Jumping out of bed somewhere in Manchester on 25th May 2016 and found that your alarm clock DAB didn’t wake you as expected? Time to prepare on 24th May, then, for this event, by temporarily switching to an FM station, while some changes on DAB in the Manchester area take place.
Why? Well, the digital radio frequency for the DAB bundle carrying BBC Radio Manchester, Key 103, Key 2, Key 3, Asian Sound Radio, Absolute Radio 90s, Heart NW, Gold, Capital FM and Smooth Radio – known as the Manchester local DAB digital radio multiplex – is changing overnight starting at 22:00 (10pm) on Tuesday 24th May and finishing by 06:00 (6am) on Wednesday 25th May 2016.
Your DAB radio won’t automatically scan for this new frequency, so you’ll wake up to a ‘station not found’ message and silence!
To continue to receive the Manchester ensemble of stations, listeners should retune their DAB radiosno earlier than 06:00 (6am) on Wednesday 25th May 2016.
Local DAB digital radio coverage in the Greater Manchester area will be extended and improved, using two new transmitters. Two new transmitters at Littleton and Saddleworth are due to be switched on. The transmitter at Winter Hill will have its power boosted.
The Manchester DAB multiplex is changing frequency from channel 11C to 12C, which means that your DAB radio will need to be retuned. This will not affect those listeners receiving local radio services on FM, MW or online, or those listening to national BBC stations such as Radio 2 and 5 Live on DAB.
However, listeners to national services may experience interruptions as the new transmitters are switched on and tested, for a few hours overnight on 24th May.
To retune, hold down the “auto tune” “auto scan” or “full scan” button on your DAB digital radio for 5-6 seconds, or go into the radio’s menu and press “auto tune”. Please refer to your operating manual for detailed information.
Gold – what happened to Gold? Why is it coming back to DAB? Can I get Gold on DAB radio?
Gold radio is returning to DAB in many areas on 14th September 2015. If you recall, it was dropped last year in favour of newcomer Smooth Radio, causing a bit of an uproar from dedicated listeners. Gold then dropped most of its popular programmes, leaving just weekday and weekday breakfast alongside a jukebox service for the rest of the day.
Never mind, though, as if you like sixties and seventies music – a genre poorly served by UK radio stations – you can tune in to Gold on DAB digital radio not just in London, East Midlands, and Humberside, where the station is already broadcast on DAB, but also in ‘new’ areas: [Edit: 14th Sept] Central Scotland region – including Edinburgh & Glasgow [Edit 16th Jan 2017 – Note that Gold is NO LONGER AVAILABLE on DAB in Edinburgh & Glasgow due to the expiry of a carriage contract – it was decided that carriage in Central Scotland is no longer cost-effective); Ayr, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Cornwall, Exeter, Torbay and North Devon, Kent, Norwich, Peterborough, Plymouth, Reading & Basingstoke, Southend & Chelmsford, Sussex Coast, Swindon and Birmingham. Manchester listeners can also search out the Gold DAB service, as the station simulcasts its mediumwave broadcast on the digital platform, alongside mediumwave services in greater London (1548 MW) and 954/999 MW in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Keep an eye out for ‘Gold’ in your station list and don’t be afraid to do a retune your DAB radio to see if it pops up in the above areas.
Coming to DAB for the first time in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire will be Chill, playing chillout and relaxing ambient music: look for ‘Chill’ in your station list, here. Gold already broadcasts in the East Midlands, so you’ll get a new station here.
Gold is jukebox in style pretty much around the clock, with nonstop classic hits, ads and news, but you can still tune in to The More Music Breakfast Show With Tony Dibbin from 06:00 to 10:00am weekdays and, at weekends, David Andrews plays takes the helm from 08:00am to 12:00pm. If nonstop sixties and seventies music is your bag, tune in after 10:00pm on weekdays for two hours back to back from these two decades.
Xfm – leaving DAB, London and Manchester to make way for a refreshed station Radio XRadio X logo
Been out of the country for a couple of weeks? Then you’ve probably missed the announcement that Xfm is being rebranded as Radio X from Monday 21st September 2015 and Xfm programmes are being halted from late night on 14th September 2015, in preparation for launch of the new station. Musically, the station will see a subtle shift to more popular guitar-based music to encourage more listeners, though evening shows plan to showcase new music and upcoming bands and artists, as Xfm did.
