Digital Radio Technologies
Hello!
This website started life as an easy to find link to my web pages
about DRM™ digital
shortwave radio reception in New Zealand.
With the start of DAB trial broadcasts here in New Zealand
it has been expanded to cover that form of digital broadcasting.
I hope you find it interesting.
The current Kordia DAB pilot multiplex contains two streams of Radio
New Zealand's RNZ Concert service, one a 192 kbps MP2 (DAB)
stream, the other a 64 kbps AAC+ (DAB+) stream.
Here are examples of both streams, recorded off the Blik RadioStation,
and encoded using FLAC lossless
encoding:
Some longer recordings are available via ed2k file sharing:
DAB test transmissions have started in Auckland & Wellington, New Zealand.
These are being carried out by Kordia (formerly BCL). Initial tests
are using MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2) encoding, but the final roll-out is planned to use
AAC+. The MED SpectrumOnline
website indicates that the Wellington test is on 192.352 MHz (NZ DAB block
6C), with 23.0 dBW power in the Wellington CBD. It indicates that
the Auckland trial is on 227.36 MHz (NZ DAB block 11C), with 27.0 dBW power
from a transmitter in Waiatarua (Waitakere area, West Auckland).
My own receiver indicates that the Wellington pilot is on block 7C rather
than 6C due to NZ's different numbering scheme.
After some initial teething troubles I can now get very good
reception from my Lambton Quay office (subject to being away from
the general noise of PCs etc). Here are some samples, recorded
during April 2007. These files are straight off the SDRAM recorder
card in the Morphy Richards so are at the same bit rate as the DAB
audio stream. You will need a broadband connection to listen without
rebuffering.
The Morphy Richards DAB/DRM/LW/MW/SW DigitalRadio 27024 receiver is
now available from various sources in Europe. This multi-standard
consumer level radio also features an SD recording card.
I wrote a review of this radio for
the April 2007 issue of the
New Zealand DX Times magazine.
Links:
- Digital Radio DR - common branding for all digital radio technologies.
- DRM™ - "Digital Radio Mondiale" - long, medium & shortwave bands worldwide
- IBOC - "In Band On Channel" - currently North American AM band
- DAB - "Digital Audio Broadcasting" - multiplexed programs in various VHF & UHF ranges
- Satellite
- WorldSpace - subscription service for Africa, Asia, the Americas
- XM,
SIRIUS - North American
subscription radio services
- Amateur
- HamDream - Digital Transmission of Voice and Data over radio with 2.3 to 2.5 kHz bandwidth.
- Internet
I welcome any corrections and additional relevant links.
Chris Mackerell - chris@digitalradio.co.nz
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