BMW owners having fun with IBOC radios

[KB1OKL]

From the Just as Predicted and Right on Time file:

Some BMW owners seem to be having problems with their IBOC radios becoming "choppy" Jeez, I wonder what the problem really is?



"For those of you with HD Radios, for the last week or so, when the HD signal kicks in,
the output is very choppy. This is true for all stations, AM or FM. Attached is an mp3 file which explain"

"I have been experiencing the same problem as well.... but no idea where the issue lies."

"this same problem just started today for me as well, anyone has any thoughts what is happening? regular radio works fine, its just when i switch on HD, it gets all choppy"

"did you ever fix your HD issue or figure out whats wrong with it? I been meaning to go to the dealer but i dont have the time right now"

"Dealer could not fix. Submitted a PUMA case."

"any update from the dealer? my hd radio stop working all together now, it won't even go into that mode anymore, it just plain non-hd radio even with the check box checked."

Hmmm, I wonder if this smart person figured it out?:

"Negative. It's still going in & out.. I'm starting to wonder if it's a signal/dead zone thing."

whole thread at:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6457376

 

[radioskeptic]

So how long will it take BMW to wise up and stop putting that trash technology in their dashboards?

Do we have to wait until their corporate headquarters finds out how much time its taking at the dealers' service departments -- time that's under the new car warranty, so that BMW has to eat the expense?

 

[DarkStarPDX]

I would agree that if the radio isn't blending the signal properly with the analog signal, they need to fix the issue. With HD2 stations, they should do a better job of fading to silence instead of chopping to dead air... Also, I'm not sure what kind of signal indicators they are using, but anything would be better than three stupid bars...

 

[Savage]

As of late 2008, Jaguar had concluded that HD was more trouble than it was worth, and yanked IBOC from the entertainment options with a no-charge dealer retrofit of analog-only radios. Something about people plunking down $80K - $90K for a new car wanted radios that didn't mute, flip, stutter and generally annoy their well-heeled owners.

Last fall Ford sold Jag and Land Rover/Range Rover to TATA of India, the new owner evidently being susceptible to the iBiquity lobby which persuaded them that the vaunted digital power increase was going to fix everything HD. HD radio was back in the audio entertainment package as of fourth quarter.

Another ex-Ford division, Volvo, has been sold to a Chinese company (in principle.) It will be interesting to see if HD stays in BMW, Volvo, Jag and Rover. (Owners expect perfect performance in every feature in these pricey marques, not that you could blame them. It's hard to imagine Beamer, for one, putting up with the driver ill-will and dealer gripes about these radio problems for very long. HD woes will start to redound upon the overall image of the brand to its great detriment.)

My money says: Look for it all to start unraveling in a year or less.

 

[ddsparxx]

I would think that many BMW owners would be too busy having fun driving their Bimmers. (Almost considered buying a previous CPO generation 5-series several years ago)

 

[landtuna]

Not that this radio crowd could afford one ;D but just to clarify:

Beemer = BMW motorcycle
Bimmer = BMW car

Nobody but a "well heeled" owner calls their ride a "BMW". ;D

Maybe someone should post a link to this board so those "well heeled" HD Radio (TM) owners can save themselves a lot of aggravation.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

I think the real solution would be for the radios to first land on analog regardless. The HD radio indicator could show it's available. If they hit an HD button it could go to HD-1 (with analog fallback) then HD-2 then HD-3 etc. the minute they move over to another station it should go back to analog. Another words it WILL do HD, but you have to try to go there. That way the rich boys would have the ability and bragging rights without the hell HD radio creates.

 

[davideduardo]

So how long will it take BMW to wise up and stop putting that trash technology in their dashboards?

Do we have to wait until their corporate headquarters finds out how much time its taking at the dealers' service departments -- time that's under the new car warranty, so that BMW has to eat the expense?

I have a factory BMW HD radio, and have never experienced any problems. I did go through several satellite modues... the repair was a while you wait exchange of a plug in card assembly. It takes little time.

 

[davideduardo]

Nobody but a "well heeled" owner calls their ride a "BMW". ;D

Except in movies and TV, I have never heard an acutal BMW owner call their car anthing but a BMW.

 

[HowardMBurgers]

Not that this radio crowd could afford one ;D but just to clarify:

Beemer = BMW motorcycle
Bimmer = BMW car

Nobody but a "well heeled" owner calls their ride a "BMW". ;D

Maybe someone should post a link to this board so those "well heeled" HD Radio (TM) owners can save themselves a lot of aggravation.