At the moment, Xfm is broadcast on lots of local DAB digital radio multiplexes up and down the country, but when the new Radio X starts, it will move to national coverage, albeit in mono, on the national DAB digital multiplex, on which stations such as Planet Rock and Absolute 80s are broadcast. So, if you can see these two stations in your DAB station list, you will be able to tune into Radio X’s test transmissions well in time for its actual launch at 06:30am on Monday 21st September. Chris Moyles will be back on the radio at breakfast, with Jon Holmes taking up position at Weekend Breakfast.
If you haven’t a DAB digital radio, you can still tune in on 104.9fm in London – Xfm will no longer be around, so Radio X will be taking its frequency here. Likewise on 97.7fm in Manchester, local shows have been dropped, meaning Tim Cocker will no longer be heard during weekday breakfast and Gareth Brooks makes way for a national broadcast of Jon Holmes’ weekend breakfast show. Clint Boon moves from his weekday Manchester drivetime slot to a Sunday show.
Unbelievably, Xfm Scotland on 96.3fm is disappearing altogether. Although the station’s owners would like to have introduced a national show for Paisley and Glasgow, the idea was mooted by the radio regulator, so 96.3fm will fall silent – with the expectation that listeners in the area will suddenly ask “what happened to Xfm?”.
Don’t forget, you’ll need to retune your DAB radio and re-store any presets for Radio X. Just remember, if you can see Absolute 80s and Planet Rock, you’ll be able to tune in to Vernon Kay on mid-mornings, Johnny Vaughan at drivetime and Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson at weekends, although the announcement is bound to cause upset with fans of the old Xfm and those not looking forward to listening to Chris Moyles!
Local DAB serving Ayr, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Cornwall, Exeter, Torbay and North Devon, Kent, Norwich, Peterborough, Plymouth, Reading & Basingstoke, Southend & Chelmsford, Sussex Coast, Swindon and Birminghamwill all see have all seen Xfm disappearing in the last 24 hours, with announcements to retune in the coming days and are now carrying Gold radio. The Central Scotland regional DAB multiplex is also now carrying Gold sixties/seventies music.
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Real Radio XS continues on 106.1 and DAB in Manchester, but closes in Glasgow to make way for Xfm Scotland
96.3 Real XS in Glasgow is closing shortly, to be replaced by a relaunched Xfm Scotland, so you’ll need to get your classic rock fix before Xfm Scotland launches on 7th April 2014; there’ll be on-air announcements leading up to the new station launch. Real Radio XS could feasibly continue in DAB in Central Scotland, as there’s space on the multiplex for both Xfm and Manchester’s version of Real XS, but this depends on any agreements made with the new owners of Real XS in Manchester (Communicorp) and Global Radio (who are making the changes to Real XS in Glasgow to become Xfm Scotland) and Switch Digital, the operator of Central Scotland’s DAB multiplex.
The good news is that Real Radio XS Manchester on 106.1 fm and DAB in and around Manchester is continuing as normal. It can also be found on Yorkshire’s regional DAB multiplex. Whether it continues to be carried on digital radio in Yorkshire is dependent on how long the carriage contract for the service has left to run. The Yorkshire multiplex is due to close in 2015.
Real Radio XS is now covering the UK on internet radio, however, the shows now all originate from Manchester; several presenters from the Paisley station having moved over to Xfm’s modern rock and indie format.
Scottish listeners who remember Xfm before it was booted from Central Scotland to make way for Galaxy 106 (now Capital FM) will be jumping for joy, as the indie/new rock station will be making a return on 7th April 2014 to Paisley on 96.3 fm; you’ll also be able to catch it on DAB digital radio [see a popular set here] in Central Scotland.
From launch, the station will be supporting unsigned Scottish artists and established bands like Biffy Clyro, The View and Snow Patrol. Fraser Thomson will return to host the XFM Scotland Breakfast Show every weekday from 6 to 10am. The station will then hook up with its London-based counterpart between 10 and 4pm, with Ian Camfield (10am – 1pm) and Jo Good (1 to 4pm) in the weekday line-up. It’s back to Jim Gellatly at Xfm Scotland for drivetime, weekdays 4 to 7pm. Jim currently presents, amongst other shows, a weekly showcase of unsigned bands on Amazing Radio.
