The Dutch-based mediumwave transmitter of commercial radio station Big L on 1395 kHz is currently off the air. According to the station’s website, “Due to a technical generator problem there is no AM at the moment. As soon as we have more news, we will inform you. It’s 2010 and the Big L still can’t get electricity in the middle of Lake IJsselmeer.”
on Nov 4th, 2010 at 17:49
Is the generator really to blame?
It is reported that last Tuesday night there were audio-feed problems, the TX stayed on air, but was switched off after a couple of hours producing dead air.
So no generator problem.
The audio feed could have easily been fixed by now, but is not even mentioned on the site.
Even if it is the generator, another one could have been temporary installed at the site.
So my guess is that something else causes the silence on 1395
I have my ideas.
on Nov 4th, 2010 at 17:58
Last time I checked, the website claimed they were waiting for a ’spare part’. The audio quality was dreadful when I listened last week. I have a GEC Superadio, on which Radio 10 Gold on 828 sounds great. But the audio on 1395 seemed overmodulated and distorted. Whether that was due to the quality of the feed from the UK, or whether they were driving the transmitter too hard, I don’t know. It sounded like some of the less professional offshore stations of the 1960s
on Nov 5th, 2010 at 14:29
The audio quality on 1395 is/was dreadful, however the TX and all the equipment are OK. When fresh installed and adjusted by operator Broadcaster Partners it had near FM quality.
But there are some people at BigL who prefer this overprocessed sound.
I cannot believe it takes that long for a spare part to arrive, normally this is in 24 hours.
BigL is off air now for 3 days.
on Nov 5th, 2010 at 16:10
And now the website says “It will take a few days more before the 1395 is back.” Let’s hope that these few days are consecutive, and not spread out over several months
on Nov 5th, 2010 at 20:14
It would be a shame to lose the AM transmitter,but I have to say the daytime output on 1395 is almost inaudible during daylight hours,here in West Suffolk,UK.
I see they have unrolled a promising new programme schedule which includes the return of Mike Reid and David Hamilton,so it is to be hoped that if anything the transmitter will be improved.
on Nov 6th, 2010 at 16:14
1395 will never reach the UK on daytime, except for a very narrow coastal area, from it’s present location. Even when on full power.
on Nov 6th, 2010 at 22:35
big l has been on the air for a year with little advertising ,perhaps kbc has decided ,it cannot support big l anymore The signal is weak even in north norfolk the transmitter should be moved to sluis on the belgium border and go daytime talk and hire John Gaunt
on Nov 7th, 2010 at 07:53
Providing all funds have been paid this is very bad that 1395 has been off so long! Surely Broadcast Partners would not allow 675 or 1008 to be off so why 1395? Sounds like very poor maintenance to me?
on Nov 7th, 2010 at 10:12
I was on holiday in northyorkshire england this summer i could hear bigl
all over yorkshire the signal was very good even over as far as blackpool.
I hope they can get back soon.
on Nov 7th, 2010 at 11:34
I would appreciate if readers would refrain from speculating on the reasons why Big L is off the air. We all have our own theories, but I don’t want this blog to descend to the level of some of the forums I have read. To answer specific general points:
1. The level of maintenance depends on the contract that Big L has with Broadcast Partners. If the customer pays for it, BP provides excellent maintenance. If the customer prefers to take risks and not pay for backup, that is also possible, though ill advised. BP recently took over the contract for distributing the signals of the Dutch public broadcasters. It wouldn’t get the contract if it provided poor maintenance.
2. Under Dutch law, moving a transmitter site is a complicated business that could take years finding a suitable site, then getting the necessary permission and paperwork. As Ruud has stated more than once in this blog, it’s virtually impossible - and that’s just for low power stations serving regions of The Netherlands. The days of a viable commercial mediumwave station that serves both the UK and the Netherlands ended in 1974
on Nov 7th, 2010 at 19:50
The 1395 equipment is owned by the BigL owners in Birmingham.
