HD Clock Radio

[crimewatcher]

I need a new dual alarm clock radio and would like to get one with HD.

Needless to say, a descent brand name with good sound ;D

Ideally, I would like these features in a clock radio:
HD Radio
Dual alarm
Battery backup
Easy to read display
Input for flash drive
Sleep timer (fall asleep to either radio or flash drive)
Wake up to alarm, radio or flash drive

 

[Tom Wells]

Are you looking for a real clock with a dial and hands, or one of those things where you hafta read numbers?

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I need a new dual alarm clock radio and would like to get one with HD.

Needless to say, a descent brand name with good sound ;D

Ideally, I would like these features in a clock radio:
HD Radio
Dual alarm
Battery backup
Easy to read display
Input for flash drive
Sleep timer (fall asleep to either radio or flash drive)
Wake up to alarm, radio or flash drive

The only way I can think to accomplish most of this is --

(1) Buy an HD car aftermarket radio - Pioneer is going to give you good reception, has USB flash drive inputs, you can program the display any way you want, the display is pretty easy to read. As long as you don't lose the "always on" power, it will remember to come on radio or flash.
(2) Buy a pair of bookshelf speakers.
(3) Buy a 12V power supply.
(4) Buy an antenna designed for cars.
(5) Buy a Christmas light timer to set the "on" time. If you get the digital one, I think you can have two "on" times.
(6) Do a bit of carpentry to put it all in a box that looks good.

That, I think, will do everything but sleep timer. Of course it is a lot of effort and will be a bit larger than a clock radio, but the number of HD radios on the market is, well, shockingly limited. That isn't going to change until there is mass consumer demand for HD radios, which hasn't happened yet. Considering the amount of time broadcasters have already been trying, I am not confident it ever will. But - for those few of us who care about HD formats you can't get over the air - the steps above will do the trick. But this is really turning into a DX'er only, hobbyist only, enthusiast only niche technology similar to AM stereo.

 

[crimewatcher]

I need a new dual alarm clock radio and would like to get one with HD.

Needless to say, a descent brand name with good sound ;D

Ideally, I would like these features in a clock radio:
HD Radio
Dual alarm
Battery backup
Easy to read display
Input for flash drive
Sleep timer (fall asleep to either radio or flash drive)
Wake up to alarm, radio or flash drive

The only way I can think to accomplish most of this is --

(1) Buy an HD car aftermarket radio - Pioneer is going to give you good reception, has USB flash drive inputs, you can program the display any way you want, the display is pretty easy to read. As long as you don't lose the "always on" power, it will remember to come on radio or flash.
(2) Buy a pair of bookshelf speakers.
(3) Buy a 12V power supply.
(4) Buy an antenna designed for cars.
(5) Buy a Christmas light timer to set the "on" time. If you get the digital one, I think you can have two "on" times.
(6) Do a bit of carpentry to put it all in a box that looks good.

That, I think, will do everything but sleep timer. Of course it is a lot of effort and will be a bit larger than a clock radio, but the number of HD radios on the market is, well, shockingly limited. That isn't going to change until there is mass consumer demand for HD radios, which hasn't happened yet. Considering the amount of time broadcasters have already been trying, I am not confident it ever will. But - for those few of us who care about HD formats you can't get over the air - the steps above will do the trick. But this is really turning into a DX'er only, hobbyist only, enthusiast only niche technology similar to AM stereo.

Shocked me when there wasn't even an expensive clock radio on the market like this. The HD car radio with flash drive input was what got me started looking in the 1st places. After I couldn't find the one I described on the net, asked around at some electronics stores and the idea did raise some eyebrows - some wondered why there wasn't anything like that. Needless to say, the electronics are already on the market and all they need to do is add a sleep timer, larger clock display, stick it in a box with speakers and they got a whole new product.


Thanks for the reply!!

 

[KB1OKL]

I need a new dual alarm clock radio and would like to get one with HD.

Needless to say, a descent brand name with good sound ;D

Ideally, I would like these features in a clock radio:
HD Radio
Dual alarm
Battery backup
Easy to read display
Input for flash drive
Sleep timer (fall asleep to either radio or flash drive)
Wake up to alarm, radio or flash drive

The only way I can think to accomplish most of this is --

(1) Buy an HD car aftermarket radio - Pioneer is going to give you good reception, has USB flash drive inputs, you can program the display any way you want, the display is pretty easy to read. As long as you don't lose the "always on" power, it will remember to come on radio or flash.
(2) Buy a pair of bookshelf speakers.
(3) Buy a 12V power supply.
(4) Buy an antenna designed for cars.
(5) Buy a Christmas light timer to set the "on" time. If you get the digital one, I think you can have two "on" times.
(6) Do a bit of carpentry to put it all in a box that looks good.

That, I think, will do everything but sleep timer. Of course it is a lot of effort and will be a bit larger than a clock radio, but the number of HD radios on the market is, well, shockingly limited. That isn't going to change until there is mass consumer demand for HD radios, which hasn't happened yet. Considering the amount of time broadcasters have already been trying, I am not confident it ever will. But - for those few of us who care about HD formats you can't get over the air - the steps above will do the trick. But this is really turning into a DX'er only, hobbyist only, enthusiast only niche technology similar to AM stereo.

