Anyone got one? What I really want to know is this: I wander round the house with my radio, it's fine with Long Wave but with FM I need to extend the aerial and rotate it to the correct angle. Even then as I move around the room I seem to interfere with the signal. And that's with a good FM radio, chosen with the help of "Which?" reports and by trying the alternatives in those shops that let you.

Is DAB a better solution or just an expensive one?

very good here, sheffield has a good reception

try richer sounds as they have a dab tuner for £79

Dab is great. Like streaming audio, it is not quite live, and rather than hissing and popping in poor reception it cuts out completely (like realplayer under netlag).

But the sound quality is not up to par with a good VHF signal, and if it's HiFi you're after, then DAB is not for you. The BBC still recommend VHF transmissions over DAB tx for recording purposes.

But the hassle free tuning, the gradual explosion in new DAB only broadcasting etc makes DAB a great choice for areas covered. I shall be picking up one of the lovely little DAB sets from Maplin for 99.95. This has a good wooden box and high quality speaker that gives an nice rich tone when used as a standalone kitchen radio. Also has Phono Jacks for plugging into your HiFi.

not seen the richer sounds 79.95 marvel...

What I want is a combined player/ripper/timer that will automatically connect to a given station and record a given program, like Tivo only for radio....any ideas?

What I want is a combined player/ripper/timer that will automatically connect to a given station and record a given program, like Tivo only for radio....any ideas?

wavefinder for the PC

But the sound quality is not up to par with a good VHF signal, and if it's HiFi you're after, then DAB is not for you. The BBC still recommend VHF transmissions over DAB tx for recording purposes.

i get a good 192kps or 220kps (90 for voice stuff) on my wavefinder, VHF is alot lower isnt it

Hmm VHF is not digital, so how can you but a bitrate on it?

WaveFinder look good, thanx for that tip.

Yorkshire's new DAB mulitplex is launching soon, too.

My spies in Leeds tell me that test transmissions have already started there.

Originally posted by "Phanerothyme"

Dab is great. Like streaming audio, it is not quite live, and rather than hissing and popping in poor reception it cuts out completely (like realplayer under netlag).
So depending on signal strength as I wander round the house with it it might just drop out completely?
not seen the richer sounds 79.95 marvel...
All I could find on the website was a tuner (i.e. mains powered, plug it into your hi-fi) - it's £70 - I want a portable radio replacement.
I found some good info here http://www.uk-dab.info/
What I want is a combined player/ripper/timer that will automatically connect to a given station and record a given program, like Tivo only for radio....any ideas?
Looking at the site above one of the soon to be released (late July) Roberts radios (Gemini 1) offers one touch recording (onto internal memory or SD memory card), also a Tivo-like "rewind" function. It's also got "normal" radio bands - trouble is it's £200 - but then it seems to be offering what I want plus some extras I want now I know about them! It would be a bit of a blow if I then found the DAB reception inadequate though.

The one you mention may be the Evoke-1 which from my reading of the literature isn't battery powered so no good for me.
Re. your wish for player/ripper/timer. If you've got broadband internet and if the channels you want offer internet broadcasts (well - it can record to your PC from an external radio too) then what about this: http://www.replay-radio.com/

Originally posted by robh
So depending on signal strength as I wander round the house with it it might just drop out completely?
Yes, but it is much more resistant to interference as it oversamples etc. Problem with DAB radio is that you can't set your clocks to the pips, there is a lag


All I could find on the website was a tuner (i.e. mains powered, plug it into your hi-fi) - it's £70 - I want a portable radio replacement.
I found some good info here http://www.uk-dab.info/

my mistake - I will ask him where he got it from

Looking at the site above one of the soon to be released (late July) Roberts radios (Gemini 1) offers one touch recording (onto internal memory or SD memory card), also a Tivo-like "rewind" function. It's also got "normal" radio bands - trouble is it's £200 - but then it seems to be offering what I want plus some extras I want now I know about them! It would be a bit of a blow if I then found the DAB reception inadequate though.

this one looks good
http://www.hifibitz.co.uk/warehouse/details.asp?ProductID=PERDR101

Re. your wish for player/ripper/timer. If you've got broadband internet and if the channels you want offer internet broadcasts (well - it can record to your PC from an external radio too) then what about this: http://www.replay-radio.com/
Bingo! Thank you very much, this is exactly what I have been looking for in an entirely unrelated capacity - many thanks for that!

With the intro of DAB radio will the music played have an inbuilt macrovision (copyguard) into the soung, so you can't record it?

I would advise checking the reception in your area before buying. I am led to believe it is 'line of sight' , even trees can affect the signal, and a different aerial is needed.

Slightly off the original point...but
I listen to alot of radio shows on the internet, for example the BBC have nearly all their programmes online so you can listen to them when you like. But I want to be able to listen without having to be restricted to my computer.

