Just Sharing This Radio rebels fight against digital

[smoggy07]

Not sure if this belongs in here, if it doesn't can someone find a better home, maybe the ham thread?

Next week the government will set out its plans to switch off FM transmitters in favour of digital radio signals.

But many people are still reliant on analogue radios. An estimated 95% of cars lack DAB equipment, and some people are rebelling against the FM switch-off.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25344947

Is DAB in the UK good enough for a switch over? In places it can sound horrid

I'd read that it was only big stations that had to turn FM off leaving the airwaves free for local/community stations but a lot of local stations are quite huge, both in listener size and coverage.

It will be interesting to see what the government have to say next week

 

[Vipersan]

It'll certainly make a lot of my old quality Legacy gear redundant ..
My Denon surround sound amp ...a Bose radio and a Philips WAC unit to name but three.
Total cost when new ..(not that I paid this for 'em ) ...in excess of £1000

 

[A nonymous]

I think its a really bad idea myself. Have you ever listened to a DAB radio in a car.

DAB doesn't work in cars. If you get to a low signal area you get clicks and squeaks, its not pleasant to listen to. Stations that broadcast at a low bit rate also sound horrible .

Nano

 

[rolfw]

I had a dab radio and antenna installed in my last van, as I listen to Talksport, but my particular radio would mute the sound on low signal which was equally as annoying as clicks, or even noise on AM, so didn't bother on the new one and I suffer with AM. Quality with DAB wasn't bad when reception was OK though.

 

[smoggy07]

It'll certainly make a lot of my old quality Legacy gear redundant ..
My Denon surround sound amp ...a Bose radio and a Philips WAC unit to name but three.
Total cost when new ..(not that I paid this for 'em ) ...in excess of £1000

Not really, it could open up the way for more specialist stations or Pirates even lol

I can't see it happening for a long time, it's too costly, it doesn't work when driving, it hardly works indoors and the audio quality is questionable
BTW, not sure why it says new channel next to the subject, I thought I clicked just sharing and now can't seem to change it

 

[rolfw]

Have changed it for you.

I also don't think they can do anything for a long time, way too little acceptance of the technology, at least with Freeview there were real advantages to upgrading kit, with DAB, besides the extra few channels, there are no other advantages and several disadvantages.

 

[Channel Hopper]

I'm still awaiting the day when I install a DAB radi0 in a vehicle.

The one I have under the bed is a Blaupunkt DAB 52 'woodstock', and was once used as standard fitment within Honda touring motorcycles.

I think it needs two aerials to work as well ......

 

[Steve Steve]

Yes a "blaupunkt Woodstock "...need two aerials ....but mine is useless now.. as Germany ..now uses the DAB+...system .....brill...:-(....
BTW..guys....if a small stick on windscreen Dab aerial is used ....you will have bad mobile reception (basically. the same result as a small FM aerial)......lots of good DaB aerials at the web site "DAB on wheels"....
Also a lot of new cars now have DAB fitted as standard ..The new Audi A3 dAB audio system works great....:-)...

 

[PaulR]

Stations that broadcast at a low bit rate also sound horrible.

That would be all of them, then.

 

[PaulR]

Good news!

The government said it could only decide on a date for the digital radio switchover when DAB accounted for 50% of all radio listening.
...
"We are not there yet. So now is not the time to switchover," he [Vaizey] added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25398968

 

[Lazarus]

Actually, I'd quite like to try DAB but we're not in footprint - although our Glaziers had theirs working in the garden when we had our Windows (We have yet got around to calling them Mints, yet) were replaced 18 months ago.

But why on earth are sets so expensive? Pricing seems anomalous compared to other established electronic goodies.

 

[Archived-1]

You can listen in online tivu I am not sure if there is any difference ?,
http://tunein.com/radio/DAB-m466056/

Argos have a dab radio at £30.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...26050782|rnd:195011948748890145|dvc:c|adp:1o3

 

[Lazarus]

Online: Insufficient speed; Insufficient Data Allowance

Can listen via Satellite, too, essentially.

There are even cheaper ones than that, but they are poor, mono, omitting inbuilt battery etc.

 

[PaulR]

... but they are poor, mono, ...

A lot of the radio stations you might expect to be stereo are in mono on DAB. Radio 4 for instance, so no Archers in stereo! And R4 frequently drops to 80k apparently.

The process of downgrading is a continuous one. Absolute 80s recently reduced their bit-rate from 128k to 64k.

http://onegoldensquare.com/2013/04/changes-to-absolute-80s/

Quality? Pfah!

 

[Archived-1]

DAB you should try listening to my gramophone I will post a picture up tomorrow

 

[william-1]

Let's face it DAB gives very poor audio via MP2 can you believe that we once use to lead the world in broadcasting now the future of our radio has gone backwards with regards to HiFi quality only really achieved via analogue & maybe DVD audio discs in the future with much higher sample rates,

Dab+ in MP3 or AAC has been adopted by most other countries but as we were 1st & the BBC thought that MP2 was great lol now we are stuck with a 2nd rate system,

I just hope that enough of the radio spectrum is left after Mobile Broadband swallows up all the available spectrum,

Then maybe we will be lucky enough to here Dab+ on the VHF 88 to 108 part of the radio spectrum maybe they could gradually switch over to digital as they have on UHF mind you not much of this radio spectrum will be left in the next 10 to 20 years as Mobile Broadband rules the waves

What was free to air radio will be a thing of the past.

 

[timo_w2s]

I had a Blaupunkt Woodstock 52 car radio back in the early 2000s and then later swapped it for a Blaupunkt Woodstock 54. Both where great at the time and I used a separate external antenna which gave great reception rather than the combined FM/DAB version or the silly stick on thing. Installed it all myself but had a specialist drill the hole in the roof for the DAB aerial. The radio still working in my old car which is now with a cousin of mine.

We've now got built in DAB car radios and reception is pretty good still even though the aerials are built into the rear windows. Rarely get any drop outs here in the south east but since there isn't much to interest me on the radio any more I don't tend to use it much. I used to enjoy The Groove/Virgin Groove and Chill but now I mainly use the radio as an MP3 player.

 

[timo_w2s]

Oh yes, I just remembered I used to be able to pick up the low power L-band DAB test mux from London on my Woodstock while parked on my drive at home. Not that there was much of interest on there but I could pick it up and that was the main thing. ;)

I also used to drive in Europe quite a bit back then and managed to pick up L-band tests in Paris (before they went DMB ) and various L-band stations in Germany too (before DAB+) plus all the usual Band III DAB stations from mainland Europe.

 

[Piltdownpaul]

Nothing could beat my old AR88D....and nobody could nick it either it was soooooo heavy.

 

[Tony1A]

I don't think you can beat a quality FM tuner. I've heard DAB and I'm not impressed at all. Also, just think of all the analogue radios that will become redundant virtually overnight if this happens.