Digital Radios – What you need to know
By Nicholas Newman 24 June 2008
I was listening to the radio the other day and heard
them talking about the new digital news and sports stations that have
been launched. Part of me thought ‘Why do I need one?’ But my curiosity
got the better of me and I decided to pop round to my local electronics
store to see what’s available
"You will get loads more stations with a DAB radio," the salesman said.
“You mean more pop stations, “I said. ”No-not just that,” the salesman
reassured me. “ There are many more new BBC and commercial stations,
including the new comedy and drama station BBC 7, and for sport there is
BBC 5 for music there is Classic FM and Jazz FM plus all your usual
stations." The salesman went on to praise DAB radio broadcasts for its
improved sound quality and reception, which is allegedly better than
with traditional radios.
I was shown round a wide range of radios from pocket radios for
commuters and sports fans to tabletop radios for listening to in the
kitchen or by your bed. The trouble is many of the radios reminded me of
the first mobile phones; they looked like bricks and were just as hard
to use. It would appear that designers never learn. Many of these radios
are packed with functions that look impressive, but you are likely never
to use, just like today’s mobile phones.
Most Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) radios have as standard a scrolling
text display screen, station preset and PausePlus. Scrolling text
provides current programme information, while station preset enables you
to program in your favourite stations whilst PausePlus helps you to
record up to 20 minutes of a live broadcast whilst you are interrupted
by a phone call.
Digital Audio Broadcasts can only be received in some 85% of the
country, reception is usually better in urban areas than in the
countryside. However most DAB radios are designed to receive only
British digital stations, which mean that they are of little use for
listening to continental digital broadcasters.
Currently there are two main types of portable radios on the market,
there are those for the house known as tabletop radios and those to put
in your pocket was traveling around. The ones I looked at all have a LCD
display for scrolling text and FM tuner in case digital reception is bad
in your area.
Tabletop Radios
Tabletop radios typically weigh more than two bags of sugar
(2000g) and come with the option of mains and battery powered. For
radios costing £100 or more, the most expensive was the Pure Evoke – 2,
which comes in to a weighty 2466g, and has a 12 station preset,. It is,
however, the best sounding radio around, and not too difficult to use,
though it looks like a brick.
Another radio is the 10 station preset, Roberts Gemini RD11, slightly
cheaper at £120, stylish yet the makers have not sacrificed
functionality for design, making it a pleasure both to use and listen
to. Unlike its pricier rival it has the PausePlus feature making it
worthwhile considering.
For radios costing less than £100 I found radios by Sony and Roberts
coming on the market. There is the stylish Sony XDRS1 available in the
shops at £80; only mains operated not easy to use and sound quality
average. Not up to the usual standards one has grown to expect from both
Sony and Roberts. Though its real advantage is that it has 40 station
presets which are I found hard to navigate and it can receive
continental digital radio station broadcasts, so useful if you are
learning the language.
I think for this price range a better choice would be the 8 station
preset, Intempo PG – 01 costing the same but with both mains and battery
powered, with superior sound quality, slightly easier to use, though
looking like a heavy old fashioned handbag.
Handheld Radios
Of the pocket radios available the main suppliers seem to be Sony,
Philips and Roberts, though the choice at present is very limited, but
should improve in time. Currently these handhelds cost around a hundred
pounds or more, all are supplied with headphones and are powered by
batteries as standard. Surprisingly only one of them offered the option
of using rechargeable batteries, given how energy hungry digital radios
are.
The most expensive handheld radio I looked at was the Sony XDRM1,
costing £140 and though not having rechargeable batteries it does have
an impressive eleven hours of battery life, weighs 107g and delivers
good sound quality. The trouble is its designers assume users are nimble
fingered. It like many slim line pocket phones, not for the less
digitally favoured.
Its rival, the Philips DA1000 at £100, weighs in at 142g, and though
cheaper and easier to use due to its ergonomic design, it is let down by
its poor sound quality, though this can be improved by buying better
headphones. What will attract many potential purchasers is that it
includes the option of rechargeable batteries, which means you are not
bothered with buying new batteries every week for your daily commute.
Testing out the DAB radios what finally sold me an insatiable news
junkie, was the pleasure of listening to digitally clear sound. The
radio that most impressed me was the Roberts RD-14 Sports handheld
digital radio. Not only is the price right at £100, it looks good and is
user friendly, designed for ham fisted people like me. The graphics on
the LCD display make it easy to read the scrolling text and it has an
auto shut off function to save on battery life as well as an ac adapter
when you don’t want to use the batteries. Like with previous radios I
have purchased from Roberts the sound quality is crystal clear, good
value and reliable. This will bring much pleasure to the daily grind of
commuting. Though as a journalist that often works abroad, I am
disappointed it cannot receive foreign digital radio stations; perhaps
Roberts will include this in a later version.
FACTBOX
Station Preset - This enables you to program your favorite radio
stations.
Scrolling text display screen - This LCD display screen indicates which
station you are currently listening to and details about the program on
air, if a news station like BBC5 Live current news topics being
discussed and how to contact the program.
Rewind live radio - Known on Roberts radios as a PausePlus function.
This enables you never to miss the exciting point in a live cricket or
football match broadcast when you have to answer the door, instead by
pressing the PausePlus button you are able to skip back to the point in
the program you stopped listening to answer the front door.. Many radios
with this feature can skip back at least twenty minutes in most cases.
To find out more about DAB Radio stations in UK,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/digitalradio /
To find out about digital broadcasters abroad
http://www.worlddab.org
To check out your area’s DAB coverage
http://www.ukdigitalradio.com
/
To find out more about the products mentioned
http://www.robertsradio.co.uk
/
http://www.sony.co.uk /
http://www.philips.com /
http://www.intempo-digital.co.uk /