Digital Radio by 2015 ?

[paul kersey]

I suppose that because Digital TV has replaced Analogue TV in Wales this week, the subject of Digital Radio has crept out of the closet again. It seems that should the number of Digital Radios in the UK reach a certain point, then analogue Radio will cease by 2015. I listen to the Radio from around 07.30 to 17.00 daily and find that the stations I listen to, Radio 2, Radio 5, Talksport and Local Radio are catered for quite happily on analogue Radio. I listen to the Radio in my car and have resisted the purchase of a Digital Radio due to having heard reports of patchy reception here in Norfolk. I have also resisted the purchase of Digital radios for the home for the same reason. I really don't think that I am the only person in the country who is quite happy with the situation as it is, I really do not feel the need to change the way I receive my Radio. I can receive digital radio via my digital TV and have listened to it, but I fail to see why I should have to chained to the TV in order to receive my Radio fix. As I understand it, Portable Digital Radios are rather hungry in terms of power consumption and really need to be plugged in to the mains which negates the portable aspect somewhat. If the Government have their way, then all of the Radios in our Vehicles and Homes will be rendered useless by 2015, WHY ?, it can't be a ploy to help the struggling Radio manufacturers of the UK, as far as I know it's too late for that, we make very few Radios here nowadays. Is it because the Government can sell off the Vacant analogue Broadcasting capacity, YES!. But why should the ordinary Citizen have to pay to assist another rip-off, we have been forced to pay out for Digital TV, Digital Radio is a rip-off too far.

[narabdela]

I remember the uproar when they switched off 405 line transmission.



C'est la vie. (or plus ca change, if you prefer)

[Nick Dando]

I must say I'm dreading it, as I have a small portable Roberts digital radio and I always use it via FM for Radio Four.



I've recorded the occasional item to a Panasonic Hard Disk recorder from FreeView, but dealing with it afterwards is awkward as I can only copy to DVD-Rs, and it has that annoying bouncing logo that you can't read (but that could just be my setup).



My main radio is a Naim NAT-03 and until recently I've been recording to MiniDisc, but have recently got myself a Nagra Ares ML solid-state recorder. Using both the MD and the SSR I can transfer the audio files to the computer to trim off the unwanted bits and then convert them to AIFF and AAC versions.



Replacing a radio of the quality of the NAT-03 with a digital version is going to be very expensive, and Naim only have a combo-box called the Uniti which seems to have a CD/DAB/Amp all-in-one for £2000 or so. I only need the radio as I have a perfectly good Naim CD player and Pre/Power amp combination already.



Nick

[paul kersey]

As my mother is finding it increasingly difficult to find her favourite Radio stations on her analogue radio in the kitchen, I decided to take my first tentative steps into the world of DAB radio. I borrowed my brother's Roberts Dab radio as a test and placed it on the spot where we wished to place the radio. Result, perfect reception with wonderful tone, I was very impressed and went out to buy a radio. At the time Sainsbury's were offering a "RED" brand set at £29.99 so I bought one, brought it home and wrapped it up ready for Christmas. Came the day, I gave her the radio and waited for her to try it, Result?, did not work anywhere in that room, it would only work if I stood up in an adjacent room and held it about seven foot off the ground. I have now obtained a refund from Sainsburys, with no questions asked. How can one brand of Radio work when another fails miserably? Will it ever be possible to buy a DAB radio safe in the knowledge that it will work anywhere? I have my doubts.

[Steve Crook]

As my mother is finding it increasingly difficult to find her favourite Radio stations on her analogue radio in the kitchen, I decided to take my first tentative steps into the world of DAB radio. I borrowed my brother's Roberts Dab radio as a test and placed it on the spot where we wished to place the radio. Result, perfect reception with wonderful tone, I was very impressed and went out to buy a radio. At the time Sainsbury's were offering a "RED" brand set at £29.99 so I bought one, brought it home and wrapped it up ready for Christmas. Came the day, I gave her the radio and waited for her to try it, Result?, did not work anywhere in that room, it would only work if I stood up in an adjacent room and held it about seven foot off the ground. I have now obtained a refund from Sainsburys, with no questions asked. How can one brand of Radio work when another fails miserably? Will it ever be possible to buy a DAB radio safe in the knowledge that it will work anywhere? I have my doubts.

Roberts make better radios

I have a Roberts DAB radio in my kitchen, as does my mother in Wales. They are very good - as long as the signal is strong enough. But like all digital broadcasts, if the signal fades due to atmospherics or whatever then what you hear doesn't degrade until the signal strength drops below a certain limit when it suddenly cuts out completely with no warning.

Steve

[Arfur Teacake]

As my mother is finding it increasingly difficult to find her favourite Radio stations on her analogue radio in the kitchen, I decided to take my first tentative steps into the world of DAB radio. I borrowed my brother's Roberts Dab radio as a test and placed it on the spot where we wished to place the radio. Result, perfect reception with wonderful tone, I was very impressed and went out to buy a radio. At the time Sainsbury's were offering a "RED" brand set at £29.99 so I bought one, brought it home and wrapped it up ready for Christmas. Came the day, I gave her the radio and waited for her to try it, Result?, did not work anywhere in that room, it would only work if I stood up in an adjacent room and held it about seven foot off the ground. I have now obtained a refund from Sainsburys, with no questions asked. How can one brand of Radio work when another fails miserably? Will it ever be possible to buy a DAB radio safe in the knowledge that it will work anywhere? I have my doubts.

i bought a cheap Alba DAB from Sainsburys a few years ago and cant complain about reception at all, its worked all the time -however the logistics of the radio itself are terrible, the buttons are tiny and I tend to leave it one station as I am scared of touching anything else as if I do, it takes ages and total bafflement to get back to the station I originally wanted to moved away from.


If yours does not work at all then there could be something in the kitchen it objects to,which is giving off interference, such as a washing machine or boiler? A cheap radio does not have the parts to filter the interference out, and if it was a cheap analogue then of course it would crackle, but a digital would just cut out.

[RogerThornhill]

I have three Roberts DAB radios and they all work extremely well. As for tuning you just have to put them on autotune then save the ones that you like the most to the presets.

[CaptainWaggett]

I have three Roberts DAB radios and they all work extremely well. As for tuning you just have to put them on autotune then save the ones that you like the most to the presets.

Since Radio 4 and RadioExtra are next to each other on the dial, it's really very simple

[Nick Dando]

I've got a Roberts radio, and I gave my Mum and Dad a Roberts Zoombox for Christmas. They now have a good portable radio with FM (for BBC Wales and the Sunday morning Big Band programme, String of Pearls, presented by Dewi Griffiths), with DAB as well, and a CD player. The menu system was a little complicated, but once the main programmes were saved, it's a simple push of a button to change channels.

For proper listening and recording, I still can't beat my FM-only Naim tuner. It does without push buttons, relying entirely on a single knob to fine tune the reception and a single green light to let you know it has latched onto a strong stereo signal. Very easy to use, as long as you can remember the frequency of your favourite stations (BBC Radios 2, 3 and 4, but not in that order of preference - 4 is always tops for me).

Nick