BEST BUY FORUM: IS THE INSIGNIA PORTABLE PLAYER LEGIT?

[rbrucecarter5]

An immovable portable?

One negative: for a portable unit, it's not very tolerant of its portability. If you can get it somewhere where it's receiving a station in HD, leave it there.

I can't see average listeners keeping this INSIGNIA PORTABLE HD RADIO PLAYER if reception and antenna placement are that critical.

Similar to a Walkman isn't the usefullness of this gadget that you can listen reliably while mobile?

So much for jogging or using the unit while on an exercise machine. I am encouraged, however, by the range reported for HD - given the challenges in the NE, 25 mile HD on a walkman style radio is extraordinary. I could easily believe it would get 50 miles or more over flat terrain and tall sticks. I wouldn't dispute 70 miles because I've done it with a dipole. If the Insignia pulls a trick like a fractal antenna, it may have some decent range.

 

[hubcity]

An immovable portable?

One negative: for a portable unit, it's not very tolerant of its portability. If you can get it somewhere where it's receiving a station in HD, leave it there.

I can't see average listeners keeping this INSIGNIA PORTABLE HD RADIO PLAYER if reception and antenna placement are that critical.

Similar to a Walkman isn't the usefullness of this gadget that you can listen reliably while mobile?

Actually, I think that's a problem with digital broadcasting in general - no degradability. At least when you're listening to an HD1 it falls back rather gracefully (shockingly gracefully, actually) to the FM analog broadcast. But an HD2/3 that falls below the decodable threshold goes away entirely. For television, this is fine, because there really isn't an on-the-go audience for broadcast TV, but HD2/3 uptake in cars will suffer from this.

But actually, I bought this because it's the cheapest HD radio on the market. For $53.48 (incl. tax), I'm now listening to HD radio, and the HD audience just went up by one.

Incidentally, I went to the cafeteria on the first floor for lunch, and in the windowed dining room (which actually faces south, away from NYC) kept getting K-Rock. Choppy, but once I settled down to eat, it was solid - and quite the topic of discussion at the lunch table, where it was generally regarded as pretty cool.

Back up at the office, I've reoriented the earbuds that serve as the antenna and now at least get 90.5 and 94.3, but not in HD; the NYC signals are unstoppable now, though.

 

[KB1OKL]

Isn't the point of a portable receiver that you are able to walk around with it while listening to it rather than having to walk around to find a place you can SIT with it and listen? ;D

 

[TheBigA]

Hey BigA: okay, okay, I'll rephrase.

"If this is a tacit admission HD proponents are turning their backs on AM-HD

All that can be said about this is a certain manufacturer and retailer has built and released and FM only portable. I imagine the "HD proponants" are disappointed that it doesn't contain AM, but truthfully there's not much they can do. But one could just as easily say that this is a tacit admission that AM is dead (not just AM HD), and all viable programming will now move to FM.

 

[hubcity]

Isn't the point of a portable receiver that you are able to walk around with it while listening to it rather than having to walk around to find a place you can SIT with it and listen? ;D

If you're local to the stations you're trying to hear, yes. If you're DXing, no. And since this isn't just my portable HD radio, it's my *only* HD radio, I DX with it.

This morning, while DXing with the Insignia, I successfully pulled in WSTW-HD2 ("Graffiti Radio, Delaware's Only Alternative", which I think I believe) for about two minutes (let's say 9:40-9:42 am EDT) while sitting in my bedroom in Freehold, NJ. (That's 71.06 miles, per Google Earth, at least to WSTW's offices; not sure where the transmitter is.) Is that good?

 

[KB1OKL]

Isn't the point of a portable receiver that you are able to walk around with it while listening to it rather than having to walk around to find a place you can SIT with it and listen? ;D

If you're local to the stations you're trying to hear, yes. If you're DXing, no. And since this isn't just my portable HD radio, it's my *only* HD radio, I DX with it.

This morning, while DXing with the Insignia, I successfully pulled in WSTW-HD2 ("Graffiti Radio, Delaware's Only Alternative", which I think I believe) for about two minutes (let's say 9:40-9:42 am EDT) while sitting in my bedroom in Freehold, NJ. (That's 71.06 miles, per Google Earth, at least to WSTW's offices; not sure where the transmitter is.) Is that good?

Well I think Marconi beat your 71 mile record by a few thousand miles in 1901 ;D

 

[TheBigA]

Well I think Marconi beat your 71 mile record by a few thousand miles in 1901 ;D

Really? With FM? Before it was invented?

Repeat after me: This is an FM-only radio.

 

[Play Freebird]

This morning, while DXing with the Insignia, I successfully pulled in WSTW-HD2 ("Graffiti Radio, Delaware's Only Alternative", which I think I believe) for about two minutes (let's say 9:40-9:42 am EDT) while sitting in my bedroom in Freehold, NJ. (That's 71.06 miles, per Google Earth, at least to WSTW's offices; not sure where the transmitter is.) Is that good?

You should notify the owners of WSTW, who think the station's current digital coverage is "less than satisfactory" and have asked for a 10 dB boost:

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520223004

If WSTW does get a digital power increase, this won't be so good for people in the Freehold area who enjoy WNYC-FM (which transmits on the first-adjacent channel). As I'm sure you know, "tropo skip" and "ducting" occur frequently this time of year in that part of NJ. 2.5 kW of digital noise from Wilmington could wreak havoc on WNYC-FM's 5.4 kW FM signal under those conditions.

