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   station directory latest radio news air today feedback features  | |  Feedback archive An archived selection of comments and e-mails can be found below. Please be patient while the page loads. |
1st January 2003 Evoke mystery We recently purchased this model from a Dixon's shop in Barnsley. We are most satisfied with the sound, but are mystified as to why the radio shuts itself off after 2 or 3 minutes. When switched off and on again the signal returns only to dissappear shortly after, with a crackle. After being switched off and on again the signal returns and stays on. Is there any advice you can give us? It is stand alone not plumbed into any system. SG and D Burland It sounds as if something is not quite working as it should with your Evoke. You could try moving the unit around the house a little to see if the problem occurs wherever the unit is placed. This would indicate if the Evoke needs a slightly stronger signal. However, I would take it back to the shop where it was purchased and ask for a replacement unit or get your money back if they don't have any Evoke's in stock - you can always buy one again later. If it were me, I would not accept a repair. If you want to contact Pure Digital support you can do so by visiting the Pure Digital website and clicking on the "Support" tab. You should be able to e-mail their support department from their website for more advice. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RDS Clock I have recently purchased a new car which came fitted with a new RDS radio. I would like to use the radio to synchronise the clock, but apparently I need to tune in to certain radio stations for this, however I don't know which ones! Do the UK national radio stations broadcast this information? Tom I'm sure at least one national station used to (it might have been Classic FM), but, having checked myself I don't think any of them do any more. I think that the RDS clocks were never set by accurate means anyway (i.e. the Rugby time signal, or the pips). You might find a local that broadcasts the RDS Clock Time. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F-ing connectors Why do DAB tuners use F-connectors rather than the more traditional coaxial socket? There must be some technical reason, but as far as I can see it is just to annoy the majority of DAB users. In my opinion, these are flimsy and troublesome connectors and their use should be discouraged. Andrew Isn't the widespread use of the F-connector with DAB something to do with the smaller scale of these connectors? Sometimes you want to be able to add an external aerial to the new, smaller radios. I would have thought a smaller connector would look less "out-of-place". Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Hampshire multiplex Could you tell me if Capital Radio Digital are on course to launch the South Hants multiplex in January 2003? John They should be on course for a launch sometime between 1st January and 31st January, but as always we'll let our visitors know if this changes. Launches tend to take place towards the end of a month. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where Dragon FM You may be interested to know that Red Dragon FM has disappeared from this multiplex. I have e-mailed the station to find out why, but not had a response. Ceri As Capital Digital operate the Cardiff & Newport multiplex, I'm sure the disappearance of Red Dragon on 29th December was (is?) only temporary - possibly a service upgrade of some sort, during a quieter time of the year. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evoke in Devon I am new to this digital stuff and have just got hold of a Evoke-1 radio. When I finally got it working was impressed with the results - I live about 30 miles from London and get a good selection of stations with good reception, but I also travel to Devon a lot and I wonder if I can pick up any digital stations down there: would I need an external aerial? I do know there are some stations planned to go on air in the near future, also can you tell me if there any magazines dedicated to DAB? Roy You don't say which parts of Devon you visit, Roy, but I would suggest the best way to check for coverage in Devon is to visit the postcode checker at the Digital Radio Now website. You can also check our Devon local listings for more information - the Exeter and Torbay multiplex is on the air now. You can also view a coverage map here and check out more maps for the national DAB stations. Failing this, take the Evoke for a ride down to Devon and see if you can pick anything up! Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21st December 2002 Evoking reaction I'm impressed with the Evoke - 1. It's well thought out with surprisingly good sound and ergonomics. Of course, it has limitations (mains powered only, no FM/MW/LW) but what it does do, it does very well. It gives great value exactly where it matters. It's easy enough for a granny to use as a kitchen radio (scarcely necessary to read the instructions) but it's equally useful as the tuner for an anorak's hi-fi. I've even begun to like the distinctive styling, cute in a 2CV sort of way! Best of all, it's telescopic aerial pulls in all 5 multiplexes (48 stations) currently on air in London, even though the Digital Radio Now (original name, eh? Ed.) website said I'd be lucky to get 3 multiplexes (31 stations). The BBC nationals are noticeably weak, but nothing that careful aerial positioning won't fix. It may be heresy to like automated stations but if I can't have someone intelligent that knows about the music, the absence of inane waffle from clueless DJs is quite refreshing. All that remains is for 3C Continuous Cool Country to provide the New Country that's sadly missing since the hopelessly pathetic Mean Country replaced Ritz 1035! Gerard A happy customer, and Gerard assures us he doesn't work for Pure Digital. