DAB Radio

superscotsman

Flimber wrote:

One word: Presets. Most have 'em, some have more than others but they do the trick for me. You don't try and retune your TV everytime you want to switch channel do you ?

And why would you want, or even expect, foreign stations from your local DAB transmitter ?

Mike.

Mike
My DAB set does not have presets. I did not spend too much out for it, since we have about 12 radio sets in this house.

To answer your second point, I pick up foreign stations on medium/long/short wave. It could be argued that the Government's idea is to phase out radio sets that pick up foreign stations, and listen to the glorified hospital radio and the politically correct comfort-sugar tipped out by the BBC instead. The ironic thing is that BBC World Service, which is funded from tax and not from licence, is one of the most seditious radio stations I have listened to.

Soap operas on TV; Comfort sugar on the radio. Who needs a brain?

StephenB_2

To each his own, but I have thought for about thirty years that the insult to my ears that is MW AM radio should be shut down.

Music on Planet Rock, BBC world service, a cricket comentary I can understand, and the Goons on BBC Radio 7 easily add up to the 80-odd quid I spent on my Evoke.

However, if I wanted blisteringly high fidelity I would be down at the B&O showrooms buying their kit, not at Argos buying a portable.

SJB

martynelmy

Last year I purchased a Ferguson FRG-120D DAB Radio for under £40 from a company in Hampshire that advertised on e-bay.

It worked straight out of the box, reception is fine (with telescopic aerial fully extended) in my conservatory. I live about 20 miles from Sandy Heath, Beds where I assume the signal is coming from.

For me, having Five-Live, TalkSport and BBC cricket commentary nightime without fade and hiss is a real winner. It also stops me getting ear-ache from the missus as I used to hog the Sky box for listening to the 'radio'.

Woby_Tide

superscotsman wrote:

To answer your second point, I pick up foreign stations on medium/long/short wave. It could be argued that the Government's idea is to phase out radio sets that pick up foreign stations, and listen to the glorified hospital radio and the politically correct comfort-sugar tipped out by the BBC instead. The ironic thing is that BBC World Service, which is funded from tax and not from licence, is one of the most seditious radio stations I have listened to.

When did the Government start selling radios, or more to the point stop selling medium/long wave/shortwave radios? (Also on some of the top end DAB radios you can change stations so have no need to listen to BBC stations if you so choose, innovative really)

Ash3G

italiastar wrote:

Sorry I didn't make my statement clear - what I meant was that whereas Digital TV was a vast improvement over analogue,

I don't accept that point.

Digital TV doesnt work for a lot of people who are used to viewing pictures on loop aerials, which could with analogue. With digital television due to compression the quality of picture has constantly got worse. On Freeview some channels operate at around 2Mbit/s! Two/three years ago the same channels were running at around 5Mbit/s, and back then we were seeing pixcellation of the pictures!

Digital TV is better than analogue television mostly for two reasons. Firstly choice of channels, secondly widescreen.

DAB is better than analogue radio for two reasons. Firstly choice of stations, secondly ease of tuning.

But neither technology is a real bit for line/wave improvment over what we had already. People who took television seriously built up their DVD collections years ago, and the hard core audiophiles listen to their CDs (or vynil!) on their seperates systems.

italiastar wrote:

In fact a digital satellite set-up will cost less than a decent DAB tuner

Of course a "decent" digital satellite set-up would cost more than £100!

superscotsman

Woby_Tide wrote:

When did the Government start selling radios, or more to the point stop selling medium/long wave/shortwave radios? (Also on some of the top end DAB radios you can change stations so have no need to listen to BBC stations if you so choose, innovative really)

Yes, I know. I am listening to talksport on my dab now.
The government do not sell radios. They do not sell newspapers either, yet the papers are full of tripe. On Radio 4 and the old Home Service there were programmes and radio plays worth listening to, now it is just aural wallpaper. Once the TV produced great dramas like, say, Raffles. Now you've got celebrity big brother. And TV, radio and the papers, when once they carried news, now carry articles about celebrity big brother. The media has dumbed down big time. Wake up and smell the ersatz coffee.

Sput2001

I wanted blisteringly high fidelity I would be down at the B&O showrooms buying their kit

Going off-topic I know, but if you want "blisteringly high fidelity", there are plenty of places I'd look before a B & O showroom!

StephenB_2

NickMidgley wrote:

Going off-topic I know, but if you want "blisteringly high fidelity", there are plenty of places I'd look before a B & O showroom!

I will take your word for it. Perhaps I have spent too long with my nose pressed against their windows, gazing at the leggy blondes, dreaming of free coffee served at comfy chairs while the conductor of the Halle and I discuss the finer points of digitisation noise ...

SJB