Phoenix fm Halifax maybe in trouble

[radionortheast]

the fm has been silent for numerous weeks, on 96.7, if i turn it up audio is there but really low in the backround, appears shows are been promoted on facebook/x. I can’t look without an account, sounds like it is in some kind of difficulty, i’ve known it go silent for a few days but not this long.
the original crowdfunder is below

https://www.phoenixfm.co.uk/2020/09/10/ ... owdfunder/

the grants have special condition does sound as though it can effect who can go on air, maybe the type of radio station too, it is difficult, the original crowdfunder was set up 2020, they need 10,000 now. sad does seem like this is something were people who couldn't normally get on air could do.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding ... riestley-4

theres more techical detail about it here, were the transmitter is based don’t know if its hard to get too, likely a cost i guess to having it there, it is shared with tv beacon hill likely difficult to get to

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Radio

[Frequent Lee]

I was approached about 6 months ago from an associate who has some occasional programming input via the elderly nursing home that he runs with his parents, some kind of music requests format for the old folk living in the nursing home to help with their dementia and so on.

The stations management has asked him if he knew anybody who could volunteer some time as a station tech for help with engineering equipment & sorting audio feeds feeding the uhf link which I believe is a Band 3 or 4 link through vertically polarised Tx/Rx yagi logs.

I couldn't help them at the time unfortunately but it seems like their still in trouble.

The problem with a lot of these 1st and 2nd gen community stations from the late 90s is they have zero idea about things like breakaway or stereo tool etc and usually it's a direct audio from their console into a one size fits all plug and play SBS broadcast or BW 50 watt one box wonder, never had firmware updates or the default settings altered.

It would probably be a couple of hours work I guess to just chuck a cheap miniature Dell or Compaq Desktop pc doing the necessary things audio software wise or even a Raspberry Pi 5 set up to to then send it over their link encoded and a rx computer at other end to decode the mpx you can then feed into the main TXs mpx input.

Last time I heard it myself was ages ago and I think it was mono and flat audio of varying levels.

BCB in Bradford also has similar problems with the consistency of their FM output audio too, their signal is pretty good considering the restriction on their wattage and with decent quality audio sorting out I think both stations would get them more attractive to prospective djs and local businesses willing to do sponsorship and so on.

We all know what the calibre of the majority of these Ofcom community stations are essentially glorified hospital radio outfits with extremely niche subject matter programming for a handful of an audience.

Sad state of affairs.

[radionortheast]

Bcb is a better signal, don’t know if they could do with a better aerial at Phoenix fm

There is quite a learning curve with stereo tool, I can understand that, they only need processing would make it easier, would sound so much better if it was stereo bcb too, easy for someone who knew how.
When stereo tool first came along I could only get the stereo light to come on no separation. I managed to get it to work some files in winamp, a year or two ago, I suppose usually its done where the laptop picks up the stream, seems to be to do with internal routing, when its working its tend not to stop working. If someone was trying to use it as a traditional stereo encoder, using anologue phono inputs they might encounter problems, thats not the way as cher would say. Better not to reinvent the wheel, to learn how to do it the new way.

If technical standards could be improved that might go some way, make them more attractive, its not that they don’t care, I did think that when I heard alot of these blank carriers, technical problems that never get fixed, they don’t know how.

[FMEnjoyer]

No audio at all sounds like tech trouble or they just closed up and left the rig on till a tech can switch off for them at the site, basically banckrupt and finished ?

Maybe volunteers give up as well, DJ's presenters wonder what the point is after a few weeks when no one is listening. I suspect some stations are just not worth listening to. I have gone off one local to me, a few people clearly left as new djs took over and the music not my taste and I do not like the presenters. So I listen to better ones that I found now.

Not many pirates on so these sort of stations fill that gap, with almost normal people presenting on them, rather than pretend happy shouting people with false over the top enthusiasm like commercial stations.

[radionortheast]

Theres lots of old recordings on the pirate archive 1991 even earlier, with full stereo, they had uhf links, they seemed to know a lot more how to do it, I suppose they were deemed as not fit and proper persons to hold broadcast licences, does seem bonkers, they seemed to know what they were doing. They’ve all gone away anyway, likely its more about ticking boxes and filling forms in, nooone techical there to keep it all going. With no pirates around they are the closet that we have to pirates, dly put together, can be a good thing, I think its only the ones that sound like commercial stations which will survive, to be fair they do have a greater choice of music than bauer, but theres nothing in community radio to get excited over. Weather localness can survive online, when it couldn't through fm i'm not sure about

[Albert H]

The "Community" stations were deliberately designed to fail. OFCOM wanted it that way. The rules about advertising and revenues, the ridiculous operating costs, the insane licencing ruules, and the stupid power limitations all conspired to make sure that they can never work.

OFCOM claimed that "Community Commercial Radio" couldn't ever work, and then deliberately set out to make certain that it failed.

The "Government" always want tight control of broadcast media, which is why pirate broadcasting scares them rigid. That's why they piut so much time and money (and deliberate disinformation about "interference") into their effort to shut everything down.

You're right about those of us back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s - we knew what we were doing. We developed all sorts of cunning ways of avoiding the "authorities", including clever methods of linking, concealed transmitting gear, stealth aerials, and more. Unfortunately, a lot of DJs are loud-mouthed idiots, and almost invariably gave the game away, leading to raids.......