Anybody any suggestions on some sort of bluetooth gadget perhaps?

If your after an Evoke-1 DAB digital radio www.qed-uk.com sell them at the UK lowest price ofr £86.


Absolute steal if you ask me!!!

In the last month I have bought both a Pure Evoke portable DAB radio and a Ministry of Sound Personal DAB radio.
The Pure radio is fantastic, it's idiot proof, and the sound quality far exceeds the old radio due to the lack of interferance (I can now listen to 5 live and use my laptop at the same time!).
The portable one is essentially the same, though obviously given the smaller size of the arial (the headphones act as the arial), reception is harder to maintain. It's fine at home, I can walk around the house and it never drops, but I can't get a reception in shops and the reception from my desk at work and in the Peak District has proved unreliable. The battery life is very bad too.
On the whole though I'm chuffed to bits with both of them.

Originally posted by chill
In the last month I have bought both a Pure Evoke portable DAB radio and a Ministry of Sound Personal DAB radio.
The Pure radio is fantastic, it's idiot proof, and the sound quality far exceeds the old radio due to the lack of interferance (I can now listen to 5 live and use my laptop at the same time!).
The portable one is essentially the same, though obviously given the smaller size of the arial (the headphones act as the arial), reception is harder to maintain. It's fine at home, I can walk around the house and it never drops, but I can't get a reception in shops and the reception from my desk at work and in the Peak District has proved unreliable. The battery life is very bad too.
On the whole though I'm chuffed to bits with both of them.

:o

i know a Chris Hill! :o and he lives in sheffield!

but i know it isnt you because he doesnt have a website as good as yours (if i say so myself :))

I got one last week and am very happy with it, it provides beautiful hiss free reception for many channels, some of which are only available on DAB, or via tv like Freeview and SKY but its a hell of a job getting the TV up the garden, my favourite channel is Planet Rock which plays only rock music from the last 40 years or so, very cool, also I get Talksport hiss and crackle free for Nick Collins shows on Fri, Sat and Sundays, which are a real treat, the kit is pretty costly but if you are a radio fan then its worth it for the improved quality, are there many radio fans out there?, Id chuck the TV if it wasnt for the missus and the bin lids.

Hey i'm listening to Planet Rock on the net right now. It's pretty damn good except for the occasional Bon Jovi!

Thinking about getting a DAB radio now though. I was'nt sure at first but it looks like their starting to come down in price.

Cheers, Pete.

ive got DAB radio on my PC, ive lost my CD for the drivers so i cant use it at the moment :(

RPG, you got a wavefinder mate?

Originally posted by brandnewdrunk
HI, does anyone have a DAB radio?, I got one last week and am very happy with it, it provides beautiful hiss free reception for many channels, some of which are only available on DAB, or via tv like Freeview and SKY but its a hell of a job getting the TV up the garden, my favourite channel is Planet Rock which plays only rock music from the last 40 years or so, very cool, also I get Talksport hiss and crackle free for Nick Collins shows on Fri, Sat and Sundays, which are a real treat, the kit is pretty costly but if you are a radio fan then its worth it for the improved quality, are there many radio fans out there?, Id chuck the TV if it wasnt for the missus and the bin lids.


Sounds good, I am sick of all the interference on talk radio.

DAB is great. There are several new stations that I listen to (BBC6, BBC7 and XFM on Saturday from 1PM to 3PM) plus existing radio stations without interferance. I can now listen to 5 live and use a computer at the same time!

Originally posted by Andy
RPG, you got a wavefinder mate?

yup, ive seen my disc recently as well :p its eluding me :lol:

I have a wavefinder too...after reading what you said this morning I decided to look for my disk. But it's missing :blush: Sure it will turn up though!

Just get the drivers off the 'net. The advantage of that is that there may be newer ones around than at the time your CD was made.

Normally I would do, but I don't think Psion support the Wavefinder any more.

Incidently Dab Bar provides a nicer interface (www.dabbar.co.uk) for wavefinder users.

For anyone thinking of getting a DAB radio, just do it ! I've got two, the Pure Evoke and the Perstel mini portable, both suberb reception. Can't wait to change my car to get a DAB car unit.

For those still unsure what to buy/what they can receive etc try
http://www.digitalradionow.com/home.php

Maplin have a really good DAB Radio, 34.49... absoloute bargain, auto tune and I can even plug a right speaker and a sub into it... it even comes with a line-out jack... and it comes with a mains adaptor and can be powered by batteries... absoloute bargain!

The Pure Evoke 3 is just out and has just about every feature a Dab radio aficionado could require. Its not cheap though, at around £200.

I've had two. The one at home still receives interference and when you do get it, it is so much more annoying than the fuzz. The one at work is superb considering all the electrical interference around (where i cant get a single channel on the normal FM radio)