Radio reception & satellites

[Steve Last]

If you are considering buying one of the new Worldspace satellite radios mentioned in LF this month in order to get BBC radio (as I was) be aware that I am advised by one of the leading retailers that this will ONLY get the Worldspace system which carries about 50 channels on its African satellite (the one you access from France). However the BBC output from this is limited to the African and Arab news-oriented version of the World service. (You can get a complete listing from the website www.worldspace.com

I had been hoping that with an additional booster antenna it would also be possible to point it at a different satellite (Astra?) to get the BBC radio 1 2 3 & 4 which I am informed is a free broadcast channel, but apparently it's not so.

If anyone finds a cost effective way to get good BBC radio reception in the south (Vaucluse) could they please advise me?
Thanks
Steve

[Anton Redman]

I think you will find that if you read the detail of several of the satellite TV threads that BBC Radio ( excluding sport on Five Live ) and a good selection on independent Radio such as Classic FM are available with a digibox plus dish in France. My reading of the threads is that, these unlike TV, these are available without either a Sky paid for card or a BBC card which they send to UK based license holders.

We find that before sunrise we can pick up Radio 4 long wave in reasonable quality inside our house. ( just south of Limouges ) . The car radio which is not hampered by 1 metre of stone and mud walls will pick up Radio 4 longwave plus a UK based English Language mainly Asian interest all day. My memories of touring holidays ( before we purchased the hovel ) were that with an old style car aerial you could get most of the medium wave stations down to the Loire and Long Wave almost to the Mediterranean.

Unless I sort out a digibox first we will try a good quality radio plus a large aerial during our next visit in the spring.

[kevinval]

We have just installed a secondhand digibox (60) with an old style satelite dish (not digital) at our house in the Charente, we applied to the B.B.C. for a free satelite card, which anybody who pays a t.v. license in Britain can get, and we can receive B.B.C. 1&2 Channel 4&5 plus many more foreign ones and also radio 1/2/3/4/5 (not sport) Virgin radio and I think Capitol Radio and more.

[Mazan]

>If anyone finds a cost effective
>way to get good BBC
>radio reception in the south
>(Vaucluse) could they please advise
>me?

You need a Sky digibox and free card to get all the BBC radio in CD quality stereo and also all the regular UK TV channels, and more.

I can supply a brand new and fully guaranteed digibox for 295 which includes arranging the card and as much phone advice as you may need on buying and installing a dish.

I am in the Vaucluse also. (And very nice it is too, except when the Mistral is blowing like it was yesterday!)