[Electronics-talk] First User Review of Narrator HD Radio

Fri Jul 6 14:53:58 UTC 2012

Hi Gerald and all,
As I see it, this isn't the venue for discussing the merrit or lack of
merrit of HD Radio or any other sources of radio for that matter!
What I try to do is help people with what they wish to listen to and
get the most out of whether it be satellite radio, HD radio or radio
online.  All of these forms of radio have their advantages and
disadvantages.  If we were on a radio forum or list of some type, we
could go more into this topic!  Broadcasters certainly haven't done
what they could to make HD radio available everywhere!  How can one
evaluate HD radio if little to no content exists!  If you tell me you
haven't fiddled with your satellite radio antenna, I'd call you a
liar!  My discussion dealt more with evaluating the performance of the
radio itself and what one must watch for especially when attempting to
DX.  You will probably listen to a local station when waking up in the
morning.  You no doubt will figure out how to  drape the FM antenna so
it is out of your way!  If tuned to a local station, you shouldn't
have to fiddle with it.

Consider this!  My Sangian HDR1 has one big knob in front.  One pushes
the knob in to turn on the radio.  Once done, this sets the clock if
it isn't set.  It also adjusts the equalization, turns the volume up
or down, tunes stations, places the radio in scan mode, places radio
in memory mode for putting or deleting channels from memory and a host
of other functions.  Thank goodness this radio has a remote!  That is
the only way I can run it! If it didn't have a remote, I would have
sent it back!

I believe the Narrator will be a great improvement over my Sangian
HDR1 when it comes to operating the radio even if everything may not
speak!  I think it is best to learn the radio before coming to any
conclusions!  I'm looking forward to receiving mine!

A final thought!  I can hear radio throughout the world online with my
IPod and this cannot be done with Satellite ?Radio or HD Radio.  I
think all forms of radio have their place!