So it is to them to decide how maintenance is being done, it is certainly not BP’s fault.
(BP does not run 675 and 1008)
on Nov 9th, 2010 at 17:40
Speculations or not, I do not like the silence on 1395…
Solutions for daytime there are plenty….Just as in the past of RC, daytime Dutch program and at night English.
But if that happens….I think Big L1395 needs first a complete revolution, special the UK daytime people need to take a step back and leave Dutch programs to the Dutch, profit of ad selling at daytime is more important as ego to be heared on the station at a time that not many people in the UK can receive it;)
on Nov 15th, 2010 at 09:09
Whatever the reason, they should realise that they are wasting their efforts at broadcasting without it. Its return should come ahead of all else.
I have been told that it is licensed for 5ookw.I can scarcely believe that. Anyone know the real figure? Any rich guy fancy giving them a wind generator?
on Nov 15th, 2010 at 10:31
Nick, originally the frequency was licenced for a 500 kW transmitter from the Lopik site. Ruud Poeze (who often posts comments here) was originally awarded the licence. But the then owner of the transmitter site came to an agreement with the local council to restrict the total power from the Lopik site to 120 kW, which is enough to power the transmitter on 675 kHz plus a low power reserve transmitter for 747 kHz in case the main transmitter at Flevo is off the air for maintenance. They did this without consulting the licence holder (Ruud) who then found himself with a licence that couldn’t be used.
The current site is officially only a temporary site, and the local council wants to get rid of it as soon as possible. It is listed in the national frequency register as maximum 25 kW.
http://www.agentschaptelecom.nl/binaries/content/assets/agentschaptelecom/Media-en-omroepen/Overzicht-omroepvergunningen.xls line 251.
on Nov 16th, 2010 at 14:25
Many thanks for that, so it is never going to be more than 25kw, if used at all. I wonder what bigL are up to. Strange it went off as soon as Mike Read returned.
on Nov 16th, 2010 at 16:59
Well Nick, there are rules and there is something called reality, alo reffered to as the difference between paper and practice.
(1395 can do and did more, but you did not hear that from me, hush hush)
on Nov 16th, 2010 at 18:14
Intriguing…..!
on Nov 16th, 2010 at 20:31
Big L is coming back on AM really soon…
message from Arvy Baker(Administrator)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6823501201
Big L \
on Nov 17th, 2010 at 12:25
The new generator is place and the transmitter has been tested. Dutch listeners report normal strength on 1395. However, there is no audio yet become someone has stolen the equipment. See http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/someone-has-stolen-the-audio-equipment-for-1395
PS: I have turned off commenting for that item as I do not want people posting idle speculation. There are plenty of other forums for that.
on Nov 22nd, 2010 at 23:08
Anybody know what ‘really soon’ means? If Dutch listeners report normal strength then surely I should also get normal strength even if it just a carrier. I haven’t found a sign of anything. Also I find it odd that Mike Read talks about the return of the xmitter in third party terms such as ‘they still have’nt fixed it’ as if it, and sometimes even Bigl itself are nothing to do with him. They are referred to as ‘they’ not ‘we.’
on Nov 23rd, 2010 at 09:31
‘They’ means Broadcast Partners, who operate the transmitter. Eric says it should be back on the air later this week when they have installed a new Optimod to replace the one that was stolen.
on Nov 26th, 2010 at 23:44
Tonight there was a faint signal from an English-speaking station \\
on Nov 27th, 2010 at 15:52
Pirates use 1395 regularly now BigL is off. It is a clear channel.
on Nov 28th, 2010 at 11:02
I wonder if there is somebody who does not want big l to return on medium
wave perhaps owed money from the past and will do anythink to delay bigl
return.I hope eric has increased security around the transmitter area.
roger
on Dec 6th, 2010 at 16:36
If the new generator runs, the transmitter works and the Optimod is missing, then why don´t you folks just bypass that thing and run unprocessed audio for the time being. All you are doing now is waisting diesel oil.
