Intermittent loss of BBC channels

[raveydavey]

This is not strictly a Minimstreamer problem as it also can occur on BBC MP3 channels. However I'm hoping you can bear with me as I suspect this will be the best place to get some tips and possibly even a fix.

When listening to BBC channels via the Minimstreamer, from time to time the stream will be lost. It then can take several attempts to get it back again. Non-BBC channels are not affected.

Usual clients are a Roberts Stream 205 and a Pure Evoke F3.

If I run both radios together, when the dropout occurs they will both fail within a fraction of a second.

If I run one radio in parallel with the BBC iPlayer running on a PC, the iPlayer does not drop out.

This problem can go away sometimes for weeks only to reappear.

The machine hosting the MinimServer/Streamer was changed a while ago from a PC running Ubuntu to a Raspberry Pi. This does not seem to have affected the problem either way.

One point that I feel may have a bearing on this is that the delay through the 2 radios is almost identical whereas that through the iPlayer is about 10 to 15 seconds more. My theory is that the transmissions may be set up on the assumption that more buffer is available on the client, more than either radio actually has. If so, we know from experience that any attempt to get the BBC or the set manufacturers to take ownership of the problem would be a waste of time.

All suggestions gratefully received!