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAB signals Is anyone having a problem receiving a DAB signal in the East Manchester Ashton/Audenshaw area? My Pure Limited Edition tuner has refused for the past two weeks to pick up a signal. I was wondering if other people have had any problems. Maybe it's my tuner although it has not had any problems since I brought it a year ago. Edward I would have though it likely the tuner is to blame. If you were getting, say, three multiplexes and now you can't receive any, the finger off suspicion points to the tuner or aerial connection. Has the aerial simply become disconnected? I have had exactly the same problem with my Wavefinder, which has been posted off to those lovely people at Level 1, who deal with the Wavefinder only, as far as I know. Hopefully they'll be able to find out what's wrong with it. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Break it up I have tried to listen to Beacon Radio and the sound keeps breaking up. Am I doing something wrong? Willow It sounds as if Media Player is having to re-buffer the sound. This can happen on a slow internet connection, because not enough data is reaching your computer to keep playing the station, so Media Player waits every now and then until it has enough data to play a bit more sound. Hence the quiet patches. Or, the station may just be experiencing problems with the stream. See our live listening help for more infomation. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19th December 2002 DAB hi-fi? No way-fi! DAB may mean lots of choice, but the sound quality so poor you'll not want to listen! My experience with an Arcam DAB tuner was so underwhelming I returned it and reverted to FM. It was OK for background listening on the high bitrate stations, but sit and listen and you'll soon realise how poor the sound quality is: extremely irritating fuzzy distortion, no doubt caused by the compression required to transmit the signal at the bare minumum bit rate. As for the low bit rate stations, forget it! They sound absolutely awful through decent hi-fi speakers. On the plus side, hiss was absent, and bass seemed to go lower, but these advantages were far outweighed by the overall poor sound quality. I live in an area of good signal strength. Will DAB quality improve in the future? Sally I think everyone must decide for themselves whether or not DAB is for them. As regards quality, although the bitrates of stations are unlikely to increase, bitrates aren't everything. DAB encoders make a lot of difference to the sound. Many more stations are beginning to upgrade their systems with the latest digital encoders. I don't think you need to spend a lot of money on expensive hi-fi equipment to listen to DAB. A very high quality tuner is always going to show up DAB's weaknesses. I don't think DAB integrates that well into a high-quality setup, in that it isn't (in this country anyway) up to the standards of CD or vinyl. You have to be realistic in your expectations of DAB. If it opens up other types of music to you then - great. That's why I listen. I'd rather listen to the type of music and radio I appreciate all the time, rather than having to put up with a more limited selection on AM/FM. By the way, the Wavefinder has been sent off, as it has stopped working after barely a year - hopefully it's repairable! Isn't it funny how you take some things for granted? Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17th December 2002 Evoke reception problems I purchased a Pure Evoke 1 DAB radio; the first unit developed a fault with the power button in the first month and, after 8 weeks in service, was replaced. I now have a second unit, which when being tuned to a station for between 1 and 2 hours, gradually becomes very distorted and loses reception. Upon going to another station and back again, it is okay. Any ideas, has anyone else had similar problems? I live in Central London with no issues with reception. Tim I would have asked for a replacement unit straight away if I were you, Tim, as you would have been entitled to it! With regard to the problems you are now experiencing with your unit - has anyone else noticed similar problems? I have read that the "Protection Level" for the Digital Radio Group (DRg) multiplex (Block 11B) has been reduced from PL4 (the standard) to PL3, to fit more stations on the multiplex. This has the effect of reducing the coverage area, as less data is transmitted and the radio needs to be effectively closer to the transmitter for the best signal to be obtained. Reducing the protection level means there is less space for vital error-correcting data within the data stream that a DAB tuner uses to "rebuild" the signal for any bits of data that have been missed. Perhaps this is the reason for the problems you're having, as the radio struggles to work out what's been missed. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What no Bloomberg? Can you tell me why Bloomberg Radio has disappeared from the national multiplex please? I listen here on DAB in Bournemouth where Bloomberg has disappeared and they have a sign saying D1 Temp instead. We also don't know why the national BBC DAB national stations are not broadcast here even though they were promised for September? David There's a news article about Bloomberg's demise on DAB. As for the BBC nationals, the transmitter may be running at low power - certainly here in Bristol the national commercial stations can be heard loud and clear, whereas the BBC's equivalent multiplex cannot so easily be received, even though I believe both signals originate from the Mendip transmitter. I would advise you check the coverage maps and transmitter locations, accessed from our national stations page. You may need an external aerial. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15th December 2002 Dead wrong, Ed! (see Michael's letter, "Aerial runaway" Ed.) Longwave signals, after dark, travel right around the Earth! They bounce around the place, reflected off the Heaviside Layer in the atmosphere. There's less of this in sunlight, as the layer is inhibited or destroyed. That's why you can only have a few stations on this band: they'll interfere with each other (especially after dark) anywhere in the world - if they're on the same frequency. And plenty of them are; that's why reception is bad: it's not weak signals, but co-channel interference you're getting! The little short ferrite aerial that's already (probably) inside Michael's radio ought to do the trick, as long as Michael can place it broadside-on to the transmitter in the UK. If the 'radio' is a separate radio tuner, it'll still probably have the same arrangement, though it may be attached to the back so that it can be swivelled into position. If there's no supplied aerial at all, there's probably no reception of anything at all! (Sometimes the aerial supplied is an external wire-loop affair you have to attach to the terminals on the back of the tuner, and then swivel into position. Dipoles are irrelevant: they only start to work at much higher frequencies, from VHF upwards.) If none of the above works, then you're into long-wire aerials, which Micheal seems to have cottoned onto. Any long wire of around 100 metres, horizontally dressed broadside-on to the transmitter, would do, so - that TV aerial has a chance of being right. Michael should attach both of the two wires to the Aerial socket on the back of his tuner, as he presumably has done, and should also attach an earth to the earth socket - preferably one known to be a direct, low-loss path to Earth. This will improve signal-strength; yet that's unlikely to be the real problem. More likely, there's interference from another strong station. Only by using a directional aerial would you be able to eliminate this, and they don't really exist at long-wave (not for amateurs, anyway). But you do have one shot: each of the above aerials has a figure-of-eight directional response - so when it's exactly end-on to a transmitter, it will strongly reject it. So: if you experiment, you may be able to eliminate some of the whistles while still retaining some of the wanted station. It's the best I can offer; good luck! Nick Nice explanation, Nick. I think I'll pass these sorts of aerial questions over to you in the future! Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Such a contrast Well, having read the two contrasting opinions about DAB (see below, Ed.), I believe we very much have our own expectations. For my part, I now live in an area where night-time reception of Five Live and talkSport is very poor, so it is pleasing to be able to listen to these stations in clear quality. I accept that hi-fi buffs may be disappointed with the results, but when you can't get stations clear on an analogue receiver, you are grateful for anything. Not everyone has access to Sky Digital, DTT or a PC. Robert Yep, it's easy to forget the interference you had to endure to listen to some stations on MW during the evening, when you have DAB digital radio. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10th December 2002 DAB? Forget it! Anyone contemplating purchasing a DAB receiver to link up to a hi-fi setup: forget it. I have now been listing for 6 weeks and can honestly say the sound quality is appalling. I fell into the trap of reading the adverts: "CD sound quality sound", which for some reason has now been dropped from most of the adverts (I wonder why?) and "hearing is believing", etc. I purchased a Pure Digital DRX-701ES tuner which is linked up to a Rotel and Audiomaster speakers. If my CDs sounded like the sound quality from digital radio, I would be taking them back for a full refund. The tuner itself is excellent - it's the suppressed sound that is awful. Imagine stuffing a wet blanket in front of the speakers - that's what DAB sound like. For a portable radio it may be okay, but it's not worth trying to listen through a hi-fi set-up. Even the BBC have admitted they are now aiming for quantity not quality. Once again Britain leads the way for utter crap. Dave Harsh words indeed, Dave. I think DAB at 128Kbps stereo can sound quite reasonable - the trouble is, many stations compress their sound at the extremes so much (to sound good in the car and on portable radios) that, added to the compression that DAB digital radio requires, it all begins to sound a bit of a mess at the receiver end. Most stereo stations broadcast at a minimum of 128Kbps joint stereo. Many stations are now helping the situation by upgrading their DAB encoders, meaning a more balanced sound with apparently less artifacting. A good example of this is "The Arrow" on MXR multiplexes. And in Bristol, "The Storm" is sounding so much better than 2 months ago - much less wobble in the sound! Unfortunately, a great many of the pop music stations sound pretty awful on FM, thanks to compression, meaning they're not heard at their best on DAB either. I think the adverts pronouncing "CD quality sound" have always been misleading. DAB can broadcast at up to 256Kbps full stereo, but the best that is currently achieved is by Classic FM, Virgin Radio and, usually BBC Radio 3, which all broadcast at 160Kbps. Bitrates aren't the full story, because if you put garbage in you're sure to get garbage out; that's where decent encoders come in. