Trevor Hawkins M5AKA

26 MHz DRM Broadcasts for London

WRN intends to broadcast Digital Radio to London on 26 MHz. The DRM consortium http://www.drm.org/ have for some time floated the idea of using 26 MHz to provide groundwave coverage of cities. I believe this will be the first time anywhere in the world that someone has actually tried it out.

The members of the DRM consortium are trying to find additional frequencies to use for DRM. If the London transmissions are successful we can expect to see greater use of 26 MHz for broadcast transmitters serving a local area probably with a coverage radius of 15-20 miles.

73 Trevor M5AKA

WRN unveils its DRM projects including innovative local test broadcasts for London on 26MHz

WRN, the London-based international transmission service company, today announces its plans for broadcasts to London and Europe using DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale), the digital AM radio system with near-FM quality sound. The first project will test transmission of DRM at 26MHz in London whilst the second project offers broadcasters European
regional DRM coverage.

London DRM

WRN's test and development project for London will assess the potential coverage of DRM transmissions at 26MHz. It will provide important data on the penetration of the signals into various types of building and other urban situations as well as gauge audience reaction to the broadcasts. WRN will create a full test and development schedule for submission to Ofcom and the DRM Consortium.

The transmission site is the world famous Croydon broadcast tower, situated in South London and operated by Arqiva (formerly NTL Broadcast), WRN's DRM transmission partner for this project. Arqiva provides transmission services for most UK commercial radio stations. Croatia's RIZ-Transmitters has supplied the Yagi antenna and
transmitter for the duration of the project.

Tim Ashburner, WRN's Technical Director says: "The London analogue spectrum is unable to support new FM services and the possibilities for more stations on DAB Digital Radio are becoming very limited. The audio quality of analogue AM is not up to the standard that is expected by listeners today. The answer may be local DRM services using the presently unused 26 MHz band, which could support up to 50 new stereo radio services. This project will allow us to rigorously
test DRM in a local setting using one of the most ethnically diverse, cosmopolitan and technically challenging cities in the world. If it works in London then local DRM can work anywhere."

European Regional DRM

WRN's regional DRM service offers broadcasters comprehensive coverage of Europe using DRM sky-wave transmission and directional antennas. Furthermore, the service can be used to each specific key target areas with frequencies that provide higher reliability in urban areas
from the transmitter site located in South East Europe. Telefunken has supplied the modulator and exciter for the service.

Gary Edgerton, WRN's Managing Director says, "DRM offers FM and stereo audio quality on the bands up to those now used by AM stations and it will revitalise these bands for local, national, regional and international broadcasting.
We are inviting broadcasters to discuss with us their participation in all aspects of our DRM projects and to
be part of the revitalisation of international broadcasting."

WRN will encode both DRM services at its central London headquarters, providing the flexibility to generate a pre-mixed DRM stream that will then be fed to the respective transmitter sites. WRN will also add data for receiver display utilising custom created software.

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