came across this, i know it's eight months old, but might explain some of the issues.
[broken link removed]
Posted on 28/01/10 by John O’Donoghue
Kerry South TD John O’Donoghue has learned that the RTÉ radio signal is experiencing coverage difficulties in the Cahirciveen area and in other parts of Kerry. Deputy O’Donoghue has learned that the problem is quite wide ranging locally and RTÉ have confirmed to him that two factors are currently impacting on the signal quality.
The first of these relates to a local problem and RTÉ has informed Deputy O’Donoghue that they believe some local system is causing interference to the signal received at their transmission site in Kilkeaveragh, near Portmagee. RTÉ have so far been unable to locate the source of this interference but believe it could be a low power FM transmit system operating without a licence, a CCTV system or a wireless home internet device. The station believes that the operator of the interference may be unaware of the problem and noted that the intermittent nature of the issue is making it difficult to track down the source. They are continuing in their efforts to locate the problem.
The other factor that is impacting on the local signal is the weather damage caused to the main transmission site for all of Munster in Mullaghanish. The FM antenna system suffered damage during the severe weather conditions and work is underway to restore the site to its full operational capacity.
Speaking about the signal problems, Deputy O’Donoghue said, “I’ve received a large number of calls in recent weeks from local people in Cahirciveen and beyond experiencing problems with their RTÉ radio signal. Having made further inquiries it became clear that there were a lot of households who were being impacted by this problem.”
“I took the matter up directly with RTÉ and they have been able to tell me there are two separate problems affecting the signal at the moment. RTÉ have assured me that work is underway to solve these issues and I will continue to monitor the progress that is being made to fix this problem.”
“We all know how frustrating and annoying a poor signal can be and a lot of people rely on RTÉ Radio to keep them informed and entertained during the course of their day. I hope that the issue will soon be resolved and I will keep everyone informed of any progress that is made,” Deputy O’Donoghue concluded.