Tom Russell, with more than 30 years of radio presenting experience, takes over the Weekend Breakfast helm from 6 to 10am.
Xfm Scotland will also take Josh Widdicombe’s Saturday morning show (10am – 1pm).
XFM managing editor, Chris Baughen, said: “Coming back to Scotland after nearly six years away is huge for us. We’re really excited to be returning to our loyal listeners across the country. We’ll continue to support emerging Scottish bands, as well as XFM favourites from across indie, alternative and rock music.”
XFM Scotland’s Breakfast presenter Fraser Thomson said: “Scotland has a strong connection with music so XFM is a great station for Scotland. I’ll be squeezing loads of tunes into four hours, unearthing some new gems and digging out some old favourites.”
XFM Scotland’s new Drivetime presenter Jim Gellatly said: “Some of the best moments of my career were on XFM Scotland so I’m over the moon to be joining the station again nearly six years on.”
The station launches on the frequency used for Real XS – a classic rock station and sister station of Real Radio.
The station will also appear on the DAB digital radio multiplex for Central Scotland, taking Real XS’ DAB slot (Real XS also features on the Ayr multiplex, so Xfm may be available in this area, too, when Real XS closes). Xfm goes up against rock, indie and heavy metal station Kerrang! on the local DAB multiplexes serving Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The original Xfm Scotland, broadcast from January 2006 until September 2008, replaced dance and rock station Beat 106, but was replaced some years later by Galaxy 106, which then rebranded to Capital FM. Capital FM continues on 106.1 fm in and around Edinburgh and 105.7 fm in Glasgow.
Those listeners who lamented the loss of Xfm and its rock predecessor Beat 106 will doubtless be delighted of something different to listen to in Central Scotland, but those fans of Real XS and its predecessor are venting their thoughts via Facebook on the return of Xfm to the area, concerned about the abolition of Tom Russell’s Friday Night Rock Show after 30 years. Despite Tom being part of the new weekend line-up, listeners are worried Tom’s show will no longer be supporting Scotland’s new and emerging bands and artists.
If you’ve been tuning around while the ads are on Gold radio, there’s a good chance you won’t have heard the announcements that in all areas apart from London, Manchester and the East Midlands, Smooth Radio is taking over Gold’s frequencies on DAB and AM. There’s more information in our article here about the changes, which will happen on Monday 24th March. Yorkshire, too, has had a reprieve, as it appears Gold will continue to be broadcast on the region’s DAB digital multiplex until its closure in 2015.
So, if you find that the only way to tune in to Gold in your area of the country is via your tv box (Sky Channel 0121, Virgin Media Channel 959 and FreeSat Channel 722) but are looking for another way to carry on listening to the revised, jukebox-style Gold, you could think about getting an internet radio, if you don’t fancy tying up your PC or tablet on Gold’s app. You can then add Gold to your favourite list of stations on your internet receiver and listen to its output over the internet.
What’s the cheapest option?
Currently, a Q2 tip ‘n’ tilt internet radio is available for £35 delivered, in a white finish. There’s also a black version for £35 delivered (just look under the list of retailers to find it at this lower price) and a green one for £38. The idea with the Q2 tip ‘n’ tilt is that you firstly connect it to your PC to store a handful of favourite stations on the radio, then unplug from your PC and you’re up and running, having entered your network’s key and password (usually found written on the underside of your router). The advantage of the Q2 is that is has its own built-in rechargeable battery and unlike may radios that require a separate rechargeable battery pack, you can move the Q2 around the house, as long as it’s in range of your wi-fi broadband connection.
If you don’t mind spending a bit more and want a really reliable internet receiver, the Roberts Stream 83i offers an easy way to start listening to radio stations over the internet. You’ll have access to thousands of internet stations from around the world and literally hundreds playing sixties music, like Absolute Radio 60s, Radio 10 Gold 60s and 70s, British Sixties Radio, Sky.fm’s 60s rock and Radio Sixties 78 from across the water in France, to name a few.