Shocked me when there wasn't even an expensive clock radio on the market like this. The HD car radio with flash drive input was what got me started looking in the 1st places. After I couldn't find the one I described on the net, asked around at some electronics stores and the idea did raise some eyebrows - some wondered why there wasn't anything like that. Needless to say, the electronics are already on the market and all they need to do is add a sleep timer, larger clock display, stick it in a box with speakers and they got a whole new product.


Thanks for the reply!!

Don't forget to put the Yagi antenna on your roof so it reliably wakes you up. I would definitely not try to depend on an HD radio to wake me up in the morning.

 

[crimewatcher]

I need a new dual alarm clock radio and would like to get one with HD.

Needless to say, a descent brand name with good sound ;D

Ideally, I would like these features in a clock radio:
HD Radio
Dual alarm
Battery backup
Easy to read display
Input for flash drive
Sleep timer (fall asleep to either radio or flash drive)
Wake up to alarm, radio or flash drive

The only way I can think to accomplish most of this is --

(1) Buy an HD car aftermarket radio - Pioneer is going to give you good reception, has USB flash drive inputs, you can program the display any way you want, the display is pretty easy to read. As long as you don't lose the "always on" power, it will remember to come on radio or flash.
(2) Buy a pair of bookshelf speakers.
(3) Buy a 12V power supply.
(4) Buy an antenna designed for cars.
(5) Buy a Christmas light timer to set the "on" time. If you get the digital one, I think you can have two "on" times.
(6) Do a bit of carpentry to put it all in a box that looks good.

That, I think, will do everything but sleep timer. Of course it is a lot of effort and will be a bit larger than a clock radio, but the number of HD radios on the market is, well, shockingly limited. That isn't going to change until there is mass consumer demand for HD radios, which hasn't happened yet. Considering the amount of time broadcasters have already been trying, I am not confident it ever will. But - for those few of us who care about HD formats you can't get over the air - the steps above will do the trick. But this is really turning into a DX'er only, hobbyist only, enthusiast only niche technology similar to AM stereo.

Shocked me when there wasn't even an expensive clock radio on the market like this. The HD car radio with flash drive input was what got me started looking in the 1st places. After I couldn't find the one I described on the net, asked around at some electronics stores and the idea did raise some eyebrows - some wondered why there wasn't anything like that. Needless to say, the electronics are already on the market and all they need to do is add a sleep timer, larger clock display, stick it in a box with speakers and they got a whole new product.


Thanks for the reply!!

Don't forget to put the Yagi antenna on your roof so it reliably wakes you up. I would definitely not try to depend on an HD radio to wake me up in the morning.

That's why I want a wake up to flash drive

 

[crimewatcher]

Are you looking for a real clock with a dial and hands, or one of those things where you hafta read numbers?

Either style for me but wifey wants the digits.

 

[nd2023]

Boss: Why are you late for work?
You: I set my clock radio to wake me up to 97.5-HD2 and 97.5's HD transmitter was off. (there was a temperature inversion, there was e-skip, there's a pirate station on 97.7, the HD2 was playing dead air, and many other reasons for the HD2 to be silent)

I can guarantee that someone will set it to wake up to an HD2, and knowing the reliability of HD reception, the alarm will be silent one day. This is why they won't make HD clock radios, they will get bad reviews. Clock radios tend to be the worst quality radios, so they won't even get good HD reception.

You just want a clock radio to wake up to MP3s, not HD radio. There are many of those on the market that let you wake up to an MP3 player.

 

[crimewatcher]

Boss: Why are you late for work?
You: I set my clock radio to wake me up to 97.5-HD2 and 97.5's HD transmitter was off. (there was a temperature inversion, there was e-skip, there's a pirate station on 97.7, the HD2 was playing dead air, and many other reasons for the HD2 to be silent)

I can guarantee that someone will set it to wake up to an HD2, and knowing the reliability of HD reception, the alarm will be silent one day. This is why they won't make HD clock radios, they will get bad reviews. Clock radios tend to be the worst quality radios, so they won't even get good HD reception.

You just want a clock radio to wake up to MP3s, not HD radio. There are many of those on the market that let you wake up to an MP3 player.

Thankfully, I'm retired and don't use an alarm clock that often. We like the sleep timer to fall asleep to music. The NPR station has their original FM station which is a mix of their 3 HD channels (Classical, News and Folk). Overnight weekdays, classical is aired on the regular station. Overnight weekends, they play folk. I like some folk music but not to fall asleep to (thus the MP3 and/or flash drive "requirement"). I know this the proverbial cake and eat it too thing but agree with you about the reception and other issues you mentioned!

The computer is hooked up to my Yamaha HTR and I should run speaker wire from the into the bedroom and play a CD or MP3's for a sleep timer then get software for an alarm clock.

Looking at bookshelf systems also.

Thanks!

 

[KB1OKL]

I've had a Bose Wave radio for about 10 years, I like it because the volume starts on 0 and gently increases up to full when it goes off and doesn't blast me out of bed. It sounds good too.

