Author: Brian Greene

After 36 years of keeping the Irish community in Melbourne informed of all things Irish, The Connolly Association is most reluctantly planning its final broadcast on Saturday 18 May at 9:30am. 3CR would like to say a huge thank you to the many people involved in the program over the years, particularly Jim Cusack who has coordinated the show for the past 16 years. Farewell and good luck!

hear part 1 of a 2 part documentary about the show from 3CR Melbourne

I use this site to stay up to date on the MW band. http://mediumwave.info/news.html

I always find MW listening / DXing more relaxing / more lean back than SW. Just wait till dark and turn out the lights.

National Network Radio beats local & internet radio streams. Lyric & RTE Radio 1 gaining most listens (remember the sample size was tiny). So the long tail of radio is not in the Stations listened to, so where is it? It would seem to be in the mediums chosen to listen. FM DAB Online On Demand and radio via the TV (Saorview) were all mentioned, about the only things not mentioned were WorldSpace LW SW and digital satellite. Radio finds us where we are regardless of medium, and this has to be good for radio and its audience, except it must have duplicity of costs for stations to be on a growing list of platforms. It was Sunday night and nobody tweeted from their car or outdoor in anyway. And back to the sample size. ~10 replies of 2500 followers (twitter / facebook) not bad meme interaction but technically a very small sample. Thanks to all who responded – Happy Radio.

Documentary on One – RTÉ Documentaries 

Four in a Row – Showcase on Disc Jockeys

What does it take to become a pop radio DJ? Almost 30yrs ago, four djs tried to answer that question – Simon Young and Larry Gogan from RTE Radio 2, Janice Long from BBC Radio 1 and Declan Meehan from Capital Radio London. Top tips….. (Broadcast 1985) 

confused in Dublin writes: 

I’m confused, RTE Radio 1 Extra on DAB carries RTE Choice programmes. While RTE Radio 1 Extra (formerly RTE Europe) on satellite carries the same programmes as RTE Radio 1. 

On Digital Television RTE Radio 1 Extra carries RTE Choice programmes but has RTE Radio 1 EPG details for all programmes. 

Meanwhile the output on RTE Choice (DAB) is the same as RTE Radio 1 Extra and is ID’ed in audio as RTE Radio 1 Extra. 

Some confused questions: Does RTE Choice exist any more? Why is Radio 1 Extra not on digital satellite with the same programmes as the terrestrial broadcast? Why doesn’t RTE Radio 1 Extra (terrestrial) not carry RTE Radio 1 programmes until frequency splits? 

A possible fix to this mess, which was highlighted to RTE operations in 2008 (when medium wave was switched off and “second helpings” programmes were shifted to RTE LW / Extra) is the following. 

Swap RTE Radio 1 and RTE Radio 1 Extra on digital satellite. This would have RTE Radio 1 on the wider footprint transponder to more of Europe where weekend sport and weekday racing would be heard by the widest audience. RTE Radio 1 Extra could carry the frequency split / minority programmes to Ireland / UK on the Astra 2D footprint. RTE Choice programmes could be aired on Radio 1 Extra when frequency splits weren’t active (unless right holder issues exist). Such a move would end the RTE Radio 1 / RTE Radio 1 Extra simulcast on satellite and offer ‘EXTRA’ RTE programmes to our nearest neighbours where a large Irish diaspora lives. 

On DAB and DTT the identity crisis that is RTE Choice / RTE Radio 1 Extra demonstrates that there is really only one service on these two channels. This could free up a channel for something else. Any takers?  

And LW 252, as this is one service unlike the two transponders on satellite, RTE radio 1 and frequency split programmes are broadcast and this seems to do what is expected of it.

I won’t lose sleep over it but it is land of confusion. 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpV1uz4AB_U?wmode=transparent]

Katzenjammer cover the Genesis song ‘Land of Confusion’

UPDATE Feb 2013 – RTE closed RTE Radio 1 Extra on Sky 0142 on the wider european footprint. Alternative content programmes are no longer available on satellite, and RTE Radio 1 is now only available on satellite on a UK / Ireland beam in Europe.