The author of this blog has a Pure One Flow and, with the latest software running on the radio, it’s a top-notch way to listen to podcasts, streaming radio and catch-up services. The wireless range of the radio is about ten metres with a couple of plasterboard walls in between, but you could buy a wireless range extender to boost your wi-fi signal around the house.
Gold (radio) has unveiled its forthcoming weekday changes to the schedule, thanks to updated listings information on its website for Monday, 24th March. It’ll be available in far fewer places on mediumwave and DAB digital radio.
You can also get an internet radio if you want to listen online to Gold, if you find you’re no longer in the station’s revised coverage areas of London & Home Counties, East Midlands or Manchester from March 24th.
Avid listeners will doubtless lament the loss of the presenter rollcall – let’s face it, the station sound won’t be the same by any stretch of the imagination. The station’s schedule seems to infer it will carry less advertising breaks, which is great if you’d rather back-to-back music, but you could stick on a sixties or seventies CD instead, if you find you can no longer receive Gold via your traditional tranny.
Where has Gold radio gone?
It has disappeared from many am(mediumwave) and DAB frequencies from 24 March, replaced by Smooth Radio. It hangs on to a few frequencies where Smooth is already broadcast on FM. It’ll still broadcast sounds of the sixties and seventies – and look out for the new seventies, 80s and 90s station due to start on national DAB digital radio, soon.
Anyway, here’s the Monday schedule shamelessly purged and edited from the Gold website:
6am
The More Music Breakfast Show With Tony Dibbin
Join Tony for more music in the morning, History or Mystery, The Rock n Roll Alarm Clock and guess the Golden Year at 9am.
10am
Gold’s 10 In A Row
Gold plays 10 hits in a row commercial free.
1pm
Gold’s Number 1’s At 1
This Gold with 60 minutes of massive Number 1 hits – nonstop!
2pm
Gold’s 10 In A Row
Gold plays ten hits in a row, without any ad interruptions
4pm
The Gold Rush
The greatest hits of all time plus travel, news, weather, finance and sports news for the drive home
8pm
Gold’s Music Marathon
Playing the greatest hits of all time nonstop and uninterrupted
10pm
Gold’s Nonstop Sixties
60 minutes of Sixties hits, nonstop
11pm
Gold’s Nonstop Seventies
60 minutes of Seventies hits, back-to-back
midnight
Nonstop Gold
Playing the greatest hits of all time, continuously throughout the night
Gold – going non stop jukebox for most of the day from 24th March
It sounds as if Gold radio will be dropping weekday and weekend presenters outside of its breakfast shows from 24th March 2014, confirmed by a response from Gold’s PR team, following a query submitted by a Gold listener to its facebook page.
Tony Dibbin presents the Breakfast Show from 6am to 10am every weekday morning, with David Andrews looking after Saturday breakfast from 8am to midday, and Tony taking back the helm from 8am to midday on Sunday.
After that, for the majority of the time, it’s back-to-back music as Gold switches to jukebox-only mode, and would appear to be losing presenters such as Dean Martin, Andy Peebles, Shaun Tilley, Eamonn Kelly and Paul Coyte. Let’s hope that the new, national DAB digital commercial station “featuring music from the 70s, 80s and early 90s with particular appeal to audiences aged 35-54”, pencilled in for an imminent launch, might make use of at least a few (if not all) of these presenters, their experience and talent.
If you haven’t heard, Gold will only be available on traditional analogue radio in Greater London (1548am/MW), Manchester (1458am/MW) and Nottingham & Derby (945am/MW & 999am/MW). It will also broadcast on DAB digital radio in London and in the East Midlands, however the London signal will reach many parts of the home counties, thanks to DAB transmitters at Alexandra Palace, Arkley, Bluebell Hill, BT Tower, Colindale House, Crystal Palace, Guildford, Hampstead, Harrow Weald, Hemel Hempstead, Leatherhead, Stoke d’Abernon, Mount Vernon, Otford, Reigate, Richmond Hill, Shepherds Bush, Shooters Hill, Sidcup, Staines, Uxbridge and Zouches Farm. It’s worth doing a rescan from an upstairs room if you can’t get (or haven’t tried getting) Gold in west Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, Hertfordshire, Essex, Buckinghamshire and other counties surrounding London.
