How can I improve my HD Reception?

[FreestylePete]

So what would you recommend i do? Keep my radio or return it to the store and wait till technology improves.

 

[PocketRadio]

So what would you recommend i do? Keep my radio or return it to the store and wait till technology improves.

Since hardware-enabled subscription-based HD Radio is due out this Fall, if you want to go that route you might be out-of-luck, if your keep your HD Radio. I wonder, how much of a problem this is going to be, if new hardware is periodically added that can't be upgraded with software downloads from the Internet.

 

[calstymes]

radiopilot thusly spake:

So basically.. what everyone is saying is that analog signals have no trouble getting to the analog radios the original poster indicates he gets till he bought an HD radio and being very close to stations in NYC broadcasting HD cannot recieve them?

I have been talking about this problem specifically in NYC and as it pertains to AM stations for nearly a year now. The BA Receptors were dogs and I'm stuck with two of them that are "bad". And yes, on the advice of R.F. Burns (or whatever moniker he was using at the time) I returned them both to BA for "repair". One needed to have its brains unscrambled and the other was deemed by the factory to already be working fine and needing no adjustment.

They still don't work worth a damn. And they aren't even heavy enough to use for doorstops!

FreestylePete then queried:

So what would you recommend i do? Keep my radio or return it to the store and wait till technology improves.

Technology improves? You mean wait until the IBOC technology "improves"? Right. Uh huh. Yep.

Don't hold your breath.

In the words of the original Star Trek's chief engineer, "You can't change the laws of physics!".

I would run (don't walk) back to the store and retrieve your hard earned dollars. Spend them on something you actually might enjoy using.

 

[Mike Walker]

"Hardware based subscription HD is due out in the fall"....

The CAPABILITY is "due out in the fall". HD isn't "going subscription"! It's a freakin' FREE SERVICE, and will remain so. SOME STATIONS in SOME SITUATIONS will offer SOME NARROWCAST, SPECIFIC PROGRAMMING on a pay basis...NOT INSTEAD OF free HD multicast programming, but IN ADDITION TO IT! The expanded hybrid mode allows extra bandwidth...so who's to blame stations for looking to ways to monetize the new technology? Pay services are only one, NARROW part of that! GEEZ! Not a single HD radio will become obsolete. At least not one made after the advent of multicasting (a price people pay for adopting technology TOO early...like before the standard is in place. NOW IT IS!)

 

[Mike Walker]

Chuck's right (of course, he usually is as I have learned). Of course buildings attenuate ALL radio signals. In urban areas this may not matter that much, because the signals are so damn strong to begin with. But in suburban or rural areas, this attenuation can become so severe that not enough usable signal penetrates. With analog reception this can result in a noisy signal, or one that's not strong enough for clean stereo. With digital it can mean no lock. Wait...that's what I ALREADY POINTED OUT! Nevermind.

 

[FreestylePete]

Well i hate to say it but if i cant recieve the HD signals and i tried everything since saturday nite then HD radio is doomed. I am a stones throw away from the boarder from NYC and cant get a damn station. Forget even the long island stations cause that is a joke to. I really wanted for HD to be a success cause of the multiple stations but unless the radios or technology improves the general public wont settle for this stuff with roof top antennas and crap like that.

 

[radiopilot]

Well i hate to say it but if i cant recieve the HD signals and i tried everything since saturday nite then HD radio is doomed. I am a stones throw away from the boarder from NYC and cant get a damn station. Forget even the long island stations cause that is a joke to. I really wanted for HD to be a success cause of the multiple stations but unless the radios or technology improves the general public wont settle for this stuff with roof top antennas and crap like that.

Freestyle,

While unfortunate your purchase and willingness to embrace a new technology deemed a worthy effort, your posting your results after due diligence on getting this product to work is good for these boards as it proves that you are neither in the 'radio' business and therefore not inclined to lean to the HD bias being spewed here...

I hope that you try a little harder to 'try' to get it to work in whatever fashion a typical consumer would have to do in order to get the HD broadcasts without resorting to getting a 'full fledge antenna consulting company to do evaluations and studies worth thousands of dollars' to get a $150 HD radio to work.

Radiopilot

 

[Mike Walker]

You've "tried everything"? What have you tried? Moving the antenna to a new location? A higher gain antenna? What EXACTLY have you tried? I get HD from 80 miles out with an indoor antenna. There's something SPECIFIC about your location that's causing problems. Unfortunately proximity to a radio or tv tower doesn't guarantee good reception. Multipath, signal attenuation from buildings, proximity to computer equipment, flourescent lights, light dimmers, and a multitude of other things CAN impede reception.

Tried over the air TV reception? Connect a pair of rabbit ears to your tv (another rabbit "takes one for the team!") and see if you don't get severe ghosting, or a very weak signal. VHF tv and FM are in the same band (FM is between channels 6 and 7). If you're having trouble getting HD, my guess is you'll either have severe ghosting or lots of snow. If so, YOUR LOCATION IS CAUSING SEVERE PROBLEMS!

