Radio for workshop

[quintain]

I need a new radio to put into my workshop.
I only listen to Radio 4.
The W Shop has good internet reception from my router.

Can such as Alexa or similar others at about the same price £30-40 as a radio give me free Radio 4 live programs.
BTW the radio is switched on when I open up the W Shop mid morning and it plays constantly until I close down late afternoon

My apologies for what is probably a dumbo question.

 

[AndyMc]

Yes, there's a BBC Sounds 'skill' for Alexa, so should work. You could probably bag one for tuppence-happeny on eBay, or wait for black Friday when Amazon discount heavily to try and shift their unsold stock.

That said, wifi might get iffy depending on how much electrical interference your workshop emits.

FWIW, I've recently binned my elderly Roberts radio for a WiFi speaker as the top part of the FM band is now so polluted with crosstalk from small stations I can't get a clear signal on anything other than Radio 1. Maybe just where I live?

 

[TheUnicorn]

personally I'd go for a DAB radio, on the premise that simpler things have less to go wrong

 

[niemeyjt]

DAB Radio - or Internet radio - I agree.

Avoid anything to do with Amazon and Google

 

[quintain]

personally I'd go for a DAB radio, on the premise that simpler things have less to go wrong

Are these alexa etc type of things prone to throwing up faults

 

[RobNichols]

I like listening to the radio in the workshop too. I recently bought a small DAB radio with bluetooth like this one. Mine also has an internet connect, but it's the DAB and bluetooth that I find most useful.

As a Radio 4 listener, having DAB lets me switch to Radio 4 Extra when the current progamme doesn't appeal (I need to avoid The Archers on Sunday mornings)

The bluetooth is great because it means anything I can play on my phone, I can stream to the radio. Which is especially good for me as I love listening to podcasts.

 

[John Brown]

Are these alexa etc type of things prone to throwing up faults

No,not really. I listen to R4 on an echo dot a lot of the time in the house.
My shed is too far away for the WiFi, so I use a DAB/FM radio there, but if I had WiFi, I'd probably use another Echo Dot or similar. Setting alarms, intercom feature, weather, "Alexa, what's 2 foot six inches in cubits?". Alexa, play music by Thelonious Monk". Very versatile, and don't believe all the guff about listening to every word you say...

 

[clogs]

I was gifted a new'ish alexa pod......it's almost made my CD collection worthless.....very happy with it.....
Only not load enough for some songs that make me rock.....lol....
the speaker has no distorsion on max vol......

 

[BravoNovember]

I’ve got the ubiquitous Makita site radio in my workshop. My other Pure dab started to play up because of the dust . Very happy with the site radio.

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

I was gifted a retro looking Roberts radio with DAB and use that in my workshop, and the audio quality is fine.

 

[niemeyjt]

. . . and don't believe all the guff about listening to every word you say...

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-n...ow-alexa-was-recording-every-word-she-n877286

 

[niemeyjt]

For all the masochists out there who want to listen to cricket and TMS - does DAB carry the LW transmission as well as the FM?

 

[Scruples]

Alexa smart speakers can provide radio with the right 'skills'. I use one in my shed and ran an ethernet cable from the house to a access point from which Alexa connects via wifi.

I find Alexa useful for calculating measurements, or checking my calculations. I also have my own Playlist, built up over a couple of years (about 250 songs to date from the 50s to the 90s). Or Alexa can play an album. You'd need Amazon music for those options.

 

[DerekJohn]

I'm still listening to the Home Service on my ancient trans wireless in the workshop. It has an on and an off blipper thingy. It even gets the Light Program and Radio Luxembourg, or so I have heard. But for some reason I haven't been able to get Peely for some years now.

 

[mc281]

Alexa smart speakers can provide radio with the right 'skills'. I use one in my shed and ran an ethernet cable from the house to a access point from which Alexa connects via wifi.

I find Alexa useful for calculating measurements, or checking my calculations. I also have my own Playlist, built up over a couple of years (about 250 songs to date from the 50s to the 90s). Or Alexa can play an album. You'd need Amazon music for those options.

I use Alexa on the latest Echo with built in presence sensor which turns the lights on and routines to turn the heating on and off at preset times. I also use it to command my extractor on and off, play music, answer the phone, intercom to SHMBO and also sometimes to listen to audio books, turn the kettle and generally use for anything it's capable of...... And it's a lot..... Just get used to writing your own routines and anything is possible.
I also use it to program my 3D printer to turn off after a preset time after checking the overall print time.
Oh I forgot to say that it operates my up and over door motor by voice using a secret word so I can get in or out of the main door when carrying stuff..... Oh yes and of course there are the Fart sounds on command!

 

[Jamesc]

I use alexa in my workshop as others above do. I also wear bluetooth ear defenders all the time and the Alexa connects to them flawlessly with a range of about 50ft outside the workshop too.

 

[mc281]

Alexa smart speakers can provide radio with the right 'skills'. I use one in my shed and ran an ethernet cable from the house to a access point from which Alexa connects via wifi.

I find Alexa useful for calculating measurements, or checking my calculations. I also have my own Playlist, built up over a couple of years (about 250 songs to date from the 50s to the 90s). Or Alexa can play an album. You'd need Amazon music for those options.

Or Spotify etc. etc.

 

[John Brown]

For all the masochists out there who want to listen to cricket and TMS - does DAB carry the LW transmission as well as the FM?

I believe so.

 

[John Brown]

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-n...ow-alexa-was-recording-every-word-she-n877286

Yes, there are glitches now and again, but as a rule you have to say the trigger word before Alexa sends anything to the web.
How do I know this? I checked it out on my own WiFi, rather than just accepting something I found on the internet. Let's face it, you can find support for just about any theory you can come up with, if you search the internet.
P.S. If you really want something to worry about, look up Amazon Sidewalk. I'm surprised there hasn't been more noise about this.

 

[cmoops2]

I need a new radio to put into my workshop.
I only listen to Radio 4.
The W Shop has good internet reception from my router.

Can such as Alexa or similar others at about the same price £30-40 as a radio give me free Radio 4 live programs.
BTW the radio is switched on when I open up the W Shop mid morning and it plays constantly until I close down late afternoon

My apologies for what is probably a dumbo question.

Is the router from which you get good internet reception hand-held or table mounted ?