What will happen to the pips when radio goes completely digital?

Question

As it has a five second time-lag, will the time check be inaccurate, or will the BBC broadcast the pips five seconds early so that it is the right time when they reach us?

Answer 1

i was wondering about that - the pips are still there of course on dig radio right now, but as you say, a few seconds late!  are they actually planning on phasing out "normal" radio - i know they are phasing out analogue TV.  maybe they will move the time back 5 seconds so the radio can catch up!!  knowing the bbc they have probably had a focus group that cost £20k to tell them that nobody sets their watch by the pips anymore!

Actually there is a page on the bbc website that says they are trying to adress the technical issue and make the dig radio catch up.  sad person that i am - here is the link...

Answer 2

they will be a thing of the past but you will always get the odd illegal radio station using them

regards x Kitti x

Answer 3

There are no plans to end analogue radio broadcasts in this country, so the pips will continue to sound at the correct time on proper radios, but not on digital radios.

A decent FM signal is also clearer than a typical digital signal owing to bandwidth limitations.

Also, DAB is obsolescent, better systems are already in use in Europe that DAB radios cannot receive.

In the future I shall indeed be setting my watch by the Greenwich Time Signal on the radio because the accurate clock on BBC television analogue CEEFAX pages will have been closed down.

Apparently this is 'progress'.

Answer 4

You will hear super duper clear distortion free pips instead.

Answer 5

Okay... I'm gonna sound a bit silly here, but what the h**l are 'pips'?

Answer 6

they will get a redundancy payment !!!!

Answer 7

In response to the above answerer, the pips are a time signal that mark the hour on radio stations.

Answer 8

Plant them and find out! If an orange pip grows into an orange tree, and an apple pip grows into an apple tree, then who knows what a radio pip will grow into....?