BBC and ITV Strikes

1152 was/is allocated to several original ILRs - London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Plymouth and Glasgow and they built them with directional aerials to prevent interference to each other. So it might not have been that bad on Jersey depending of course on which directions they pointed!

As for copying news from the BBC, I imagine there would have been a bit of professional pride too: getting their content from 'the other side' shock horror!

Yes, though Plymouth was the only 1152 site that had an omni directional transmitter, in fact it was (is still) at the BBC Plumer Barracks site, that has been there since the 50s. Dartmoor contains the signals very well, and nothing much leaks 'up country' from there. You can barely hear it 35 miles away in Exeter.

BRMB from Birmingham however might have been receivable, that has a S/SW beam (again all coming good for three mins at the top of each hour ! ) My vote for best signal though still goes with Radio Victory Portsmouth on 1170

1152 is weak south of the Thames in London and night time listening was swamped by continental stations. This made listening to LBC as an AM only station an issue.

That's interesting because Capital from the same site on 1548 is usable well into France

The location of the transmitter for Xtra Am/Capital Gold on 1152 in Birmingham being at Langley Mill, and using the Staffordshire moors as a 'shield' helped removed incidences of cross frequency interference from Piccadilly 1152 AM.

Although during high atmospheric 'lift' conditions on more than one occasion, a live football commentary game of significance was moved over to 96.4 FM, to give the listeners in South Birmingham area the chance to listen to the game, as the signal was so poor

Yes, I've heard 1548 in France as well, excellent night time reception too. 1152 is even weaker to the south east, I worked in Erith and the reception during daytime was distant considering it broadcasts from Brookmans Park, while 1548 boomed in.

There would have been at least one teletext TV at CTV though, if only for confidence monitoring of Oracle?

It's Saffron Green, so actually even closer than BP. I think 1152 must suffer more interference, I've heard
it said, Piccadilly Radio in Manchester was also rather poor in parts of the city, (also uses 1152) (And I've just noticed Hatton Cross's comments regarding 1152 in Brum too )

I used to find it was OK north of the Westway but not as good south of it. So much so when I was listening to it on a bus going under the Westway I could notice the sudden difference

Bringing it back on topic, what happened to Oracle during the big 1979 strike? I know it was in its infancy then but did it stay on air and was it updated?

Went off-air too I believe.

No, it vanished for the strike, mainly I think because the data was inserted into the VBI at the programme companies, and they were disconnected (and the CCAs etc powered off also I believe) from the transmitters. The VBI was empty on that infamous blue caption generated somewhere within the IBA.

I am told the IBA Eng Announcements on Tuesday morning did continue to be broadcast throughout the strike,
I never thought to check at the time !

On the afternoon the strike ended the data did reappear at about 4pm, and there was mention of that added to the 'We're back at 5:45' caption