By the way, your audio has been really dreadful despite a strong RF signal here in the Frankfurt area.
on Dec 7th, 2010 at 21:49
TWR albania uses 1395khz mw for 2 and a half hours from 19.00uk to 21.30uk beginning with 20mins of the twr callsign before programmes then at closedown after a short blast of the twr callsign at that 21.30 it switches off it’s 1395 transmitter soon after. There is half an hour of interference before bigl returns at 22.00uk and switches the tx on at 25kW erp.
on Dec 7th, 2010 at 22:09
currently listening to bigl on 1395khz mw at my home in accrington lancashire:very loud and clear and very audible,but lots of frequent fading though(which is to be expected at this time of night).
on Dec 18th, 2010 at 15:54
Back but weak. Why?
on Dec 19th, 2010 at 16:11
The current modulation on 1395 is to low and below standards, about 50%.
on Dec 19th, 2010 at 18:46
Yes but why is it so low and are they going to improve it? Bigl seems to have been a shambles for weeks. Perhaps they should stop throwing good money after bad and give up. At least they could tell us what is going on on their website. They have many loyal fans who deserve better than this.
on Dec 19th, 2010 at 22:33
At Friday afternoon the17th of December 2010 the audio servers in Holland crashed all at the same moment, Roger started up the reserve audioservers from the UK. Those are not tuned ( yet ).
I do not understand that they do not use a more easy manner of audio uplinking:
One accesspoint for all volunteers studio\’s, all same bitrate, studiomixer in.
Output mixer into a compressor limitter of 80 GBP, output compressor limitter into audioserver, via DRS 2006 3 inputs, one 192 Kb/s, one 64 Kb/s, both stereo and one 24 Kb/s mono.
At the transmitterspot a router that has space for USB mobile internet access, outside direction antenna for 3 G ( total 190 GBP ) and a cheap mono internetradio ( 60 GBP ) that has aux output. Tune the internetradio at the 24 Kb/s stream, output internetradio into pre amplfier and than to the optimod.
Profite: Route studio to transmitter is shorter, the copressor limitter gives on all programs the same output level and signal input to the transmitter is harder but has no over modulation anymore.
Hope Roger reads this;)
on Jan 7th, 2011 at 17:26
Why do we need to listen to these Optimod sound destroyers..?
on Jan 7th, 2011 at 19:50
this has been post on they site
http://www.1395.eu/index.php?dir=news/detail&id=142
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 18:39
Anybody know please if there is going to be anyone using 1395am soon?
Anybody know if anyone is going to use 648khz? I am told the BBC is closing.
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 18:52
I really don’t see how 1395 can be feasible with regards broadcasting to the UK.
As for 648khs. - see ‘Recent Comments’ top right on this page.
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 19:26
Thanks Dennis, 1395 has been good in the distant past, not recently. Power I suspect.
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 20:04
Low power,yes - but I suspect the Dutch authorities have been ‘leaned’ on by their British counterparts and encouraged to put obstacles in the way.
As you say,in the past reception on 1395 was good;going back to the days of Radio 10 Gold and Business News Radio on that frequency that weren’t even intended for British consumption!The early days of Big L were also quite acceptable,but in recent times the Tx has been turned to face Germany,which smacks of political interference!
on Mar 20th, 2011 at 21:18
Dennis, it’s not political interference but RF interference that caused the power to be reduced. The maximum power permitted on 1395 from Trintelhaven was reduced because there is a yachting club nearby and higher power was causing interference to radio communications. The transmitter site is considered by the local council to be a nuisance and it wants it moved ASAP - the problem is that nobody can find an alternative site. Let’s stick to facts, as Media Network has always done. If you want to speculate, please use a discussion forum.
on Mar 21st, 2011 at 07:05
With respect,I never presented my comments as fact.The problem with a complex issue like Big L is that few people really know the facts.The only way sometimes is to ‘tease’ them out by putting forward theories.If this causes offence,then I am sorry.