3,900 Thai community radio stations to cease under new digital scheme

[johntheplum]

2 hours ago, Nickcage49 said:

Are you telling me in the year 2024 that most Thai radio stations aren't digital? Amazing. This really is the 3rd world.

If it works why fix it? Have you checked the amount on none digital stations in America? The according to you it is very third world.

 

[GinBoy2]

Apart from the radio in my car, I can't remember the last time I owned a stand alone radio.

 

I stream radio stations and podcasts, even in the car for the most part using bluetooth.

 

They could close down the entire AM/FM broadcasts worldwide and I'd be OK with that.

 

Free up the spectrum for something else

[Zack61]

3 hours ago, billd766 said:

I wonder how many of those 3,900 radio station that will have to be closed are owned by the military, who IMHO should NOT OWN any radio or TV stations nor any media sources.

I’m sure they have the resources to make the transition 

[MrJ2U]

Many older people still have the radios to listen to the radio stations. 

 

Hopefully they'll adapt and spring for WiFi.  Probably cheaper than buying  size "D" batteries every week to keep there radios working.

[GinBoy2]

2 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

Many older people still have the radios to listen to the radio stations. 

 

Hopefully they'll adapt and spring for WiFi.  Probably cheaper than buying  size "D" batteries every week to keep there radios working.

I had to laugh at this.

 

The demographic of the this forum, we're all 'older people'

 

Time creeps up on you and suddenly you have turned into your Dad 

[johng]

13 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

suddenly you have turned into your Dad

Hey I resemble that comment  😋

[MrJ2U]

13 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

I had to laugh at this.

 

The demographic of the this forum, we're all 'older people'

 

Time creeps up on you and suddenly you have turned into your Dad 

I was thinking how damned fast time flys by last night

 

[Darfoulde]

3 hours ago, johng said:

 

After the last coup  they shutdown all the radio stations and made them get new licences.

Tommy Dee might shed more light on that.

 

 

Yes there are many online radio stations   one great site with loads of stations is  radio.garden

I listen to Clive Bull "Through the Night" on LBC  just like the good ole  1990s  🤪

 

 

You can try a "software defined radio"   RTLSDR  Digital TV receiver

https://www.lazada.co.th/tag/rtl-sdr/

With the right software it can do DAB and a lot more too

just make sure it ships from within Thailand or it may be withheld at customs due to licencing.

 

I tried receiving DAB audio broadcast from the Bangkok trials a few years ago without success.

mind you I'm 160 km form Bangkok.

National-Table-of-Frequency-Allocations-B-E-2555.pdf 1.56 MB · 0 downloads

Thanks for the Radio Garden link. I downloaded the app. Very good. 👍🏼

[VBF]

3 hours ago, johng said:

 

Alas it seems no LBC  on there ??? 

Anyone remember  "Babs in Bermondsey"   a regular caller to Clive Bull's show ?

LBC has its own website https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/  Just add a favourite / bookmark.

[paulikens]

Everything is breaking news these days on ASEAN NOW

[John Egil]

7 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

Well, with your definition, then the USA is third world..... there are more than 4,000 AM and FM non-digital radio stations in the USA, plus another 2,000 or so HD (digital) radio stations.

 

[John Egil]

Well where i come from .Norway.  we have maybe 70 radio stations and they are available online within different apps. So what is the issue really . Who  needs FM or Am.

 

[john donson]

they can learn to use youtube, spotify, rumble...

[ujayujay]

Where will Thailand end up if the media is free and without censorship

[MikeN]

8 hours ago, VBF said:

There's a business opportunity for someone!

More to the point, don't most of these stations have a website or App?

 

 

the story is about the local community radio stations not big commercial operations, why would they have an app or website? Our local community station has a Facebook page and that's it.

[VBF]

1 hour ago, MikeN said:

10 hours ago, VBF said:

There's a business opportunity for someone!

More to the point, don't most of these stations have a website or App?

 

 

the story is about the local community radio stations not big commercial operations, why would they have an app or website? Our local community station has a Facebook page and that's it.

 

In all honesty, I didn't know about Thailand but in UK most small local stations, which are generally financed by local adverting do have websites.  

However, your question interested me so I searched and found several sites similar to TuneIn that aggregate Thai radio sites and link to the sites' own websites.

 

Couple of examples:

 

Using aggregator https://onlineradiobox.com/th/

Using the search I found https://onlineradiobox.com/th/icradio/?cs=th.virginhitz  linking to https://www.icradio.net/

 

Similarly https://onlineradiobox.com/th/konsurinradio/?cs=th.northeastenjoymusic  links to  https://xat.com/konsurin

 

Another option

https://mytuner-radio.com/radio/sthaaniiwithyu-cchs5-am-567-khz-chayphuumi-470188/   links to https://js5.smilewww.com/

 

All of those individual station websites have Play buttons so you could save them as favourites if you wanted to.