 

[BRNout]

If WSTW does get a digital power increase, this won't be so good for people in the Freehold area who enjoy WNYC-FM (which transmits on the first-adjacent channel). As I'm sure you know, "tropo skip" and "ducting" occur frequently this time of year in that part of NJ. 2.5 kW of digital noise from Wilmington could wreak havoc on WNYC-FM's 5.4 kW FM signal under those conditions.

And tropo skip was almost certainly how he "dxed" WSTW HD-2. That's well beyond the normal signal sensitivity of that radio on a typical day. My experience (described on another thread) is that you need a pretty strong analog signal to decode. You're absolutely right, if it's strong enough to decode the HD2, it's strong enough to interfere with WNYC's signal in that area.

 

[hubcity]

If WSTW does get a digital power increase, this won't be so good for people in the Freehold area who enjoy WNYC-FM (which transmits on the first-adjacent channel). As I'm sure you know, "tropo skip" and "ducting" occur frequently this time of year in that part of NJ. 2.5 kW of digital noise from Wilmington could wreak havoc on WNYC-FM's 5.4 kW FM signal under those conditions.

And tropo skip was almost certainly how he "dxed" WSTW HD-2. That's well beyond the normal signal sensitivity of that radio on a typical day. My experience (described on another thread) is that you need a pretty strong analog signal to decode. You're absolutely right, if it's strong enough to decode the HD2, it's strong enough to interfere with WNYC's signal in that area.

Well, I didn't say I was an *experienced* DX-er, so actually didn't know that was when I might see tropo skip - interesting.

Got HD3 from WNYC soon afterward (yes, I was tuning upward) though I don't know how bad it might have gotten while I was tuning in WSTW.

Still can't say I'm entirely pleased with the portability of the portable, that much is true. Got about four hours of listening today with the screen left on full-blast (eh, just testing limits.) I'll see how well it does with the ten-second setting (and relatively frequent tuning) once it charges up...

 

[XavierRenegade]

I was listening to ABC news early Friday Morning and they made a mention of this new $50 HD radio. Had a little story about the radio which nice. I had though before of getting a HD radio since if you don't want to have to pay for satellite radio it is an alternative. Not as much choice but it should be OK. Before this radio all you had was some coby portable for $100 and others which I felt were too expensive. They have to make these cheap enough that people might actually buy one.

This radio doesn't receive AM but in Los Angeles there are FM HD channels for KABC and KNX. If the signal is good enough I could listen to News and Dodgers Games. If I can receive these HD channels OK then not having AM won't be a problem.

 

[KB1OKL]

I was listening to ABC news early Friday Morning and they made a mention of this new $50 HD radio. Had a little story about the radio which nice. I had though before of getting a HD radio since if you don't want to have to pay for satellite radio it is an alternative. Not as much choice but it should be OK. Before this radio all you had was some coby portable for $100 and others which I felt were too expensive. They have to make these cheap enough that people might actually buy one.

This radio doesn't receive AM but in Los Angeles there are FM HD channels for KABC and KNX. If the signal is good enough I could listen to News and Dodgers Games. If I can receive these HD channels OK then not having AM won't be a problem.

There was a story on ABC news about this radio? Unbelievable. How far will the HD pushers go to push this junk onto an almost completely apathetic to digital radio public? I heard 60 minutes was going to do a segment this Sunday night on it, is that true? If so, I wonder if they'll mention head lice?

 

[TheBigA]

I heard 60 minutes was going to do a segment this Sunday night on it, is that true? If so, I wonder if they'll mention head lice?

60 Minutes this Sunday will be dedicated to Walter Cronkite.

 

[KB1OKL]

Walter Cronkite RIP was a ham with a Technician's license. I guess he never upgraded because he only wanted a license for his boat in case of bad weather.

 

[clone]

I had though before of getting a HD radio since if you don't want to have to pay for satellite radio it is an alternative.
...
This radio doesn't receive AM but in Los Angeles there are FM HD channels for KABC and KNX. If the signal is good enough I could listen to News and Dodgers Games. If I can receive these HD channels OK then not having AM won't be a problem.

In every single one of your posts, you have managed to shill either for HD, KNX, KROQ-HD2, or Pride Radio. I don't care, I'm just sayin....

 

[XavierRenegade]

I had though before of getting a HD radio since if you don't want to have to pay for satellite radio it is an alternative.
...
This radio doesn't receive AM but in Los Angeles there are FM HD channels for KABC and KNX. If the signal is good enough I could listen to News and Dodgers Games. If I can receive these HD channels OK then not having AM won't be a problem.

In every single one of your posts, you have managed to shill either for HD, KNX, KROQ-HD2, or Pride Radio. I don't care, I'm just sayin....

I don't know what the say. I would want a radio that receives both AM and FM. If it only recieves FM I can deal with it as some of the AM stations have an HD station on FM radio. I would like the radio to have AM but since it is an HD radio I could technically still get a few of the AM stations. I talk about KROQ-HD2 because I like a lot of 80's music. I sometimes listen to it online.

I talk about pride radio because I thought it was a station with a lot of dance music. Pride radio seemed to me one of the few HD stations I would actually want to listen to and a reason to get a HD radio. I know you can download it to your I-phone so you can listen to pride and other stations like that but why would anyone use their I-Phone to listen to a radio station.