[Electronics-talk] First User Review of Narrator HD Radio
James Aldrich
jajkaldrich at gmail.com
Tue Jul 10 14:13:42 UTC 2012
Hi all,
I received my Narrator Radio yesterday afternoon. I pretty much have
it up and running! I'm still checking out more fine points before I
write any comments.
I sent a message to someone who has evaluated this radio for some
time. This person will remain anonymous but some good observations
were set forth by this person. This is below!
Well, it is pretty obvious this dude didn’t read the quick start guide
for accessible use. It sounds like he tried to just dope everything
out by trial and error. I will correct his errors below:
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.
response: * Yes, this radio does not have an internal AM antenna. You
must attach the external loop. It plugs in right next to the FM
antenna. Couldn’t be much easier.
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
*Response: This is true. The main users manual is not very clear.
Blind users should skip the users manual, and the quck start guide for
the ATR version, and go straight to the quick start guide for the
IAAIS accessible mode. On the enclosed CD, it is track 12, the last
track.
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.
* This is incorrect. In access mode you can decide what type of alarm
to use by toggling the source mode button next to the power button. In
ATR sighted mode, this is all done through menus, but in access mode,
it is done without resorting to menus. It is also true that the menu
mode is not accessible. But most functions are accessible without
these menus. The ATR mode does have options for displaying album art
and other such meta data which is turned off in access mode. Album art
wouldn’t be accessible anyway, and the radio isn’t using a screen
reader, but rather a feed back system. The radio first says the name
of the button you push, and then tells you the result of that push.
You can toggle between 12 and 24 hour clock modes by using the display
button on the front of the radio. It is important to know that you
turn the radio off when you want to set the time.
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.
* Responce: There is a way to get the firmware revision number in
access mode also. I don’t know if upgrades are anticipated.
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.
* Response: This is partly true. One cannot change the verbosity
settings, they are either on or off. However, you do not have to wait
for the full message before continuing. For instance, if you press and
hold the volume button, the volume continues to move only saying up
once. If you are tuning, you don’t have to wait for each frequency
announcement, you can press repeatedly and the feedback messages are
interrupted until you stop.
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.”
* The radio was designed to IAAIS specifications. IAAIS didn’t get
into the subject of screen reading meta data. I suspect screen reading
may be available in future, but htat is a much more complicated
approach and would significantly influence price. Fidelity is a matter
of taste. I think is sounds good, but, to each their own. It is not an
SCA radio as he says, but wasn’t meant to be. SCA is doomed, and all
reading services will have to vacate the SCA eventually. I have some
quibbles, mostly with regard to the manual, but I think this is a very
good first effort by best buy. If the radio sells, and indications are
it will, I think they will refine the design in time.
____________________Jim ___________________________
On 7/6/12, Gerald Levy <bwaylimited at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> 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."
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Electronics-talk mailing list
>>>>>> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
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>>>>>> Electronics-talk:
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>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>> Electronics-talk:
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
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