FM Broadcast Strength & Frequency

[North Somerset Royal]

As soon as I get back to the car from the Mad Stad I always turn on to hear post match comment. However as I travel home down the M4 to Somerset I lose RB halfway between Theale and Newbury when the RDS switches to Radio Oxford and I am forced to listen to drivel about some non league team. It seems that either your signal is comparitively weak or that the frequencies used by these two stations are too close. By contrast I can hear Geoff Twentystone on BBC Radio Bristol from Swindon right down to Weston Super Mare. Would it make any difference if I purchased the Pure In Car DAB converter?

[rabidbee]

I bought a portable DAB radio for my car, as it was cheaper than getting my aerial fixed, and it's useless - it loses reception and has to search for the channel every minute or so. Of course, one designed for a car should be better, but I'm just not (yet) convinced by DAB. Maybe when they turn off the analogue, the digital signal will be stronger, and so performance will improve. I hope so.

Pure speculation, but maybe the Oxon/Berks freuencies being so close is a legacy of TVFM?

[Barry the bird boggler]

Berks broadcasts on 104.4, 104.1 and 95.4 in Berkshire. Theoretically an RDS should have the intelligence to tune to the strongest signal of the 3 wherever you are but I have found that its not always the case. I've been listening to 104.4 then suddenly it changes to 104.1 and the signal goes crap but when I manually retune to 104.4 its fine again.

Suggest fiddling manually with radio to one of the other frequencies to fix. I've driven the A4 from Marlborough through to Reading a fair few times and have been able to get Berks without too much problem.

[Dirk Gently]

On most radios you should be able to disable the AF (auto-frequency) function - of course it may be called something else on your particular radio.

With that switched off, the RDS won't kick in, and you'll stay listening to the particular frequency you selected manually.

[PieEater]

BBRB had good reception all the way back from Soton last night. I still lose it in Bracknell though.

[North Somerset Royal]

Thanks for the suggestions. will try them next home game.

[Avon Royal]

Thanks for the suggestions. will try them next home game.

I turn off the AF and can keep on BBC Berks until just past J16 heading west. You lose the signal for a bit in that dip on the approach to J15, but it comes back afterwards.

[North Somerset Royal]

Thanks AR will try it tomorrow.