I get clear DAB reception for LBC London News on my PURE radio but not on my Roberts radio, even though the Roberts is wired by shielded cable to an aerial in the roof space. All other DAB stations received perfectly on both Pure and Roberts radios.
– John
In October 2019 the rolling news radio station LBC London News became LBC News. At the same time it expanded from DAB and medium wave in the capital to cover the whole of the UK.
Two versions of the news radio station appear to be available in London. One is the original version in London which uses the original DAB format. The other is the national version which is broadcast with the newer DAB+ format. You should be able to find out which versions the radios are picking up with the radio’s displays.
If you can view the bitrate on the Pure and Roberts radios you should see 64kbps for the original London version. The national DAB+ version will have a lower bitrate, such as 24kbps or 32kbps. Your radio might also show the frequency or block. The London version is on block 12A while the national version is on block 11D. These sorts of details are normally accessed via the ‘Info’ button or by going to the menu and choosing ‘Information’.
Checking for DAB+ reception
It could also be worth checking that both the Pure and Roberts radios can receive DAB+ radio stations. You could try tuning into RADIO X or Heart 70s on both radios and ensure you can hear them. If the stations don’t appear at all, but KISSTORY and Classic FM do, this could indicate that the radios are not receiving DAB+ stations. It’s worth tuning into the stations to check as some radios will store DAB+ stations in the alphabetical list even when they can’t be listened to.
For reference other DAB radio stations broadcast alongside the London version of LBC News are BBC Radio London and Smooth Country. If you can receive Gold UK and Heart Dance on your radios you should also receive LBC News on DAB+.
If everything indicates that the Roberts radio should receive LBC News you could try to perform a factory reset. This will restore the radio to its factory settings and wipe the list of stations, alarms, settings and presets. If the radio still doesn’t find the station you could try contacting the Roberts technical team for further advice.