With the reduction in presenters, it’ll be interesting to see the appetite from loyal listeners for the continuation of the station. Even more illuminating will be the new 70s, 80s and 90s station on Digital One due to launch soon.
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Thinking of tuning into Gold over the next few weeks? Well you’d better do so while it’s still easy to pick up on DAB and mediumwave, as the station’s frequencies make way for a refreshed Smooth Radio.
The station is losing many of its frequencies across England and Wales on Monday 24th March 2014, but if you’re lucky enough to live in and around Greater London (1548am/MW), Manchester (1458am/MW), Nottingham & Derby (945am & 999am/MW) you can still hear Gold on analogue radio. It will also broadcast on DAB digital radio in Greater London and in the East Midlands, as Smooth is already available on FM and DAB in these places, so won’t be taking its slots here. Yorkshire, too, has had a reprieve, as it appears Gold will continue to be broadcast on the region’s DAB digital multiplex until its closure in 2015 – however, it’s not broadcast on AM(MW) or FM in the region.
Will Gold still be available in my area on DAB?
Several reports suggest that it might continue on DAB in south Wales on the South-East Wales multiplex, but unless Smooth takes spare capacity on the multiplex, it’ll simply be swapped for Gold, which is on the multiplex at present. It’s a similar situation for other multiplexes, with Smooth replacing Gold where the station currently broadcasts, except for the three regions given above.
If you’re at home and in reach of a Smartphone, you can download the station’s own app, tune in via the UK RadioPlayer or TuneIn via PC or smartphone (including WindowsPhone on your Nokia 520 or similar), get yourself an internet radio (useful if you also want to seek out alternative sixties and seventies music radio stations) or dial up Sky Channel 0121, Virgin Media Channel 959 and FreeSat Channel 722.
Trouble is, infrequent listeners may wonder what on earth is going on when they dial up their favourite provider of 60s and 70s rock and pop, only to find out it has been swallowed up by a female-friendly mix of soft ballads and easy listening.
If you’re in the two DAB coverage areas listed above, you may want to dust off your DAB and do a re-tune, to see if you can pick up Gold on digital once again.
Why is Gold leaving DAB? A station with Smooth Radio’s appeal is easier to promote to female stay-at-home listeners (and sell to advertisers) than a rock and pop station aimed predominantly at men. The station’s operator is gambling on attracting many more listeners to a new Smooth Radio, offsetting a substantial loss of Gold listeners.
While the changes don’t make much sense for the loyal listener, in pure economic terms more listeners mean greater revenue, leading to a more successful commercial station. Did you find this information useful?
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Smooth Radio recently announced a shake-up of presenters and shows, with Simon Bates losing out to Andrew Castle, who hosts a brand new breakfast show for London from 6am every morning. The station’s new strapline is ‘your relaxing music mix‘. Andrew will also present Andrew Castle Meets on Sunday evenings on the Smooth network, where he will interview a big name celebrity.
Kate Garraway launches her mid-morning show on Monday 3rd March and will be heard weekdays 10am – 1pm on Smooth. Paul Phear will present weekday afternoons from 1pm to 4pm, while Anthony Davis will stay on as presenter of The Smooth Drive Home in London from 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Chris Skinner will present The Smooth Sanctuary every weekday evening from 8pm and adds the Great British Songbook to the Saturday night schedule. Anthony Davis returns on Sunday evenings with the Great American Songbook show. Classical pianist Myleene Klass hosts Saturday mornings from 10am to 2pm.
Smooth Radio’s new presenter line-up
Why the change?
While the station’s operator will hope to attract more listeners with well-known faces, the move will doubtless leave avid listeners of Simon Bates and Lynn Parsons somewhat disappointed. Smooth Radio’s facebook page has been inundated with messages for Simon Bates and negative comments on the new presenter line-up.
Meanwhile, Gold’s facebook comments page was recently removed following negative posts, linked to the anticipated reduction in Gold’s service.
The refresh has happened following the purchase of GMG Radio by Global Radio, owners of Classic FM, Capital FM, Gold, Heart and Xfm.
