DAB radio under £15. DAB Alarm clock under £20

codger

The whole point of a forum like MSE is not to be a guy who says to you:

'Hey! There's a £1 coin over there in the middle of the road. Grab it now!"

The point of the forum is surely to be the guy who says to you:

'If you're going to go over there to pick up that £1 coin somebody's dropped, better watch out for that big truck coming up fast behind.'

Recommendations which take no account of context are not recommendations worth following at all.

MSE would be the better for fewer of 'em.

Then posters like Altarf wouldn't have to come on here defending themselves when they did no wrong in the first place.

Codger

PrinceGaz

codger wrote: »

The whole point of a forum like MSE is not to be a guy who says to you:

'Hey! There's a £1 coin over there in the middle of the road. Grab it now!"

The point of the forum is surely to be the guy who says to you:

'If you're going to go over there to pick up that £1 coin somebody's dropped, better watch out for that big truck coming up fast behind.'

Recommendations which take no account of context are not recommendations worth following at all.

MSE would be the better for fewer of 'em.

Then posters like Altarf wouldn't have to come on here defending themselves when they did no wrong in the first place.

Codger

Exactly, which is why I mentioned the battery usage issue with DAB radios.

Technology advances mean some are not be as battery-hungry as they used to be, but DAB radios still munch through a lot more batteries than traditional AM/FM radios. Therefore unless you are going to use NiMH rechargeable cells, it will soon have cost you more in batteries than the radio itself did for any battery powered portable model.

The quality issues are also worth mentioning for newcomers who could be unaware of them. The purpose of the forum is to help people make the right decision, and providing rather than witholding relevant information is the best way to do so.

ChuckleVision_2

Getting this thread on track...

I purchase the £15 DAD player from Tesco last night (since my ALBA one didn't appreciate being dropped down the stairs). It is exactly what I needed and ideal for my needs (which are moving it around the house while I'm decorating).

It's sound is perfectly adequate and load enough. The item is very light and feels cheap.... but then is was cheap... Anyway, I'm happy with it.

(For an improved sound I use my separates I have in the living room as I have a BUSH DAB connected to my amp).

I can now continue to enjoy BBC 6 Music and Planet Rock (switching between the two when the adverts get too annoying) that are not available on the "better" FM method!

gord115

My local Tesco had run out of the £15 dab radio but had the £20 dab clock radio. I bought one of thes instead and it is brilliant.
As for the power consumtion it uses 3 watt whether on or off. (tested with a Maplin power consumption meter)

Milex

MikeBr wrote: »

They won't work in France, they have decided to go with a DAB variant called DMB audio.

DAB coverage in mainland Europe varies from country to country, in many countries there's very little, if any, at all.

The Technika DAB-207 User Handbook says most European countries including the UK use DAB Band III (174-230 MHz), France uses L-Band (1452-1492MHz) and Germany uses both. This radio tunes to Band III and can be used in Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden & Switzerland. It won't receive French or German stations on L-Band, though it'll get FM anywhere.

Mark_Ice wrote: »

... is this one of those auto time update type alarm clocks, in short if I turn it off in the morning and switch it back on at night will the time auto update or is it a manual input for time settings?

Thanks

The Handbook says the time is updated by broadcasted information when tuned to a DAB station.
It's not an alarm clock, but has a countdown beep timer that you set manually. It only works when the radio is playing.

Excellent little unit; easy to use with clear, crisp, undistorted sound and a decent though non-adjustable tone, and I get 61 DAB stations (in south-west London) - what more do you want for only £15? All-round tremendous value for money!

HTH

gord115

Does the Technika £15 radio us a transformer like the £20 clock radio?
If so it should be ok to use in the bathroom as long as the transformer is kept outside.

L.S.D.

Altarf wrote: »

Very nice, but I have not mentioned any product other than DAB radios.


I do have an agenda, and that is to warn people who do not live in large urban areas, that they may not receive the wide variety of channels from DAB that they may have expected.

Then I hope you warn people of any bargain, for instance if a Plasma screen is put as a bargain you will warn them about higher electricity costs, about Logo burn , about keeping it upright, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc,,,Yawn


I won't even go there, but you sound like someone trying to convince themselves...

That is rudeness itself, all the TOP, note TOP manufacturers say DAB is Crystal clear & it is. It is not TOP H, Fi, but neither is wi fi radio, FM radio & most "hi fi" systems etc, etc, etc


I think that this is a perfectly valid thread to warn people who are about to purchase a DAB radio to check their coverage to ensure that it meets their requirements

As I said before then warn everyone about everything that is put on these bargain threads & bore us to tears.
.

Oh & by the way, I didn't thank you for you last silly comments, the mouse moved from Quote to Thanks as I pressed it.

Milex

gord115 wrote: »

Does the Technika £15 radio us a transformer like the £20 clock radio?
If so it should be ok to use in the bathroom as long as the transformer is kept outside.

It has a plug-in AC/DC adapter on the end of the power lead - like the one for a mobile phone. Output is 720mA @ 9v. You can instead use six UM2 1.5V batteries (the large cylindrical ones), which it evidently eats like nobody's business.

micknmace

4 15 pounds its top but batterywise i got 8 hours from cheap samsungs mist the second half of 5 live

musical_norwich

Although I will probably be flamed for this, some people have been talking about buying a DAB radio to listen to these stations. If this applies to you, read this first:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/12/gcap_cans_dab/