DAB+ Radio Web Server in Madrid

Radio web servers are nothing new, they have been around for many years and are very useful because they can make listening to radio stations possible in some situations. For example, if you are too far away from the transmitter or you don't have a suitable receiver, a radio web server can enable you to receive radio stations almost anywhere on Earth. All you need is a computer or a smartphone and an Internet connection. Depending on the type of radio webserver you can tune into public, commercial and even amateur radio stations in several frequency bands: FM, AM, Shortwave, Longwave and other bands. Personally I have been using radio web servers mainly to listen to some amateur radio communications.

In my country (Portugal) DAB+ radio is not and probably won't be available, at least in the near future. To receive DAB+ radio you would have to go to one of our neighbor countries Spain or Morocco or, like I did, build a very sensitive DAB+ DX system and wait for favorable signal propagation conditions. 

Spain is deploying it's DAB+ network with national, regional and local stations starting to become available in the bigger cities. While in most of Spain only the public stations from RNE are available, in Madrid and Barcelona more than 90 radio stations are available in DAB+ and DAB. As a side note, most of these stations seem to be broadcasting on the T-DAB frequency band without a license, i.e. they can be classified as pirate radio. Of course established (licensed) stations don't like this, but I guess it can be argued that this helps to promote the adoption of digital radio and the authorities seem to tolerate this. 

With the growing availability and popularity of DAB+ digital radio worldwide (Portugal excluded), DAB+ webservers are now starting to appear. I have very recently been made aware of the existence of a DAB+ webserver in Madrid capable of tuning to dozens of radio stations in several multiplexes.

MADRID DAB+ WEBSERVER

This DAB+ webserver can tune several DAB and DAB+ multiplexes broadcasting many radio stations, some international. At the moment reception of the MF-I mux (block 9B in Madrid) where the public RNE radio stations broadcast is not possible, something the owner hopefully will correct. Occasionally I am able to receive the MF-I mux from Santiago de Compostela more than 270Km away in Portugal. The radio stations from "unlicensed" multiplexes seem to be sourced from Internet radio streams and audio quality varies quite a bit. Stations are using anything from 32Kbps to 224Kbps, in DAB+ and DAB. I found most surprising the quality of 32Kbps in DAB+, assuming the information displayed is correct. Audio quality can best judged by connecting a pair of good headphones to your computer or smartphone or, better still, by connecting your device to a good Hi-Fi system through a digital audio output. 

This DAB+ webserver is using a DAB+ tuner based on a Silicon Labs Si468X device, probably the Si4688. I could not find a radio shield or USB dongle based on a Si468X device. Probably a professional DAB+ monitoring receiver is being used. I suspect this is the case because this webserver is not setup by a private individual but by a company. In fact, you can read more about this project here. 

DISCLAIMER: I have no association whatsoever with this company. I am simply sharing this information because I find it useful to my readers.  

Related content: (in Portuguese - use Google translator)

Rádio DAB+ Espanhola em Portugal - II
DAB+ Espanhol recebido em Portugal
Portugal não terá Rádio Digital DAB+!
Governo desistiu da rádio digital? Promessa de testes DAB+ por cumprir!