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DAB? Love it! Since I mailed a few weeks ago I now have the DAB tuner fully up and running. Reception on the stations I can receive is amazing and seems better than CD quality. After contacting different aerial fitters and receiving quotes ranging from GBP70 to GBP120 to fit a DAB aerial I decided to purchase a dipole and fit it myself in the loft. The cost including 25 metres of cable was GBP30. It took a bit of moving around to get the best spot. Reception on all BBC, national commercial and Merseyside stations is spot on. The Cambridge Audio DAB unit has a signal error meter option and the national stations register no error, with those on the Liverpool EMAP error in single figures. However I cannot receive anything from the MXR North-West transmitter, which includes Jazz FM and Century FM. If anyone is entering into the world of DAB, don't get ripped off for an aerial "just 'cos it's new" and don't expect to get all of the stations that are out there in your area. Once you've set it up, you should love it. John Great news, John. If you're competent about fitting a TV aerial, you should have no problems with a DAB aerial. It also goes to show the differences in peoples' opinions. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8th December 2002 DAB in the valleys? I live in a dip or mini valley in the road on the edge of a town in Rutland. The FM siginal in the town on the top of the dip is not great, but its not very good at all where I live in the dip. Is digital radio reception affected by valleys in the same way that FM reception is? The official DAB sites say it should be okay. Also, are there any major problems with the new Cambridge Audio DAB300 tuner? Hugo If the FM reception isn't terribly good where you live, chances are this is a useful indication of how well you'll be able to receive DAB digital radio signals. You'll most likely need an external aerial, mounted somewhere high up (i.e. on or in the roof) to overcome any obstacles, such as the edge of the dip, between your house and the transmitter. I would advise budgeting for an external aerial before purchasing a radio. An aerial can be bought for around GBP25.00 from places such as Maplin. You'll need some cable to connect the radio to the aerial, so allow for this too. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28th October 2002 DAB in the basement? My wife works in a building where reception of normal radio transmissions cannot be received, because of brick and mortar. She effectively works in the basement! There is not the facility for an external aerial. Would a DAB digital radio signal be more likely to be received in such circumstances? I am thinking of buying a portable unit for her to use at work. She misses Terry Wogan! Mike The DAB digital radio signal can be more robust than an FM signal, but notwithstanding this fact I doubt very much whether the signal would find its way 'underground'. Just as when driving through a tunnel, for example, a DAB tuner would fall silent until it could pick up a signal at the other end. The same is true of basements; the signal just cannot get through well enough. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Football - pay to hear them all! I subscribe to Hull City World but I can still hear commentaries provided by other clubs with this subscription. Subs vary depending on which club you support but you can still listen to any commentary you like once you have paid up! If you don't support any club in particular, it is best to sign up with a third division club as their rates are cheaper! I feel I have had my money's worth so far and part of the subscription does go towards the club you register with. On the subject of DAB receivers, especially portables, it seems that many of these are imported and getting held up at Customs. I have today receive the Kiiro Adapt DAB/FM receiver priced at GBP 169.99 from Soundsense. It runs on two AA batteries for six hours. I'll let you have my views on it when I have tested it out. I notice also that the Pure Evoke 1 is becoming more widely available, and the Goodmans kit sounds interesting. Robert Winter This is good news, as the football "World" subscriptions can seem to work out quite expensive. It's odd that the fact that all streams can be heard once the subscription has been paid, isn't well publicised on the football "World" sites. On another note, we'd love to hear your comments on the Kiiro machine, Robert, especially considering it's at a new lower price. Ed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RealProblem! I used to listen happily to the BBC with their Radio Player but recently it has stopped working. Some of their archive programmes use Real Player and this works fine, but I can no longer get any connection with the BBC Player - it is possible that a setting on my PC has changed - do you have any ideas? Lloyd You're lucky. I can never get a connection with RealPlayer, even when changing the transport settings. It was working fine until I installed the latest version of Netscape. Netscape asked if I wanted RealPlayer to install; I declined, already having it on my PC. RealPlayer then proceeded to copy itself over the existing installation regardless. Ahh, for the days of the |