Jim

On 7/6/12, Gerald Levy <bwaylimited at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> The fact that you have to constantly fiddle with the antenna to get decent
> HD radio reception is one of the main reasons why HD radio has never
> attained widespread popularity with the general public and probably never
> will.  Like digital TV, which was forced on the public by a bunch of
> ignorant FCC bureaucrats, HD radio was implemented in a slipshod, haphazard
>
> fashion that virtually guaranteed its failure.  It seems to me that adding
> HD reception to a clock radio doesn't make a whole lot of sense because who
>
> wants to lay in bed in the morning and putz around with an antennajust to
> listen to a particular radio station?   Maybe Best Buy would have been
> better off including provisions for Sirius/XM reception in the Narrator
> instead of HD.  Or better yet, it could have included the ability to receive
>
> the audio portion of digital TV broadcasts.  With all of its inherent
> reception limitations, it seems to me that HD radio is a format without much
>
> of a future.
>
> Gerald
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Aldrich" <jajkaldrich at gmail.com>
> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, July 06, 2012 1:33 AM
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] First User Review of Narrator HD Radio
>
>
>> Hi all!
>>
>> I wish to post a few thoughts concerning the Best Buy Narrator.  Mine
>> could arrive as soon as tomorrow or as late as Monday, July 9th.
>>
>> I now have two HD radios presently.  I had one from radiosophy.com
>> which I sold and replaced with a Sangian HDR1.  Both of these are
>> table radios.  My third is the insignia portable radio from Best Buy.
>> Some say it won't last more than two years and one cannot replace its
>> battery!  It appears to work quite well even though it is an FM radio
>> only.
>>
>> Part of the problem of displaying information from radio stations is
>> this!  Some stations may not be transmitting data in the first place.
>> Others may transmit data however.  The narrator won't get the 67 or 92
>> KHZ sub carrier signals since it wasn't designed to get those in the
>> first place.  Many Radio Reading Services will be using an HD radio
>> stream from one of the public radio stations in the future.  Yes!
>> Anyone with an HD radio may listen to radio reading services.  That's
>> fine by me!
>>
>> One cannot compare analog radios with HD radios.  These are different
>> animals in a way!  The HD radio will generate birdies and noise on the
>> AM band especially which interferes with weaker signals.  Mounting the
>> AM loop to the radio will only keep the antenna close to the noise
>> generated by the radio itself.  This is part of the IBoc design!  I of
>> course cannot explain all of this but I have found this to be the case
>> with the Sangian HDR1 I have presently!  Move the AM loop 3 to 6
>> inches or further from the radio for best results.  One can loop out
>> unwanted signals very effectively!  On some wintery days, I was able
>> to hear KSL in Salt Lake City from my home in Montana on HD.  This
>> doesn't stay in very long but it is possible!  I have also heard KOA
>> in Denver, and KFAB in Omaha from my basement in HD but these don't
>> stay in very long.  One needs a strong signal in order to get an HD
>> stream to come  in.  When this happens, the experience is quite
>> impressive!  One doesn't get allot of noise or hum from any signals!
>> In fact, it is truly FM quality from an AM station and CD quality from
>> an FM station!  If there is any dead time on the station, one won't
>> hear anything at all till the programming begins again!
>>
>> My advice is to place your AM loop 3 inches from the radio for a local
>> station, or place it further if you can from the unit itself.  This
>> reduces noise on an analog signal!  If dxing, hold the loop in your
>> hand and use it to null out local stations and bring in stations near
>> the local station being looped out.  I have a station on 970 KHZ.  I
>> can hear a sports station in Canada on 960, CFAC very comfortably with
>> little to no interference from the local station.  There is more of a
>> noise factor on an analog station from an HD radio unit.  I have heard
>> WOAI out of SanAntonio Texas which is quite a find in my area!
>>
>> My Sangian Radio has a whip antenna for FM or I can put the long
>> antenna on it which works very well.  I also put a pair of TV Rabbit
>> Ears on that radio which worked quite well on the FM band.
>>
>> Perhaps the Dream Machine had good sound and it wasn't too bad on AM
>> but it was a horrible FM radio.  One had to put up with that silly
>> piece of wire which was a poor excuse for an FM antenna as I saw it!
>> I'm glad I sold mine!  At least with the narrator, one can choose
>> which antenna can be used and it is a standard cable connector.  I
>> think too one must fiddle with the radio longer than two hours to
>> really appreciate HD radio!
>>
>> I'll have more to say once I get my narrator so don't be discouraged!
>> Keep the loop antenna away from the radio, connect that FM antenna and
>> have a blast!  What I wrote here is very typical of the HD radios I
>> have used.
>>
>> HTH
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>>
>> On 7/4/12, Gerald Levy <bwaylimited at verizon.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Following is a brief review of the highly-anticipated Narrator HD Radio
>>> that
>>> was posted by someone named Steve on another blind-techrelated mailing
>>> list.
>>>  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly his:
>>>
>>>> "For all the hoopla, and touting about its accessibility, I guess I was
>>>> expecting more than a piece of below-average junk.  Here are my quick
>>>> findings:
>>>>
>>>> 1.  As with most Am sections, the radio is completely deaf without
>>>> connecting its loop antenna.  I've only had the radio for a couple
>>>> hours,
>>>>
>>>> and haven't figured out a way to attach the loop to the radio.  It has
>>>> enough wire that it could be placed on a wall.
>>>>
>>>> 2.  Similarly the Fm dipole is a must.  Interestingly, instead of the F
>>>> connectors that most tuners use these days, this has a cable type
>>>> screw-on
>>>>
>>>> connector.  Sensitivity is good, selectivity and immunity to overload
>>>> on
>>>> mine is only fair.
>>>>
>>>> 3.  Menu Accessibility:  It doesn't say this in the main radio manual
>>>> so
>>>> unless you look at the Quick-Start Guide for the Blind, you won't know
>>>> that the Menu Mode is disabled when you are in accessibility mode.  You
>>>> enable accessibility mode by pressing the power button, the lefthand
>>>> button on the top with the Select Button which is the lower-left button
>>>>
>>>> on
>>>>
>>>> the front of the radio.
>>>>
>>>> It appears that in this mode, you can set the time by holding the
>>>> display
>>>>
>>>> button in for two seconds.  You can also set the alarm time for Alarm 1
>>>> and Alarm 2.  You can press either alarm to be informed that it is on
>>>> or
>>>> off. What sighties can do is determine whether the alarm wakes you with
>>>> radio or a tone, this doesn't seem to work in accessibility mode.
>>>> Sighted
>>>>
>>>> people can also access the menu and make all sorts of other adjustments
>>>> such as 12 or 24-hour time, tuning modes like U.S. or International
>>>> Am/Fm
>>>>
>>>> band limits and channel spacing,Lcd color and brightness, etc.  These
>>>> are
>>>>
>>>> only available in the menu when the accessibility mode is turned off.
>>>>
>>>> There is an option in the menu under the regular non-accessible mode to
>>>> see what the hardware/software version of this radio is.  However,
>>>> there
>>>> isn't a Usb or some other port to update the software, so even if a new
>>>> version came out, I don't know if there is a way to update it.  The
>>>> manual
>>>>
>>>> doesn't state that this is possible.
>>>>
>>>> Also, there is no way to control the radio's verbosity.  The buttons
>>>> typically give you way too much feedback.  For example, if you press
>>>> the
>>>> volume up button, it says something like Volume Up.  That type of
>>>> feedback
>>>>
>>>> is nice when you are familiarizing yourself with the radio, but I think
>>>> after a day or so it would be too verbose.  It would be nice to be able
>>>>
>>>> to
>>>>
>>>> set it to advanced mode, where it wouldn't continue to be so verbose.
>>>>
>>>> Sound quality is better than a $29 off-the-shelf clock radio, but that
>>>> isn't saying a whole lot for it.  Those of you who have had the Sony
>>>> Dream
>>>>
>>>> Machine, this doesn't compare to it as far as sound quality.  I think
>>>> the
>>>>
>>>> manual is written incorrectly.  It claims it has 4 two-inch speakers,
>>>> but
>>>>
>>>> without ripping off the front grill or voiding my right to return the
>>>> radio, it looks more like it has two four-inch speakers.
>>>>
>>>> I am not sure if I will keep this radio or not.  Since I don't need a
>>>> clock radio with all sorts of other alarm options, it is one of those
>>>> things that might be nice, but not sure it is worth the cost.  It can
>>>> receive Hd stations, but not the radio reading service subcarriers.  In
>>>> accessibility mode, you can't bookmark songs, read the Hd display for
>>>> data, or other things that I would have thought would have been made
>>>> available if the IAAIS was as involved with the design as they were."
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Electronics-talk mailing list
>>> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> Electronics-talk:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/jajkaldrich%40gmail.com
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Electronics-talk mailing list
>> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> Electronics-talk:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/bwaylimited%40verizon.net
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Electronics-talk mailing list
> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Electronics-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/jajkaldrich%40gmail.com
>