I drive a BMW M5, and have never called it a 'Beemer'. Using your theory, Porsche owners call their cars 'Porshee', or Jaguar owners call their cars 'Jag-wire'. I would argue that those who don't, or have no plans to own these brands of cars would call them a bastardized name, not someone who actually owns one.

My B..M..W, has the HD option included, to which I frequently listen to the HD2 music on WAMU-FM here in the Washington D.C. area. I've not been unhappy with the performance of the HD radio, nor have been all that thrilled either. It seems to work fine for my use, to which I can listen to the WAMU HD2 broadcast all the way to Richmond, VA., which is about 95 miles from where I work near Washington.

Now before Bob jumps on me launching into how I'm an HD proponent, this is merely my real-world observation of the performance of the HD radio in my BMW, not intended as an endorsement either way.

 

[landtuna]

Nobody but a "well heeled" owner calls their ride a "BMW". ;D

Except in movies and TV, I have never heard an acutal BMW owner call their car anthing but a BMW.

Isn't that what I said?

 

[landtuna]

I drive a BMW M5, and have never called it a 'Beemer'.

Yes, you call it a BMW. Exactly what I said.

 

[Tom Wells]

BMW strikes me as the kind of car that equals the level of engineering and production excellence that I appreciate in my 1960's
and early 70's Chrysler corp. cars. They >know< what their cars should look like, and are willing to spend a little more to
build in reliability. All german cars suit me as a tall person...as opposed to Asian or cheaper US models, which do not accomodate my limbs.
It suprises me that BMW would be the one to bite on this option. I recall the pressman I met about 2yrs ago and he had some kind of new
Mercedes $$ car,.... If I recall, he didn't pick the available HD, and the analog response of the otherwise top-of-the line LCD screen receiver
on AM was the cynical 2500 hz mud. FM good. As cynical is the lack of an obivious,easy force analog option.
But I recognize their reluctance to give any less reason for the system to be seen as not workng.

 

[landtuna]

I'm wondering what drove BMW to put HD radios in their vehicles?

Did the product engineer(s) decide that their (presumed) high-tech cars needed also to have the latest high-tech audio?

Or perhaps it was BMW's customers who heard about HD radio and had to have the latest techo-gadget?

Or maybe it was that famous corporate philosophy that says "we are the tech leader so we must provide the state of the art tech appliances".

Several weeks ago I went window-shopping at a "luxury brand" dealer. When the salesman pointed out the satellite radio (with 'free' six-month subscription) I asked if that feature could be deleted since I never listen to sat radio. He was positively aghast! "How could anyone not want every possible feature we build into these fine vehicles?" (or something to that effect). When I told him I hadn't gotten around to buying an HD-capable TV yet either he said something about an emergency phone call and I never saw him again.

I guess, if I'm going to impress others, I need to pin a copy of my bank statement to my shirt because the car I drive sure ain't gonna do it. ;D

 

[HowardMBurgers]

BMW strikes me as the kind of car that equals the level of engineering and production excellence that I appreciate in my 1960's
and early 70's Chrysler corp. cars. They >know< what their cars should look like, and are willing to spend a little more to
build in reliability. All german cars suit me as a tall person...as opposed to Asian or cheaper US models, which do not accomodate my limbs.
It suprises me that BMW would be the one to bite on this option. I recall the pressman I met about 2yrs ago and he had some kind of new
Mercedes $$ car,.... If I recall, he didn't pick the available HD, and the analog response of the otherwise top-of-the line LCD screen receiver
on AM was the cynical 2500 hz mud. FM good. As cynical is the lack of an obivious,easy force analog option.
But I recognize their reluctance to give any less reason for the system to be seen as not workng.

I didn't order the HD Radio option, it came in the AM/FM/CD 6-disc system in my M5. I actually stumbled across the HD feature when going through the owners manual for the entertainment/nav system. There aren't any AM HD stations in the area near home or work to evaluate with the radio, so I just sample what I can when traveling to my vacation home and alike. So far in my experience, the FM-HD seems to pretty much equal the receivable analog signal, but this is pretty flat country around here. I imagine that terrain could play a larger role in reducing the IBOC digital coverage over what I've experienced.

It's interesting too, that some co-located radio stations are better in receiveable distance than another. I suspect it has something to do with operating frequency, group delay, carrier noise and other factors between stations.