Record from Wiim? BBC Radio 3 Night Tracks

[ssashton]

I've recently become a fan of the Radio 3 Night Tracks program but I prefer to listen from 9pm rather than 10pm when it airs live.

I thought I could just play the last days broadcast from the BBC Sounds app, but have realised they only upload a few episodes per month.

I wondered if there is a smart way I could get the Wiim Mini to automatically play the live show from TuneIn and dump the audio to my phone for later listening?

Otherwise I guess I'm stuck with using a PC and capturing system sound and playing the program on there.

 

[Somafunk]

I thought I could just play the last days broadcast from the BBC Sounds app, but have realised they only upload a few episodes per month.

I guess you are not in the UK as every episode is available to play from the BBC Sounds app or from the BBC website/BBC Sounds website link?

 

[7jm]

I too discovered night tracks last year and really enjoyed listening to it. I found that I would regularly discover two or three new favorites from each episode.
Unfortunately since July 21th I think, BBC has blocked the ability to stream episodes from the BBC sounds website. I can still listen live to BBC radio 3 but I rarely have the ability to devote time to listen to it live.
I'm based in Ireland (Republic).

 

[ssashton]

I guess you are not in the UK as every episode is available to play from the BBC Sounds app or from the BBC website/BBC Sounds website link?

I am in the UK. Not every episode is available. Moat recent seems to be Aug 14, yet we are Aug 25th today.

Mr.GPT suggests I might be able to set an ffmpeg task on my PC with a wake up command and dump the file to Google drive so I can conveniently play it from my phone to the hifi later.

 

[Somafunk]

I am in the UK. Not every episode is available. Moat recent seems to be Aug 14, yet we are Aug 25th today.

Aug 18th/19th/20th are available, look in the R3 schedule

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

The simplest way I know is Audacity on a computer but that requires real time human participation.

 

[ssashton]

Aug 18th/19th/20th are available, look in the R3 schedule

Strange, why is this not on the BBC Sounds app? Am I using it wrong or something?

Edit : So, if I go to the Radio 3 schedule I can find the recent Night Tracks, e.g. Aug 19th - https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl8t/2025/08/19

But if I click on 'Episodes' the latest is Aug 14th - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008w2m/episodes/player

 

[Subob]

Ooh, a thread about my favourite programme! I'm a long time Late Junction listener, back in the days when Fiona Talkington used to alternate presenting it with Verity Sharp. Then Night Tracks took over and now we just get one Late Junction show a week, which is now mainly reserved for the more eclectic stuff. Unclassified covers similar ground, too.

Anyway, back on topic. Just like Round Midnight that follows it, some shows are repeated (remember that both Hannah Peel and Soweto Kinch are working musicians, so not always around to present).

If you go back through the schedules of Radio 3 on BBC Sounds then you'll find every episode on the day they appeared, but some might be repeats.

The other alternative would just be to grab each episode from get_iplayer via terminal on a PC. I've done that with my favourite Proms so that I can keep them forever, as they go down for good after 30 days.

Long live BBC Radio 3! The best UK radio station by a country mile in my book.


P.S. Anyone who loves Night Tracks might also want to try Zakia Sewell's Dream Time show on BBC 6 Music. That's really rather good, too, IMHO like.

 

[Subob]

I too discovered night tracks last year and really enjoyed listening to it. I found that I would regularly discover two or three new favorites from each episode.
Unfortunately since July 21th I think, BBC has blocked the ability to stream episodes from the BBC sounds website. I can still listen live to BBC radio 3 but I rarely have the ability to devote time to listen to it live.
I'm based in Ireland (Republic).

Gilles Peterson, on BBC 6 Music, was flagging up this change for international listeners recently. He's not impressed as, just as his moniker suggests, he has a lot of listeners 'Worldwide'.

In your situation, I'd use get_iplayer and grab any episodes you want and then listen back anytime you like.

 

[Somafunk]

Strange, why is this not on the BBC Sounds app? Am I using it wrong or something?

Edit : So, if I go to the Radio 3 schedule I can find the recent Night Tracks, e.g. Aug 19th - https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl8t/2025/08/19

But if I click on 'Episodes' the latest is Aug 14th - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008w2m/episodes/player

Dunno why?, could be a BBC blip in updating the show or perhaps they repeated a previous show.

