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

Gerald Levy bwaylimited at verizon.net
Fri Jul 6 15:45:50 UTC 2012 

Be sure to provide us with your impressions and review of the Narrator when 
you receive it.

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 11:04 AM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] First User Review of Narrator HD Radio


> 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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