ACT Digital Radio outages

Just to clarify the role of radio broadcasting in emergency, readers might like to check out the Senate Committee Report from last year at http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=ec_ctte/emergency_communications/report/report.pdf

On page 30(+) of that report the point is made that much of the population switches to the ABC in emergency although, as stated in an earlier post, commercial stations (and organisations like RiotACT) will also carry formal announcements and may carry better breaking news.

As recent digital outages demonstrate, current AM, and even FM, radio networks are more robust and have better coverage so, presumably, we should retain our analogue receivers.

That said, it would still be nice if we, the public, were told when a whole system goes down.

richardg said :

I appreciate all of the comments above about the status of digital radio but:

b. in its 29 Sep 2009 statement about emergency communications in the ACT, the ABC said “Be sure to keep the emergency numbers to hand, keep a battery powered radio in your emergency kit – and tune it to 666 ABC Canberra, your emergency services broadcaster.”

.

Is the Devil’s Radio really trying to claim it is the emergency services broadcaster? For the information of everybody here, every radio station in the ACT is compelled by law to interrupt programs with emergency broadcasts which are preceded by a siren sound lasting for 15 seconds.

For the ABC to claim exclusivity in this regard is not only inaccurate, it is a straight-out lie.

Valid questions in post #13, but…

zomg!`11“~~~~!!!!!! wot happenz if the AM transmitteh breakz? Oh teh humanateeeee.

I appreciate all of the comments above about the status of digital radio but:

a. the digital channel of the local ABC radio is called “666 ABC Canberra”, although it does not always carry the same content as the analogue 666 kHz AM ABC broadcast; and

b. in its 29 Sep 2009 statement about emergency communications in the ACT, the ABC said “Be sure to keep the emergency numbers to hand, keep a battery powered radio in your emergency kit – and tune it to 666 ABC Canberra, your emergency services broadcaster.”

If the digital 666 ABC Canberra channel is not part of the emergency broadcasting system, then the ABC needs to give it some other name or change their instructions for tuning in in an emergency to “666 kHz AM”. If the digital channel IS part of the system then all my earlier comments about the local digital radio system design and management deficiencies continue to apply.

A practical problem is that, for those few of us with digital radios, they can’t be used in conjunction with analogue, at least for the ABC. Not only do the contents diverge, particularly at weekends when the analogue 666 carries the ABC sport radio channel, but there is a time delay between analogue and digital which means that one won’t normally have the receivers within earshot of each other.

With regard to telling listeners about outages, etc, I would have thought that it would have rated a mention on the corresponding analogue channels.

Deref said :

I had the pleasure of experiencing digital radio in the UK some years ago. It was brilliant. Wherever you were, once you started passing out of the signal area of the station you were listening to, the radio would automatically change to a stronger signal of the same station – you could see it happen on the display, but the process was seamless.

You could opt for traffic announcements for the area you were in to override your station selection so, whichever station you were listening to, you’d get local traffic info. Emergency announcements automatically overrode your station selection.

As I understand it, nothing like those are being considered here. We’re so far behind that it’s ludicrous.

The UK uses DAB, Australia uses DAB+.
DAB+ is more advanced, uses a better audio codec, gives a better signal and is three times more data efficient for sound quality.
As it’s officially still in testing…a lot of the stations are not using (or have not yet been allowed to invest in) the available features to the maximum potential, so the digital text often plays a rolling station title rather than the live information about what you’re listening to etc…
It will take time, but potentially it’s a far better and more expansive system than the UK is stuck with, unless they decide to scrap all the DAB radio’s which are not forward compatible to DAB+.

What about the digital radio services the ABC provides through digital TV – digmusic (200) and ABC Jazz (201)? Is that just digital TV with no picture, or is it actually radio, does anyone know?

BTW, I recommend ABC Jazz – hardly any announcements or interruptions, but you need to log onto the website to find out what is being played. Very pleasant background music, and perfect quality sound.

I had the pleasure of experiencing digital radio in the UK some years ago. It was brilliant. Wherever you were, once you started passing out of the signal area of the station you were listening to, the radio would automatically change to a stronger signal of the same station – you could see it happen on the display, but the process was seamless.

You could opt for traffic announcements for the area you were in to override your station selection so, whichever station you were listening to, you’d get local traffic info. Emergency announcements automatically overrode your station selection.

As I understand it, nothing like those are being considered here. We’re so far behind that it’s ludicrous.

patrick_keogh said :

However I have not seen any credible alternative being proposed or tested, so I think that this is less and less likely.
.

Given a 2015 or later implementation date for any national digital radio coverage, my personal bet is that internet radio via the NBN will take a huge slice of the market. Already I am using Spotify for around 70% of my music listening and internet TV for around 20% of what I watch (which is not a lot).

Madam Cholet said :

Have been wondering whether to purchase a digital radio, but what stops me is that I have not heard if the trial will automatically turn into teh norm – i.e. after the trial will it be back to analogue whilst they decide if the trial was a success? What’s the reason fro a trial – why not just switch it on and leave it on.

My understanding of the reason is that there were two issues:

1. Is DAB+ the best digital radio technology for Australian regional areas? Canberra counts as regional so they have insisted on calling it a “trial” in case they later change their mind. However I have not seen any credible alternative being proposed or tested, so I think that this is less and less likely. But you are right, if the money is an issue for you then you might be better off waiting.

2. Prior to analogue radio being switched off not just here in Canberra, but in several surrounding zones as well there is not enough spectrum available for a full-blown set of DAB+ stations, so at least in theory we are not getting the “full” DAB+ experience.

I was prepared to take the punt and we have been listeningto DAB+ since October 2010 here in Canberra. I am pretty happy with the sound quality and the variety. There are more stations that I want to listen to on DAB+ than on AM and FM combined.

Have been wondering whether to purchase a digital radio, but what stops me is that I have not heard if the trial will automatically turn into teh norm – i.e. after the trial will it be back to analogue whilst they decide if the trial was a success? What’s the reason fro a trial – why not just switch it on and leave it on.