Unclassified with Elizabeth Alker is also worth a listen on Sunday nights/midnight

Unclassified - Bonnie Prince Billy’s Listening Chair - BBC Sounds

Elizabeth Alker welcomes Bonnie Prince Billy to the Unclassified Listening Chair

www.bbc.co.uk

Elizabeth has a new book out, it’s well worth a read for musical geekery

Amazon.co.uk

 

[ssashton]

Oh, maybe as you said the show could be a repeat, given the summer holidays are now, especilly if they have kids.

 

[ssashton]

Gilles Peterson, on BBC 6 Music, was flagging up this change for international listeners recently. He's not impressed as, just as his moniker suggests, he has a lot of listeners 'Worldwide'.

In your situation, I'd use get_iplayer and grab any episodes you want and then listen back anytime you like.

Thanks, get_iplayer looks ideal! I'm not impressed Mr.GPT didn't think of that.

 

[Somafunk]

Oh, maybe as you said the show could be a repeat, given the summer holidays are now, especilly if they have kids.

I think that’s what happened as the current schedule across all their stations is rather mixed up with different presenters at the moment

 

[Subob]

I think that’s what happened as the current schedule across all their stations is rather mixed up with different presenters at the moment

Sara Mohr-Pietsch is essentially the main presenter on Night Tracks, as I think Hannah Peel is often busy with her own music. I've seen her live many many years ago btw, and her music box version of Sugar Hiccup was just sublime!

Soweto Kinch is the main presenter in Round Midnight, but often, because he's also a working musician, he'll have fellow Jazz musicians present in his absence. It's a format that works great for me.

Both programmes do put out repeats from time to time.

Incidentally, I love how Radio 3 often has working musicians presenting their shows. It's refreshing to me because I think sometimes they can bring more to the show in terms of personal insights and stories about the artists we're hearing.

 

[ssashton]

Does BBC Radio 3 HD on Vtuner work for you guys? Never worked for me since I got the Wiim a few months ago.

 

[Subob]

Does BBC Radio 3 HD on Vtuner work for you guys? Never worked for me since I got the Wiim a few months ago.

Never tried it I'm afraid. As most of my at home Radio 3 listening is at night, I mainly listen via BBC Sounds on iems with my DAP or on my bedside DAB radio.

I used to listen on my hifi sometimes when Yamaha Music Cast supported BBC Sounds, but that's no longer on there unfortunately. I've not had too much joy with BBC Radio 3 on the hifi via my Wiim Pro, but tbh I haven't really tried that hard. It would be very nice if BBC Sounds were available on the Wiim, but I think that's a common request from users that doesn't seem like it's going to be fulfilled, unfortunately.

 

[Breeze98]

The simplest way I know is Audacity on a computer but that requires real time human participation.

Thanks for the tip. Round midnight is a gem of a show..

Are the episodes on BBC Sounds (available for a month) in mp3 format?

Assuming they are MP3 (and not lossless), I've set Audacity to record in 'Extreme 220-260' using the 'Preset' bit rate mode. I would have naturally chosen 320 kbps but Audacity FAQ describes 320 kbps as 'Excessive' (taking up unnecessary storage space) and inaudible from the 220-260 setting. Assume they are correct with this advice?

 

[ssashton]

Hardly worth worrying about storage space these days, assuming you have at least a 1TB drive. Any mp3 is small, so is flac.

 

[Breeze98]

Hardly worth worrying about storage space

I'm not. It was more the lower bit rate being 'inaudible' part that I was questioning here.

 

[Subob]

Well this place is the home of ABX testing, isn't it?

Only one way to find out, surely

For what it's worth, I listen to BBC Radio 3 via the following methods:

Work van via FM.
New work van via DAB.
At home or on the go via BBC Sounds on smartphone and TWS.
At home via BBC Sounds on ibasso DAP and various headphones or IEMs.
At home via FM on Cowon DAP and various IEMs.
At home via DAB on old Sony micro bedside system.
At home via FM on HIFI set up.
At home via saved local files from get_iplayer on my DAPs.

I'll be buggered if I'm ABXing any of them!, lol.