What’s happening to Smooth on national DAB radio?
Smooth Radio are re-introducing local shows for breakfast and drivetime. This means that the national feed of Smooth Radio on national digital radio will close, with AM frequencies currently broadcasting Gold switching to Smooth Radio. In areas where there’s already Smooth Radio on FM and Gold on AM (mediumwave), Gold will hang around. That’s London (1548 MW/AM), Manchester (1458 MW/AM) and East Midlands (945/999 MW/AM).
Global Radio have opted to replace Smooth Radio with “A service featuring music from the 70s, 80s and early 90s with particular appeal to audiences aged 35-54“. This may turn out to be a refreshed version of Gold, or a sub-brand of the operator’s Heart or Smooth stations (Ed’s note: Wouldn’t it be great if it were something a bit different like Xfm? Jon Holmes at breakfast, Josh Widdicombe on Saturdays… the UK is missing a new-rock station).
It’s worth checking out Gold radio’s apps on mobile, or grab yourself an internet radio to keep listening, when Gold leaves AM and DAB in many areas. The author has just bought a Pure One Flow and it’s a very reliable receiver with the new firmware version 3.2 – look out for our review soon. Scroll down to the bottom of this article to find out how you can check in with Gold on your tv.
How do I continue to get Smooth on DAB?
If you’ve lost Smooth on your DAB radio, it’s because it has moved to local multiplexes (bundles of stations).
If you were listening in and around London up until Monday, March 3rd, your DAB radio would have been picking up Smooth on a national multiplex. We reckon it’s going to steal Gold’s DAB slot on London II, block 12A, so you will may need to retune your DAB radio – usually easy to do if you’ve got a Pure, Revo or Roberts, but a bit of a palava on lesser-branded sets.
HINT: If you see one or more station names on your DAB radio like this: ?Smooth, you haven’t found the “correct” Smooth to tune in to. Look for the label on your radio that just displays Smooth. Your radio has remembered the old national broadcast of Smooth; you can delete the ?Smooth label by selecting “trim station list” in the radio’s options menu.
How can I get Smooth Radio on FM?
If you can’t still can’t get Smooth by re-tuning or re-scanning, chances are you’re out of its coverage area on DAB (check the list further down this page of where you should be able to get it), so you’ll have to look for it on FM instead, using your trusty old FM set.
102.2 fm – London
100.4 fm – North West
105.2 fm – Scotland
97.5 / 107.7 fm – North East
105.7 fm – West Midlands
106.6 / 101.4 fm – East Midlands
How can I get Smooth Radio on other frequencies?
You’ll be able to tune into Smooth on many of Gold‘s old frequencies on MW mediumwave/AM:
Berkshire and North Hampshire (1431/1485)
Bristol and Bath (1260)
Cambridgeshire (1332)
Dorset and Hampshire (828)
Essex (1359/1431)
Gloucester (774)
Hampshire (1170/1557)
Herts, Beds and Bucks (792/828)
Kent (1242/603)
Northamptonshire (1557)
Norfolk (1152)
North Wales and Cheshire (1260)
Plymouth (1152)
South Wales (1305/1359)
Suffolk (1170/1251)
Sussex (1323/945)
Wiltshire (936/1161)
You should be able to pick up Smooth in the following DAB digital radio coverage areas:
Bath and Wiltshire
Bedfordshire
Bournemouth
Buckinghamshire
Bristol and Bath
Cambridge
Exeter and Torbay
Greater London
Humberside
Kent
Leeds
Leicester
Norwich
Nottingham
Northamptonshire
Peterborough
Plymouth
Reading and Basingstoke
South Hampshire
South Wales
South Yorkshire
Southend and Chelmsford
Sussex Coast
Swindon
It’s a major disappointment if you’re into the sort of music Gold currently plays – but Gold is still around on Freesat: 722, Sky: 0121, TalkTalk TV: 611, Virgin Media: 959, Virgin TV (ex Telewest only): 941 (South West only), WightCable Audio Channels: 2
Smooth can be heard on digital tv on the following channels: Sky Channel 0128, Virgin Media Channel 916, Freeview Channel 718 and Freesat Channel 732
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DAB Radio Stations 