior, folks like us are in the tiny minority.

 

[davideduardo]

Like David, I've got a whole house generator that starts and takes the entire house load automatically.

We love our Generac 24 kw. We have the house divided in zones with four separate AC units we can shed if we have to go a long time. I tried explaining loads and shedding and gas consumption to the neighbors and they went glassy-eyed; they preferred opening wine in MY air conditioned living room! Nothing like a technical discourse to scare nearly everyone away.

 

[boombox4]

Not only that, but AM/FM radio has proven several times over in many markets that it simply isn't and won't be that savior, or even a source of timely and accurate information. That theme has been discussed in other threads on this site, as have the many reasons why (the amount of automated stations, lack of staff at many stations available to go "live" and lack of resources to properly do so). There are lots of examples where there's been a severe weather event, sometimes with massive, wide-spread damage (flash flooding, tornadoes that have touched down and the like) and yet all the stations on the AM and FM bands throughout the market are just humming along with their regularly scheduled programming, fed by satellite and/or computer in most cases, especially in the evenings when many of these kinds of weather events tend to happen.

Hurricane Sandy, a lot of people apparently relied on AM radio and some FM. But yeah, some stations just play music during such instances.

It's also been proven several times over that cell phones simply won't be the savior, or source of timely info, either. Cell sites take power to work, as do phones. When the power is out over 2-3 days, those cell sites that have generators will run out in that time. When the power was out last for 40 hours here, the only source of info I had was AM / FM radio. No wifi, no cell service, no power.

We just had a small wind 'storm' blow through here a day ago, and the local cell service was out for a day. And I'm in suburbia.

I once read that some of the major cell companies have installed generators to keep certain cell sites going, but not all apparently have them.

On the DAB issue I'm not surprised at the talk in the UK of not switching off analog OTA. There are some second thoughts apparently in Norway about it, as many have complained of DAB reception on the road.

 

[davideduardo]

I once read that some of the major cell companies have installed generators to keep certain cell sites going, but not all apparently have them.

I believe that most don't. The ones on apartment buildings, and other locations where there is little rented space and lots of regulations on combustible storage, there are no generators.

Perhaps Kelly can give us an estimate of what percentage of cell sites have standby battery power and how many actually have a genny. I defer exponentially to his knowledge of tech matters

The ones for my area are at a fire station. There is no generator for any of the three wireless providers.