 

So yes, some  if not most of these local stations do have their own websites but also there are several aggregators like TuneIn, Onlineradiobox, MyTuner and Radio Garden that negate the need for them.

One can listen to them online on PC, or Phone / Tablet without the need for DAB.  You don't even need Apps for TuneIn and Onlineradiobox and MyTuner - just the standard browser - I'm doing this on Chrome and Edge on a standard Windows PC but just tried a couple of those links on my 'phone.

 

So, returning to the thread subject "3,900 Thai community radio stations to cease under new digital scheme"  they're actually mostly still available (it's already been pointed out that most people have phones)

 

And, there are 2 more advantages: 

1. If they're online, there is effectively less censorship than if they were broadcasting on FM or DAB. IE No regulatory authority listening in and setting rules!
2. Anything on the WWW is obviously available world wide - FM and  to an extent DAB are localised.

 

So @MikeN perhaps your local station doesn't have a website, (I wouldn't know) but many do.

Edited June 8 by VBF

[Aussie999]

15 hours ago, Nickcage49 said:

Are you telling me in the year 2024 that most Thai radio stations aren't digital? Amazing. This really is the 3rd world.

From experience DAB isn't much better than FM, in fact one major flaw, it needs an external antenna,  and you also lose signal, especially if the radio is indoors

[Luuk Chaai]

15 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

Let me guess, maybe censorship?

 

yes ,,,  

 

 

[AustinRacing]

How about modernizing people in charge too. This guy “AM” sounds obsolete. 

[Muhendis]

18 hours ago, hotchilli said:

More censorship.

This is not censorship in any way shape or form. 

The rest of the world has standardised on digital broadcasting so why not Thailand?

The reason for the change to digital is the improvement in channel capacity, better sound quality, excellent signal to noise ratio, better range and less power hungry and transmitter equipment is considerably more efficient.

Many countries in the rest of the world started doing this fifty years ago.

TV is digital.

Internet is digital.

Mobile phones are digital.

Audio amplifiers are mainly digital.

Censorship happens regardless of the technology.

[digbeth]

flying over Thailand, these 'community' stations are a source of nuisance as their poorly maintained transmitter are encroaching on aviation radios, most of these channels are advertisements for various 'snake oils' magic juice and diet pills 

 

concerning the audience on this forum, some english language stations like a few in Pattaya are operating under these 'community' scheme which technically they're not allowed to commercialize

[simon43]

Time to dust off the ol' pirate radio transmitter!  In my misspent youth I built many transmitters for land-based pirate stations in the UK and worked for a while on an offshore station somewhere in the stormy North Sea. 

 

Hmm, how about a DAB pirate transmitter? 🙂

 

 

Edited June 9 by simon43

[herfiehandbag]

So not so much "Video killed the radio star!" as "Government killed the radio star!"

[hotchilli]

53 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

This is not censorship in any way shape or form. 

The rest of the world has standardised on digital broadcasting so why not Thailand?

The reason for the change to digital is the improvement in channel capacity, better sound quality, excellent signal to noise ratio, better range and less power hungry and transmitter equipment is considerably more efficient.

Many countries in the rest of the world started doing this fifty years ago.

TV is digital.

Internet is digital.

Mobile phones are digital.

Audio amplifiers are mainly digital.

Censorship happens regardless of the technology.

You need to dig a little deeper into Thailands MO... to gain  a licence you have to abide by certain rules...

things like, what you can broadcast and what you cannot...

It's not just about the latest technology

[Muhendis]

35 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

You need to dig a little deeper into Thailands MO... to gain  a licence you have to abide by certain rules...

things like, what you can broadcast and what you cannot...

It's not just about the latest technology

I think what you can and what you cannot broadcast already applies to analogue radio.

There is nothing to stop a transmitter changing to digital technology and still transmitting unapproved content.

Licencing rules are notoriously ignored in LOS.

(Off topic for a moment.

My wife applied to the local hospital to deliver drugs to patients.

She was one of twenty applicants but she got the job easily because none of the others had a motorcycle driving license.)

 

[Chris Daley]

10 hours of spoken propaganda and a random jazz instrumental.  Got to love Thai radio.

Edited June 9 by Chris Daley

[Burma Bill]

9 hours ago, hotchilli said:

You need to dig a little deeper into Thailands MO... to gain  a licence you have to abide by certain rules...

things like, what you can broadcast and what you cannot...

It's not just about the latest technology

 

Yes indeed. For example, anything broadcast that can be construed as breaking rule/law 112!!

[swerve]

Thai radio is fine the way it is.  Doesn't need to change.

[brianthainess]

So my car radio will be useless ? I'd love to have just one music program that is nation wide, not 25 kilometers wide. 

[brianthainess]

On 6/8/2024 at 7:01 PM, paulikens said:

Everything is breaking news these days on ASEAN NOW

Even from years ago. .......