DAB digital radio

MaureenHB

I don't know if this is the right place to ask about the above, but can't find the answer to my question elsewhere.. I have a Samsung digital radio/cassette/cd player. I bought it mainly for the DAB radio as I use it a lot and was looking forward to good sound. However, the reception is not brilliant.. it very often says No Service when I switch on, and just as often sounds like the radio is under the bathwater! I do live in an area where I need my booster aerial for TV reception, but I didn't think that would affect DAB reception. Have I just got a duff set, or is there nything I can do to improve the sound? Thanks for any ideas, or pointers to where I may find help.
MaureenHB

amcluesent

Check you likely reception here. Try moving the radio about, higher and lower, DAB reception isn't always logical...Failing that, sounds like you'll need a DAB aerial on the roof

cwoodham

Reception also seems to depend a lot on the quality of your DAB radio. I live in an area with moderate/poor reception. Bought a (cheap) Alba and it was useless throughout the house. Tried a friends Pure Evoke in my house and the reception was excellent. May be worth borrowing another DAB radio from a friend if you can and checking that in your house.

brunk_marlow

MaureenHB wrote:

I don't know if this is the right place to ask about the above, but can't find the answer to my question elsewhere.. I have a Samsung digital radio/cassette/cd player. I bought it mainly for the DAB radio as I use it a lot and was looking forward to good sound. However, the reception is not brilliant.. it very often says No Service when I switch on, and just as often sounds like the radio is under the bathwater! I do live in an area where I need my booster aerial for TV reception, but I didn't think that would affect DAB reception. Have I just got a duff set, or is there nything I can do to improve the sound? Thanks for any ideas, or pointers to where I may find help.
MaureenHB

Most people assume DAB radio is better than FM... this is NOT the case!

The sound qquality used for DAB is much more compressed and therefore is not as good as FM (in a good signal area). This can be upto half the sound quality of FM.

And yes, DAB is not a good signal in a lot of areas... and often requires a better aerial.

Sales staff in Currys etc should take this on board when they are painting this wonderful picture of DAB!!!

A_Nice_Englishman

I agree with brunk_marlow and would only buy a DAB set if there was no other way I could get a station I really, really wanted to listen to. Many of the DAB stations are also on Freeview or satellite so I would use one of those methods if I could.

Hotspur

MaureenHB sounds like you may be in a fringe reception area or just live in a local blackspot. Use the checker suggested above to see the stations likely to be received. If you can find someone who has a Pure Evoke DAB radio give that a go as IMO they make the better sets. If the Pure set receives ok then the problem is with the Samsung and may be remedied with an outside (roof) aerial.

FM is technically better sound wise than DAB however, where I am in Northamptonshire I get far better reception and quality with DAB and it is far better as a bedside/kitchen radio than my old Sony and Grundig FM ones

derrick

The problem is,DAB gets most of the stations that are on the medium wavelength so FM won't make any difference,e.g Talksport, Radio 5 live, these are not available on FM, over the last 6 months or so we have purchased,(and returned) different Dab radios, non of them would pick up certain progs on FM that our 25 year old Ferguson clock radio will, and are not available on DAB, another example, we live in Preston,non of the DAB radios would pick up BBC radio Manchester or Key 103 either on DAB or FM, but the 25 year old Ferguson picks them up on FM

amcluesent

>you can find someone who has a Pure Evoke DAB radio give that a go<

Or buy online, then use your absolute right to return within 7 days for a full refund;)

derrick

amcluesent wrote:

>you can find someone who has a Pure Evoke DAB radio give that a go<

Or buy online, then use your absolute right to return within 7 days for a full refund;)

At a cost of £X for postage, They do not have to refund postage,(delivery or returns), under DSR's

A_Nice_Englishman

derrick wrote:

The problem is,DAB gets most of the stations that are on the medium wavelength so FM won't make any difference,e.g Talksport, Radio 5 live, these are not available on FM, over the last 6 months or so we have purchased,(and returned) different Dab radios, non of them would pick up certain progs on FM that our 25 year old Ferguson clock radio will, and are not available on DAB, another example, we live in Preston,non of the DAB radios would pick up BBC radio Manchester or Key 103 either on DAB or FM, but the 25 year old Ferguson picks them up on FM

To be fair, Preston is way outside what broadcasters call the 'Target Service Area' of BBC Radio Manchester and Key 103. They would expect you to listen to BBC Radio Lancashire and whatever the local commercial stations are. Can you get these OK?

However I agree that good-quality older radios are more sensitive and sound better than modern ones. I wouldn't be without my 20 year old Roberts!

derrick

A_Nice_Englishman wrote:

To be fair, Preston is way outside what broadcasters call the 'Target Service Area' of BBC Radio Manchester and Key 103. They would expect you to listen to BBC Radio Lancashire and whatever the local commercial stations are. Can you get these OK?

However I agree that good-quality older radios are more sensitive and sound better than modern ones. I wouldn't be without my 20 year old Roberts!

Yes but like I said, those 2 stations are only about 25 miles away from me but the new radios will not pick them up on FM, but my old radio will, so new technology is not always better.
Talksport is broadcast on medium wave,(from London) as is Radio 5 live,(Birmingham),and are available to me on DAB crystal clear.