Radio France switches off Medium Wave (MW) transmissions

Radio France switches off Medium Wave transmissions

Radio France switches off Medium Wave transmissions
Since midnight on 31st December 2015. Radio France programs are no longer broadcast on the Medium Wwave band. Services concerned are France Info, France bleu RCFM et France Bleu Elsass. Broadcasting on Medium Wave, started between 1937 and 1944, is considered obsolete, with the number of Medium Wave listeners being marginal. This step is part of an economy plan at Radio France. It will be followed by the cessation of Long Wave broadcasts on 31st December 2016.

Radio France is offering an improvement in FM broadcasts to cover the switch off of the Medium Wave services. (Link is in French.) As well as this, because their listeners want to listen to their programs on connected devices, Radio France is also investing in the distribution of its stations and programs on connected devices (smartphones, PCs, Tablets, TV etc) and is offering new services such as internet radio and mobile applications.
https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/radio-france-switches-off-medium-wave-transmissions
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A number of European countries have been reducing or ending their MW broadcasts.
http://www.a516digital.com/2015/12/goodbye-medium-wave-as-european.html

Recordings of final broadcasts (SWL)
http://swling.com/blog/2016/01/reco...roadcasts-from-luxembourg-france-and-germany/

 

a few MW & LW stations still operate from France: http://swling.com/blog/2015/12/ayar-notes-lw-and-mw-transmitters-still-active-in-france/

162 KHz. Allouis (France Inter) < due to close 31 Dec 2016
216 KHz. Roumoules (RMC)
1467 KHz. Roumoules (TWR)
1467 KHz. Col de la Madone (Radio Maria France)
1593 KHz. St Goueno (Bretagne 5)

 

So, I wonder what how the Radio France audience compares numerically with privately operated French MW stations listed.

 

The number of AM MW broadcast stations in Canada is dropping rapidly. In my area (metro population 800,000), the last station pulled the plug about ten years ago. However, the number of FM stations is increasing.

 

My French is terrible, but here goes: Bon Jovi.

 

Maybe MW can be reallocated to amateur use.

 

When people get tired of having their every move tracked online, perhaps the lovely anonymity of broadcast radio will regain its appeal. Streaming content, my eye.

 

Do they not even consider French ex-patriots in other countries listening to French radio. Its pretty selfish to think the only people to listen to French radio are the citizens of France. Many Swiss, German, Belgium, Austrian, Spanish, Monaco, North Africa, Tunisia and Dutch listeners can receive French broadcasts and when I used to live in Dover (South UK) I used to listen to French radio....OK I can't speak French but I picked up some of the overall conversation and were learning by the day. I know French coffee shops that tuned to French AM radio to add authenticity to the place.

It sucks.

 

A great shame - apparently the BBC are also on their last set of valves for the Radio 4 LW Transmitter, so I guess that service will go the same way within the not too distant future.

 

Not likely as we have just gained 630m and we have a sizable allocation at 160m. In the US AM stations have filed for translators on FM in the 250w range. They then are allowed to broadcast on FM 24/7 even if they are a daytime only station or a 1w night time station. They can even file for translators in other cities and feed them via the internet. There is an entire ring of them around many of the college stations WUOG at U Of Ga is fighting with ones that are interfering with their signal.

 

Regarding the desire to have "translators on FM" so the stations can transmit 24/7, this goes hand-in-hand with the computer companies building WiFi into laptops and promoting/selling streaming ability-capable computers. My virus checking/malware checking utilities warn against the streaming programs and the Flash programs as being a way into my computer and ask if I want to isolate/barricade them. The key element here is the user and commercial entities are going to do everything possible to reach the potential consumer.

If ultimate privacy is desired, then no good to flag yourself as a "streamer" or you're asking for it. I'm sure there are many who say this is not entirely true but when they get an inbox filled with google-influenced trash, they haven't been there, yet. When you get a constantly running malware checker firing off several times a day, I guess that means you aren't forgotten, at least in the Cyberworld. The Delete key is nearly the most-often used key on my keyboard.

 

Not only did France terminate some MW stations on 31 December, but so did Germany as well as the legendary Radio Luxembourg on 1440. This is all shortsighted as decided by bean-counting bureaucrats. Just as in the case of shortwave broadcasting, they will live to regret it.

If the Internet powers that be don't like you, they just literally pull the plug on you. When that happens - and it already has - all that's left is SW and MW. But the bureaucrats just don't get it. The only thing on their minds is money. In this case, false savings.

Fortunately, the military knows about the weaknesses of the Internet and satellite communication and maintains HF backup. At least somebody's thinking.

73,
Bob HB9ASQ
Swiss Radio International, retired

 

the bigger picture here is that they now have massive antenna masts 200, 300 and 500 foot tall doing nothing

all i have to do is to work out a way to dismantle it, put it on the cars roof rack and drive it over the ferry and back home and then get the wife to agree i can have it in the back garden

 

Unfortunately it is the beginning of the end. That's a shame.

There is nothing like BCB DXing. Not to mention it being much more reliable than FM or especially digital over long distances.

Thankfully the US is late on the curve

 

As difficult as it would be to dismantle & transport even one massive antenna mast, I'm guessing convincing the wife to approve it will be insurmountable.