HD can go extreme distances. It DOES. So does analog radio. But that doesn't mean there aren't conditions where you can be a stone's throw away from a tower and have problems. There are. Over-the-air, analog and digital, is imperfect. I had trouble getting wi-fi coverage of my whole house...and it ain't a huge house. I moved my wireless router to a higher shelf. Problem solved.

At my house I have a Magnum Dynalab SR100 antenna (30 bucks from Audio Advisor) on the top shelf of my closet, with the elements just touching the ceiling...closest thing I could get to a roof installation...without climbing on the roof (not advisable for a legally blind person). It works like a charm. Get a 50 foot extension cable, and move the freakin' antenna around! When you find where it works best, hide the antenna and cable. Can you place your antenna OUTSIDE? That ought to work considerably better. Grove Enterprises sells an adapter that allows cable runs through almost any window. It's so thin you can just close the window on it with no damage...making it possible to use an outdoor antenna without drilling holes for cable. There are a myriad of possibilities, including many I haven't thought of. You're obviously one of those people who will have to experiment some, and use your imagination to get reception...just as some do with analog radio or tv, or satellite. I can't use XM in some rooms of my home, but in others it works great.

Just a few random ideas...not necessarily better than your own. You just have to ask yourself, how badly do you want it? DON'T assume your experiences are typical. MOST PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO GET HD WITH LITTLE TROUBLE!

 

[FreestylePete]

I tried most of the suggestions thats was told to me except buy the yagi antenna. I even purchased a Terk PI Amplified antenna from circuit city and that was a bust and I am even willing to buy another radio so I am not sour on the concept. But to be realistic this HD Radio concept wont work if a large number of people cant get it set up so easy or at all. My problem might only be with me but i did know it work great a few towns away in my parants house when i first tried my reciever. I tried every single room and having the antennas out on my terrace and even hanging out my bedroom and kitchen windows with no luck. To say i havent tried to get it to work would be a joke cause i have been trying this saturday night. I know most consumers wont go this far to get a radio to work.

 

[calstymes]

FreestylePete lamented:

I tried most of the suggestions thats was told to me except buy the yagi antenna. I even purchased a Terk PI Amplified antenna from circuit city and that was a bust and I am even willing to buy another radio so I am not sour on the concept. But to be realistic this HD Radio concept wont work if a large number of people cant get it set up so easy or at all. My problem might only be with me but i did know it work great a few towns away in my parants house when i first tried my reciever. I tried every single room and having the antennas out on my terrace and even hanging out my bedroom and kitchen windows with no luck. To say i havent tried to get it to work would be a joke cause i have been trying this saturday night. I know most consumers wont go this far to get a radio to work.

Yep. Great stuff this HD radio is.

 

[R.F. Burns]

FreestylePete lamented:

I tried most of the suggestions thats was told to me except buy the yagi antenna. I even purchased a Terk PI Amplified antenna from circuit city and that was a bust and I am even willing to buy another radio so I am not sour on the concept. But to be realistic this HD Radio concept wont work if a large number of people cant get it set up so easy or at all. My problem might only be with me but i did know it work great a few towns away in my parants house when i first tried my reciever. I tried every single room and having the antennas out on my terrace and even hanging out my bedroom and kitchen windows with no luck. To say i havent tried to get it to work would be a joke cause i have been trying this saturday night. I know most consumers wont go this far to get a radio to work.

Yep. Great stuff this HD radio is.

And cell phones don't work in the subways of NY. I guess cell phones are doomed too. Freetsyle stated that his radio worked great a few towns over at his parents house. He doesn't report on what his over the air TV reception is like or anything about his analog FM reception using that radio.

 

[FreestylePete]

I havent tried over the air reception because its 2007 and I have cablevision. The analog is good at most times.

 

[SignalSeeker]

There is something wrong with his radio or the story. With his close proximity to New York City he is getting none of their (20+ stations) HD streams. You better check out another radio. This does not really make sense. Not all of these signals are coming from the exact same direction. There is no way that a person is not getting any of the HD signals.

I agree with Mr. Walker. Get an extension and hide it in the ceiling tile, out the window or something. Which radio do you have? If its not a tuner, buy one of the tuners and connect it to some nice powered speakers. I look at all of the posts from the New York area, ( The Mecca of radio ) and no one has signal problems that are completely blocked. I like other readers am reporting that I get stations 80 miles away. There is a problem at your location, that should be able top be solved. Unlike what your hearing from pocketradio the technology is not at fault!

 

[PocketRadio]

And cell phones don't work in the subways of NY. I guess cell phones are doomed too.

We live in a major-metro area, just outside Wash., D.C. - we have Cingular and constantly have problems with calls dropping inside our house, and the audio sounds compressed and tinny. Guess what - DAB does not work for terrestrial radio.