 

[Ai4i]

...the volume starts on 0 and gently increases up to full when it goes off...

Let me get this right: the radio is ON at zero volume, then it goes OFF and fades up to full ???
Juuuust kidding - I know what you meant, but why do people talk about alarms going OFF anyway ???

 

[crimewatcher]

I've had a Bose Wave radio for about 10 years, I like it because the volume starts on 0 and gently increases up to full when it goes off and doesn't blast me out of bed. It sounds good too.

Best sounding clock radio around - my parents had one. Bose doesn't make any HD radios.

 

[Torgo Johnson]

The only HD alarm clock radio I could find is the ILuv i168 and they are apparently not being produced anymore as the only ones I could find were on Ebay.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=207921428 (Not currently available)

It does not have some of the features you are looking for.

Dual alarm (YES)
Battery backup (NO)
Easy to read display (NO, the display is difficult to see from some angles, which actually works for me because I have to get up a little just to see the display)
Input for flash drive (NO)
Sleep timer (fall asleep to either radio or flash drive) (YES, but radio only)
Wake up to alarm, radio or flash drive (YES, but radio only)

 

[crimewatcher]

The only HD alarm clock radio I could find is the ILuv i168 and they are apparently not being produced anymore as the only ones I could find were on Ebay.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=207921428 (Not currently available)

It does not have some of the features you are looking for.

Dual alarm (YES)
Battery backup (NO)
Easy to read display (NO, the display is difficult to see from some angles, which actually works for me because I have to get up a little just to see the display)
Input for flash drive (NO)
Sleep timer (fall asleep to either radio or flash drive) (YES, but radio only)
Wake up to alarm, radio or flash drive (YES, but radio only)

Thanks!!

 

[KB1OKL]

...the volume starts on 0 and gently increases up to full when it goes off...

Let me get this right: the radio is ON at zero volume, then it goes OFF and fades up to full ???
Juuuust kidding - I know what you meant, but why do people talk about alarms going OFF anyway ???

Goes up to the full volume setting, I usually have mine set to about 50 out of 100 (I think).

I say goes off because the old alarm clocks were like bombs going off, I hated getting blasted out of bed. The whole selling point of the Bose besides the sound and CD player for me was the gentle fade up.

 

[Tom Wells]

As much as I love radio, I've personally always been annoyed by clock radios.

I'm especially annoyed at beeper-type alarms, snooze-alarms, and fade-up alarms of all types.

I have mostly used 1930's vintage Westclox Baby Ben wind-ups because the ticking was almost inaudible.

Currently I am using a "new" but 1930s-looking quartz analog alarm that I bought in Japan about 2005.
It's also very quiet on the ticking and has a metal bell rung by a clapper. No snooze alarm.

 

[crimewatcher]

As much as I love radio, I've personally always been annoyed by clock radios.

I'm especially annoyed at beeper-type alarms, snooze-alarms, and fade-up alarms of all types.

I have mostly used 1930's vintage Westclox Baby Ben wind-ups because the ticking was almost inaudible.

Currently I am using a "new" but 1930s-looking quartz analog alarm that I bought in Japan about 2005.
It's also very quiet on the ticking and has a metal bell rung by a clapper. No snooze alarm.

Agreed! Wish they made one where the ticking was optional. I like the rhythmic ticking sometimes. Wonder if anyone ever put this option in any of the newer "sounds of nature" clock radios.

 

[Ai4i]

I like the rhythmic ticking sometimes. Wonder if anyone ever put this option in any of the newer "sounds of nature" clock radios.

My ex was crazy had issues and would go to sleep with an analogue TV on a vacant channel for the hiss. :
I persuaded her to use an FM radio between stations and reduce "my" power bill.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

I like the rhythmic ticking sometimes. Wonder if anyone ever put this option in any of the newer "sounds of nature" clock radios.

My ex was crazy had issues and would go to sleep with an analogue TV on a vacant channel for the hiss. :
I persuaded her to use an FM radio between stations and reduce "my" power bill.

I frequently use a weak analog AM station, often Disney on 1110 that's 112 miles from me that sends 2 kW ERP toward me at night (at sunrise it would make a good alarm clock as it steps up to 80 kW ERP toward me). Sometimes I'll use a Nostalgia-formatted GY on 1400 about 250+ miles away or another about 350+ miles away (with the expected co-channel competition). Another choice is a Christian station on 1280, whose 1 kW hails from about 103 miles distant.

I prefer using stations that are fairly weak (ranging from barely detectable to just strong enough to stop a scan, although skywave fading will usually take it out of that range), not having their own skywave/groundwave cancellation, and fairly free of adjacent-channel splatter. Occasional transients are permissible from adjacents, as well as chatter from strong locals several channels away, and co-channel interference from other stations (for example the graveyards mentioned above).

FM probably wouldn't work too well for me. I prefer the sound characteristics of weak-signal AM reception as opposed to weak FM signals.

 

[nd2023]

In the summer I sometimes like falling asleep to my DX radio on an empty FM station with the antenna hooked up. That way, if there's an e-skip opening, it'll wake me up.