FM/DAB radio

[Karl]

Hi all

I am putting together a separates system for the 'shop, and need to decide what to do about radio. You can get a good quality FM tuner (Denon 260) for £20 off e-bay, but it will be defunct in a few years time when they switch off the FM signal, so is it worthwhile going for DAB instead? If so, any model recommendations?

I only really listen to Radio 4, and AM for football coverage.

Cheers

Karl

 

[RogerS]

Hi all

I am putting together a separates system for the 'shop, and need to decide what to do about radio. You can get a good quality FM tuner (Denon 260) for £20 off e-bay, but it will be defunct in a few years time when they switch off the FM signal,......

Karl

No it won't. Any likely change is years and years away despite all the bulls*it that Ford Ennals at Digital Radio would have us believe. Take a look at Grant Goddard's blog for good information. http://grantgoddardradioblog.blogspot.com/

You mentioned getting a PC for your workshop. Why not use iTunes on that to get you access to a huge array of all sorts of radio channels?

Can you actually get DAB where you are? We can't or when we can it sounds like listening to through Niagara Falls.

DAB ? Dumb And Broken

 

[Doug B]

Karl,

I just bought an ordinary DAB radio with an aux output & plug that into the pair of cambridge amps that are in the shop, that way i can un-plug it & take it on site when the cricket is on

After listening to sport on DAB i couldn`t go back to AM.


Cheers.

 

[Mark A]

I've got a small Bush DAB radio from Argos hooked up to some computer speakers. The sound quality isn't the best but most of the time the sound is drowned out by powertools anyway.

 

[Yetty]

I have DAB running through my seperates system in the workshop - the sound is fine.

Listen to a lot of R4, but the extra choice is fantastic!
- R4X for comedies
- R5/R5X for formula1
- Worldservice for news and informative programmes
- Planet Rock, Absolute (radio, not vodka) , R3 - they all get a turn also!

DAB - if you can afford it, give it a try, especially through seperates!

 

[RogerS]

I have DAB running through my seperates system in the workshop - the sound is fine.

Listen to a lot of R4, but the extra choice is fantastic!
- R4X for comedies
- R5/R5X for formula1
- Worldservice for news and informative programmes
- Planet Rock, Absolute (radio, not vodka) , R3 - they all get a turn also!

DAB - if you can afford it, give it a try, especially through seperates!

But you don't need it if you have a PC in the workshop and an internet connection. And the quality is much better!

 

[Yetty]

But you don't need it if you have a PC in the workshop and an internet connection. And the quality is much better!

Yes you are right of course, assuming there is both PC and Internet in the workshop.

Also, need to ensure there is sufficient monthly internet download allowance.
Streaming BBC radio, at 134kbps for 8hrs per day over 20 days per month, uses a whopping 9.6GB !

 

[Karl]

Thanks for the input guys

Roger - I wasn't planning on PC in the 'shop - I think you must be getting the wires crossed with the hi-fi in the 'shop. I do have wireless connection, so could bring the laptop into the shop and hook it up to the amp, but I don't really fancy that. I've just tried hooking the laptop upto the amps, and it works great through the BBC iplayer service. But then it means coming into the house to switch stations...

Download limits won't be an issue - it won't be on 8hrs/day. Lucky to reach 2/3 hours a day.

Cheers

Karl

 

[RogerS]

Thanks for the input guys

Roger - I wasn't planning on PC in the 'shop - I think you must be getting the wires crossed with the hi-fi in the 'shop. I do have wireless connection, so could bring the laptop into the shop and hook it up to the amp, but I don't really fancy that. I've just tried hooking the laptop upto the amps, and it works great through the BBC iplayer service. But then it means coming into the house to switch stations...

Download limits won't be an issue - it won't be on 8hrs/day. Lucky to reach 2/3 hours a day.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Karl]

Senior moment Roger?????

 

[OPJ]

Like Mark, I also have a cheap, Bush DAB radio from Argos (possibly the same one!) in my workshop, which gets used daily and is regularly coated in fine dust. It's been going strong for almost two years although, I haven't tried connecting it up to any speakers or anything. Last summer, I found that the signal would disappear but, reducing the screen brightness seemed to solve that I've have not had any trouble since (I'd assume the backlight was demanding too much power? A little strange, though.).

Something else I own is PURE Highway DAB radio transmitter, which allows you get DAB radio through a normal FM radio. I use it in my van and it plugs in to the cigarette lighter. I believe this device might also be compatible in other situations? You'd have to make sure you have a power source.

Mine was a reconditioned model, purchased on Amazon (not that much cheaper than a new one, if I'm honest!). Until this week, it's been fine. The only time I've lost a signal is when driving up a combe road that's covered with trees (FM's just as bad in the same situation). It was fine Wednesday night. I got in my van Thursday morning and, nothing. The light indicator on the power supply is on but there's nothing getting through to the transmitter, or so it seems. If I plug it in to my laptop with a USB cable, it lights up and works. So, it could either be the lead or my van's cigarette lighter. Hopefully, only a fuse has gone and nothing more (had that happen once with a charger for an MP3 player).

 

[RogerS]

LOL! What meant to say was that if you use iTunes then you can change stations from your laptop in the workshop

 

[llangatwgnedd]

What about a Freeview box? Higher bit rate than Dab or Internet.

I'm currently using a satellite box going through amplified speakers in my caravan.

 

[Karl]

That's a great idea - i've got a spare freeview box somewhere, and it'd be pretty easy to run an extra cable into the 'shop.

Cheers

Karl

 

[RogerS]

What about a Freeview box? Higher bit rate than Dab or Internet.

I'm currently using a satellite box going through amplified speakers in my caravan.

Good idea although the BBC bit rate off the internet is higher at 320kbs on some channels..but I can't hear the difference!

 

[Eric The Viking]

This has come up fairly often on uk.tech.broadcast. There were Freeview boxes (Pace?) that displayed the channel number on the front, so once you knew which you wanted, you didn't need a screen to use them for radio.

IMHO they beat DAB hands-down. The BBC streaming services are good, but the contention ratio is too bad here for them to be reliable (at least, I think that's what it is).

Our Sharp DAB radio hasn't been used on DAB for about five years now.