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Insignia Portable HD Radio being Phased 0ut

N

nd2023

Banned
It's becoming harder to find these portable HD radios at Best Buy after they've been sitting on the shelves for the past 2 years. Since they got sold during the pre-hurricane panic, they haven't been replaced.

It's sad considering this is the best portable radio out there. The HD Radio commercials touted Best Buy as the place to buy HD radios.

In other news, Clear Channel has still not fixed 106.7's HD transmitter in New York City. It's Market 1, owned by the largest radio company, and the HD transmitter's been broken for 2 months.

All these are signs HD radio is dying. It hasn't caught on with the masses (average people hate their HD radio reception). Only DXers are seeking out and buying the HD radios, which is ironic considering that the DXers also hate HD radio.

I should stockpile a few of these portable HD radios if I ever see them for sale since they break often.
 
I have an 01 and 02, but bought a couple of cheap nylon cases for them. I use the 01 more. I always look on eBay for another cheap 01 model.
 
DX'ers just want the RDS feature to ID long hauls and the narrow FM filter. AM HD is deaf or not even on half the radios; too bad, as AM was the ONLY game in town in San Diego when the power went out last week - two AM stations - that's it!
 
Its hard to fit a decent AM antenna in a radio that small and keep it isolated from other electronic components that would cause noise.
 
spunker88 said:
Its hard to fit a decent AM antenna in a radio that small and keep it isolated from other electronic components that would cause noise.
Click to expand...

A radio that makes so much noise internally that it can't "hear" the signals of interest is a sad thing indeed,
and not of much use. There's really no excuse for the behavior of any circuits to create noise,
expecially noise that occurs within the range of interest.

How was this was ever acceptable?
 
It was never acceptable. We were simply told HD was wonderful, "digital is the future" (haven't you noticed all the digital trees and digital water these days?) and watched in bewilderment and dismay while a few self-anointed elites tried to cram IBOC down the collective throats of the radio industry and the listening public.

The emphatic rejection of this turkey, and all of its attendant corrupt and cynical manipulation by Big Radio and the FCC, gives me hope for America and our free enterprise system. Not to mention the collective common sense of broadcasters who don't wear $3000 suits to work and have a clue of how a transmitter works. (Or who "listeners" are....)
 
JohnnyElectron said:
DX'ers just want the RDS feature to ID long hauls and the narrow FM filter. AM HD is deaf or not even on half the radios; too bad, as AM was the ONLY game in town in San Diego when the power went out last week - two AM stations - that's it!
Click to expand...

Uh, KSON-FM stayed up.
 
JohnnyElectron said:
DX'ers just want the RDS feature to ID long hauls and the narrow FM filter. AM HD is deaf or not even on half the radios; too bad, as AM was the ONLY game in town in San Diego when the power went out last week - two AM stations - that's it!
Click to expand...
spunker88 said:
Its hard to fit a decent AM antenna in a radio that small and keep it isolated from other electronic components that would cause noise.
Click to expand...

I believe that you guys are not on the same frequency here. :D

Most of us are talking about the Insignia NS-HD001 which is a tiny portable that is HD capable on FM only. It's too small to have ever been able to provide AM performance and the engineers clearly bailed on that idea during their first design meeting. So, there's no AM band to complain about on that model.

There is, of course, AM on some of the larger HD receivers - but these seem to be rapidly vaporizing from the marketplace. Sadly, just as I was ready to buy, the Sony became unavailable. So the options there are fewer and farther between.

Three points as far as I am concerned here:

1) Yes, I have a little stockpile of Insignia NS-HD001s built up because I get the feeling that they may not be with us much longer - don't ask me why. The HD is a bit of fun to play with (and aggravating just the same), but the payoff is the excellent selectivity that this tiny radio provides. In a crowded metro area, it can be the only mini with a headphone cord (vs. a whip) that can get you certain weaker first and second adjacents.

2) Why in the Hell is there HD on AM any more? Is ANYONE listening to it? What value could it possibly bring? All it does is screw up the band with noise and interference. And for what? One listener? If he's listening at that time? This is idiotic. The FCC should shut down all IBOC operations on the MW band and they should make it effective tomorrow. What a waste!

3) If HD is the "wave of the future", why are all of the best and most affordable receivers gradually falling out of the marketplace without replacement? That speaks volumes about the future of this technology, doesn't it?

So, HD proponents, what say you? And where is that clown Bob Strubel? I'd LOVE to see his answers to my little questionnaire.
 
After nearly a month,all three of the Insignia's are still on

"backorder" on BB's website.

Which makes one wonder why,given the computer inventory

system everyone uses nowadays.

Was all warehouse stock sent to stores for back-to-school?

(But none were marked down.)

Finding HD stuff is becoming like getting AM stereo equipment.

As for AM-HD,having heard the two stations here-on AMHD receivers-

it was an indescribable experience (that bad).And after they

run them through an FM sub there are really no words to describe it.

Do any techs ever listen to their stations off air anymore?
 
They're finally back in stock at my local Best Buy.

I stopped hearing the commercials touting Best Buy as the place to buy HD radios.
 
KE4KLS_Radio said:
Looks like a new one may be in the works:

http://rwonline.com/article/effort-to-get-hd-radio-chips-in-phones-progressing/24655
Click to expand...

Interesting, but why would somebody want HD Radio in their cell phone? Streaming over 3G will have less drop outs than the HD signal, and most smartphones already have a required data package. Analog FM radio in cell phones makes more sense, because many analog only stations don't stream and the coverage of the FM signal could be better than a 3G signal in certain areas.
 
Holy moley - 16 out 24 didn't just "not recommend this product to a friend." They absolutely freakin' HATED it, using such colorful descriptors as "piece of fertilizer," "POS," etc. Nice work, BB!

HD Radio. Still making friends, after all these years.... ::)

And continuing to reflect unfavorably on the radio industry to the rest of the world.
 
The radio in the cellphone idea is because when all hell breaks loose, the cell system cannot take more than 10% of subscribers. You cannot even get a text message thru. So instead of throwing your cell device into the crapper, you can still use it as a radio.
 
I want to add a small table top HD Radio to my Yamaha receiver (has lousy FM/HD tuners). Any recommendations? I had a Boston Acoustics but gave it away which I now regret...
 
I just got this radio and i freakin love it!!! I got blues on two stations!! Both clear!! And commercial free..and free of charge! I dont use the earbuds I use a 6 foot aux cable. And it works awsome! reception is better than all my other radios!
 
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