whats the fuss about FM?

[The Natural Philosopher]

There were hundreds of MW stations available in the 1950s, if you spoke 'foreign' - especially after dark! Hilversum, Luxembourg, Lille I think. some East European and Russian transmitters.

[tony sayer]

In article <sjgv0v$hk4$ [e-mail], Chris Holmes [e-mail] scribeth thus

Prolly more then you'd want to know but this is a very good source for the history and development of FM in the UK course Edwin Armstrong across the pond had it on the go there first as well he invented it!...

It was primarily reception especially after dark and the amount of broadcasters on the medium frequency bands a that provoked the development of FM and the immunity to impulse interference the improved audio wasn't a prime concern!..

[tony sayer]

Well audio processing is a necessary evil for most all broadcasters like it or not. Most all radio listening is done under adverse conditions and yes FM and DAB can provide extended dynamic ranges, but few will for most of the working day will not be in a position to utilise that.

Yes some stations will make it loud or their "signature sound" much better done across the pond that what tends to happen here;!..

Yep Radio 3 is fine at home in the evenings most all of the time but extended dynamics are a bit of a pain most other times for most listeners!...

[Peter Able]

Missing the word "stereo"?

[tony sayer]

In article [e-mail]>, Tim Streater [e-mail] scribeth thus

Yes two frequency working, the range from one mobile to another wouldn't be that great, but transit to a main station receiver high up on a hill or mast on said hill and the range became much greater. Course the base station transmitting back to the mobiles from its higher aerial and power extended the range as well.

You don't always want all cars to hear what one car was reporting in! So the car to car function was turned off unless sit was deemed to be needed it would then be switched on Talkthrough it was called..

There is around a good recording of what can go wrong with police radio some officers were parked in their car and the microphone switch was wedged on! a detailed account of who was knocking off who at the station was being broadcast and the base controllers couldn't stop it being re-broadcast to all the other cars! Eventually someone was heard to mutter f*ck! And then next message was control asking the offending car to come back to the station;!!.

[tony sayer]

You'd like to play around with one of these, not the standard domestic product but a rather specialised FM rebroadcast receiver which does most everything, regen Pilot RDS etc and the audio! I had one on the bench with just a bit of wire in the back and had it set to Radio 3 it was excellent the recovered audio, shows what a micro receiver system can do!...

Interesting FM tuner reading;!...

[JNugent]

It was always the way: you'd sweep the tuning cap through the wavelengths some time after midnight, hoping to find anything familiar. You might hear a record being played and stay with that station until it finished. Then you were never sure which language it was...

[Tim Streater]

1975? Did I, therefore, imagine listening to FM on our Blaupunkt radiogram in the late 50s?

[Jethro_uk]

Stereo ?

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Stereo was still under test on separate channels back in 1955, MPX did not really start until a decade later, and then only on test on third program. Brian

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think he meant 'car radio'...

[The Natural Philosopher]

FM. BBC started FM transmissions in 1955. By the time I was a teenager valve FM radios were available.Tranny radios that did FM seemed to take longer. 70s I think. Might have been availability of transistors that could operate in 100MHz + range

[John Armstrong]

You do remember correctly! In 1959, Saturday mornings. I remember my dad dragging the large radiogram into a suitable juxtaposition with the TV - which couldn't be moved because of the aerial.

And my mum looking on horrified at the disruption to the sitting room.

I also remember experimental quadrophonic broadcasts late at night in the seventies. Radio 3 and Radio 4 stereo FM transmitters were used. Of course, you required two stereo radios, which very few people had.

[Mark Carver]

Yes. As said elsewhere in the thread, that was exactly my signal strength for Capital, and I found that just tolerable for stereo

[The Natural Philosopher]

Pretty sure that was MY signal strength for capital when I was using it as a test station for a receiver I was designing.

Got reasonable stereo but a bit noisy

A bit north east of stevenage

[Max Demian]

A lot of car radios have dynamic range compression you can turn on.

[Max Demian]

Earlier than that. I bought an FM/MW tranny (for about £7) in 1968. It did require a reasonably strong VHF signal though.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

It was off the coast of Suffolk - Felixstowe. I remember noticing how much stronger the signal was, when holidaying in Suffolk.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Quite. My home was Aberdeen, and we could see the AM transmitter from the house. On early experiments (about 1960) with 'separates' Hi-Fi we used a Truvox radio jack (crystal set) as a tuner. So as wideband as they came. An FM tuner (on loan) was very little better, frequency response wise. Until Aberdeen did a regional op-out.

This was before all AM transmitters were band limited to just over 4kHz. The land line doing the limiting.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Revox also made a well regarded FM tuner, as well as other bits.