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

Fri Jul 6 15:04:53 UTC 2012

Hi again!

One more thing! All the HD radios for home use I owned were clock
radios and any I have seen for home use were clock radios.  The only
HD radio which isn't a clock radio is my little portable FM only
Insignia.  For now, this is the way it is!

Jim

On 7/6/12, James Aldrich <jajkaldrich at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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."
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>>>
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>>
>>
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>