Long silences at radio stations (Sheffield Live blank carrier for days)

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radionortheast
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Long silences at radio stations (Sheffield Live blank carrier for days)

Post by radionortheast » Sat Dec 14, 2024 8:00 pm

Sheffield live 93.2 has been a blank carrier for days, only came back today, I can’t pick it up here last week Radio Sangam relay 94.7 was also silent, Phoenix fm 96.7 often have silences in the past there was one that went on for 2 days, it used to be easy to look on social media its gotten hard now as you have an account, you don't know whats going on.
It does seem strange to me, it is hard to get a licence, costs money too, to have it transmitting silence. Does seem strange when theres people out there who would want to set up there own stations, the lpfm trial was only offered to organisations.

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Re: Long silences at radio stations (Sheffield Live blank carrier for days)

Post by teckniqs » Sun Dec 15, 2024 1:20 pm

I was told you got a fine for putting out silence and silence detectors were a legal requirement of your licence!

....There's a station around here from Brighton on 101.4 called 1BTN who have continously had long periods of silence ever since they first started over 9 years ago a very regular thing, sometimes dead-silent for one or two weeks and constantly happens.

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Re: Long silences at radio stations (Sheffield Live blank carrier for days)

Post by Persona Non Grata » Mon Dec 16, 2024 3:21 pm

It does seem strange to me, it is hard to get a licence, costs money too, to have it transmitting silence.
In the case of some stations it represents the best programming they've ever done. :lol:

I get your point though station has been off the air (or putting out blank carriers/noise) for days at a time and barely anyone seems to notice/care it hardly represents the best use of a licence/frequency/electricity.

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Re: Long silences at radio stations (Sheffield Live blank carrier for days)

Post by radionortheast » Wed Dec 18, 2024 2:10 pm

I read that too about fine if they didn’t transmit!, it does sound crazy, when theres people who would have theirs going 24/7 if they could. Also read some were they had to have all programing recorded, if they didn’t supply it when the regulator asked they’d get fine, suppose maybe they wanting to know there was nothing going on, I can see case for that, imagine having to record everything.

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Re: Long silences at radio stations (Sheffield Live blank carrier for days)

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Feb 08, 2025 3:26 pm

radionortheast wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2024 2:10 pm ...imagine having to record everything.
Back in the 90s when I was involved with an RSL station in Sheffield (Forge FM) we did have to record everything! We had no money, so we used a LP VHS recorder, connected to a broken camcorder aimed at a clock providing a video signal. Woe betide us if someone forgot to change the tape either, as there was a local nutter (who went on to be a local councillor and then jailbird subsequently) who hated us and monitored our output for as many hours as he could stay awake waiting for transgressions of our licence.

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