 

[R.F. Burns]

And cell phones don't work in the subways of NY. I guess cell phones are doomed too.

We live in a major-metro area, just outside Wash., D.C. - we have Cingular and constantly have problems with calls dropping inside our house, and the audio sounds compressed and tinny. Guess what - DAB does not work for terrestrial radio.

Cell phones are very low power devices. You can't compare cell phone coverage with HD radio coverage. My wife has T-mobile and can't get reception at our house. I have Verizon and no problems.

 

[PocketRadio]

And cell phones don't work in the subways of NY. I guess cell phones are doomed too.

We live in a major-metro area, just outside Wash., D.C. - we have Cingular and constantly have problems with calls dropping inside our house, and the audio sounds compressed and tinny. Guess what - DAB does not work for terrestrial radio.

Cell phones are very low power devices. You can't compare cell phone coverage with HD radio coverage. My wife has T-mobile and can't get reception at our house. I have Verizon and no problems.

Hense, there are many more cell phone towers to make up for the lower power.

 

[R.F. Burns]

And cell phones don't work in the subways of NY. I guess cell phones are doomed too.

We live in a major-metro area, just outside Wash., D.C. - we have Cingular and constantly have problems with calls dropping inside our house, and the audio sounds compressed and tinny. Guess what - DAB does not work for terrestrial radio.

Cell phones are very low power devices. You can't compare cell phone coverage with HD radio coverage. My wife has T-mobile and can't get reception at our house. I have Verizon and no problems.

Hense, there are many more cell phone towers to make up for the lower power.

But not enough for seamless coverage.

 

[radiopilot]

And cell phones don't work in the subways of NY. I guess cell phones are doomed too.

We live in a major-metro area, just outside Wash., D.C. - we have Cingular and constantly have problems with calls dropping inside our house, and the audio sounds compressed and tinny. Guess what - DAB does not work for terrestrial radio.

Cell phones are very low power devices. You can't compare cell phone coverage with HD radio coverage. My wife has T-mobile and can't get reception at our house. I have Verizon and no problems.

Hense, there are many more cell phone towers to make up for the lower power.

Cellphone manufacturers limit their phones to less than 0.6 W to about 3 watts output and the cell towers transmit at powers of 10's of watts to 100's of watts of RF so inessence you need lots of towers..

Cellphones are getting much better at power density and can work a long time on a charge due to the Li batteries...

These cellphone devices are now being designed to work with WIFi and Internet as well as satelite radio... but no mention of HD radio being added to these cellphones...

Radiopilot

 

[Mike Walker]

Wow, clever. "No mention of HD Radio being added to these devices". They've added streaming video already, and NOBODY CARES! In fact, they're (wireless providers) confused about why people aren't anxious to take pictures, listen to music, watch videos, and wipe their....er, noses...with their cell phones. IT'S A FREAKIN' PHONE! It will never take pictures as well as a camera, or play audio as well as an mp3 player, or radio as well as a RADIO. How about combinations THAT MAKE FREAKIN' SENSE, like Ipods WITH radios. I read another survey this weekend (forget which technology magazine, or maybe it was on Cranky Geeks or DLTV) that the number one most requested feature on Ipods is a RADIO. THAT will be a natural "join" for HD...in quality mp3 players...a single portable device that offers truly high quality audio from mp3, streaming audio, AND radio...preferably digital. I'll buy one...and I don't give a damn if there's a telephone attached!

 

[radiopilot]

Wow, clever. "No mention of HD Radio being added to these devices". They've added streaming video already, and NOBODY CARES! In fact, they're (wireless providers) confused about why people aren't anxious to take pictures, listen to music, watch videos, and wipe their....er, noses...with their cell phones. IT'S A FREAKIN' PHONE! It will never take pictures as well as a camera, or play audio as well as an mp3 player, or radio as well as a RADIO. How about combinations THAT MAKE FREAKIN' SENSE, like Ipods WITH radios. I read another survey this weekend (forget which technology magazine, or maybe it was on Cranky Geeks or DLTV) that the number one most requested feature on Ipods is a RADIO. THAT will be a natural "join" for HD...in quality mp3 players...a single portable device that offers truly high quality audio from mp3, streaming audio, AND radio...preferably digital. I'll buy one...and I don't give a damn if there's a telephone attached!

That's really funny because this weekend I bought my son to Sears and they have the XM satelite radio the size of an Ipod (actually smaller) and it also boosts an mp3 player that is available to record direct off satelite both XM and Sirius and it only costs 29.95 after a 50 dollar rebate... and I asked him if he wanted a terrestrial radio/mp3 with no subscription for 129.00 Final cost or the satelite/mp3 player... Guess what his words were? You got it... the satelite radio/mp3 player... and guess what.. he's litening to it right now! Could care less about FM or AM radio for listening when he's with friends or out and about!

http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Sams...ch=xm portable radios xm portable radio/skd=1

Radiopilot