Insignia NS-HD01A Software Version

[RadioDoogie]

For those that care, I was at Best Buy today and saw one of the portable HD radios completely out of the package. It was a recently manufactured item. The radios are code dated on the back. The first one I bought in Jan 2010 was 09A09, version 3.00.00, the second was bought in May 2012 which was 11D09, version 4.00.14 and the third and final is the new body design bought last July which is 12D09, version 4.00.16. The one that was opened today is the new body style, 13C25 but the version number is still 4.00.16 with a date of Jan 24, 2012. Maybe this is the final version of this model. I really had wished that Insignia would have fixed the preset issue on this radio. Other than that, this last model seems more durable than the previous ones. I know some of us on this board have bought multiples of this radio in hopes of software improvements. Hope this clears up anyone's curiosity.

 

[tomservo]

Thanks for the info, RadioDoogie. My newest portable has 4.00.14. Any idea what the difference is between .14 and .16? It might be worth seeking out one of the new ones if it's a little more robust in decoding HD. I have issues with the newer one dropping in and out of HD or not decoding it at all on some stations, while the older one with version 3.00.00 software doesn't do that. (Its HD is actually super sensitive, but the analog section is screwed up so it's not one I can use as a daily device, sadly.)

What preset issue are you experiencing?

Other than the software/encoding quirks and RDS issues that keep some stations from performing correctly, I've been happy with my second gen Insignia. For its size I don't think there's a better DX machine. I keep it in my car for the rare occasion I need to listen to an FM station because it works better than the OEM headunit (whose amplified antenna is broken but hard to get to, to fix.) I get great battery life from it, and decent HD. In fact it began decoding the HD signal of a local station when I went outside to check the software version, even though nothing was plugged in to the headphone jack!

 

[RadioDoogie]

The 4.00.14 version is the last version on the old design (NS-HD01) and the 4.00.16 version is the first and only used on the new body design (NS-HD01A). There is virtually no software difference on either one except the new version has taken away the volume mute feature and the LCD brightness control has also gone away, other than that they act identical. The preset issue is when you seek a station that has already been programmed (using the tune or seek buttons), it shows that preset on the display but when you click PS+/- it starts back at preset number 1. It is annoying. If I seek and land on a station I had set on PS 5, when I hit the PS button it should go to 4 or 6 and not go back to 1.

 

[tomservo]

The 4.00.14 version is the last version on the old design (NS-HD01) and the 4.00.16 version is the first and only used on the new body design (NS-HD01A). There is virtually no software difference on either one except the new version has taken away the volume mute feature and the LCD brightness control has also gone away, other than that they act identical. The preset issue is when you seek a station that has already been programmed (using the tune or seek buttons), it shows that preset on the display but when you click PS+/- it starts back at preset number 1. It is annoying. If I seek and land on a station I had set on PS 5, when I hit the PS button it should go to 4 or 6 and not go back to 1.

Ah, thanks for the info. Yeah, that preset issue is annoying. Dunno why I didn't think of that myself, since I often gripe about it, too. I hate it that they took away the mute and brightness controls. I've found both useful.