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my take on the new insignia hd portable

O

oasisrulz

Guest
Just purchased my unit, tried over 10 stores in the area, all were sold out except the Best Buy in Springfield they had a few left....49.99 + tax. Overall it stinks, first off, you cannot charge the unit unless you have a computer, need the usb port, takes about one hour to get it fully charged, second... no AM band, this was not mentioned in the radio promotions. Now for the fun part, living in South Philadelphia about 2 miles from RNB and MMR, just about could pull them in in HD and had to really work the earphone antenna to get the HD-2 on MMR, nothing on RNB, dont know if they have any other HD's. I am about 7 miles as the crow flies from the farm and the rest of the stations and around 9 miles from 106.1 and 97.5. 106.1 was hard to pull in HD wise and the spanish 2 was almost impossible, 97.5 just about came in in HD nothing else. MMR was a surprise the HD2 was hard to pick up, nothing on YSP, BEN, USL, but RDW came in on both but spotty, OGL same hard to pull in the HD and the HD2 was really difficult, the strongest was MGK with 2 and 3 PEN...the regular FM broadcasts were OK good reception but for HD forget it....in a nutshell not worth the 49.99....To add to this, I am in the very strong quadrant of FM signals, what if I was in a fringe area, no dice. If HD wants to get off the ground the signal has to be improved, with these weak broadcasts no-one would want to deal with the poor reception....they have to boost the power...don't know why they cannot at this time...guess I have to rely on my Grundig for reception in mall food courts, LOL..I know this receiver will receive nothing indoors...
 
Thanks for the info Oasis I was considering buying one so I could listen to Y-rock and HFS2 but if you're near the stick farm and can't get HD2 clearly I have NO faith in pulling in 88.5/88.7. Grabbing a signal from Bethesda was wishful thinking anyway. Looks like its still my MP3 and the 2 Cheap Channels at work....sigh....
 
Gave it another try today....was upstairs in my house about 40 feet above the ground...did have some better reception, received most of the locals in HD, but the sub-channel, Multicast Channels, as they call them, were very hard to receive...You really have to work the earphone antenna to get any type of reception, and don't forget I am under 10 miles from the antennas and can see them from my window. When I locked on a sub, if you move the earphones in any way its gone...I did receive XTU's 3 subs one is Fox. The odd thing is I received WSTW's, over 20 miles away, all 3 subs they have a good Alternative on HD-2 and also DEL on 3. To sum it up I have to say I do miss AM on a radio, I don't care for the computer charger, thought they gave you a plug in like cell phones and third...it does have good reception on the normal FM's for its size and price...but if you want good HD's forget this model...Now comes the real test I am taking it to the mall today Cherry Hill and Moorestown...we shall see I will report back....The other crazy thing is its picking up a Spanish pirate on 92.9 loud and clear (no HD of course), and I cannot receive it on other radios....its not a bleed over, its a real signal on 92.9...
 
I wouldn't have a problem with this radio as you don't have to charge the radio in your computer. I went to Marshall's once and got a USB charger. For about $8-10 you can get a charger that plugs into your USB slot. This way you can charge your I-pod, video camera or other device without having to charge it while you are using your computer.
 
I have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised yesterday at both the Moorestown and Cherry Hill malls....the reception was very good on all the regular FM's, in fact I was pulling in 105.7 the Hawk, Sojo and 98.5, plus all the locals and the Trenton and Wilmington stations plus VLT. All the locals came in fine in HD and the HD side bands were OK but a bit spotty, especially if you moved the headphone antenna...RFF was the best, followed by MMR, MGK, 106.1, OGL, Power, BEN, Wired, XTU was the weakest.....STW's Graffiti radio was about the best thing on followed by RFF. This little receiver was just as good or a bit better than my powerful Grundig....I was anywhere between 10 to 30 miles from the x-mtrs. Hope this helps anyone who wants to invest in this unit....in reality 49.99 is not that much for what it does...but remember no AM but you have WIP, WPEN, KYW, CNN on the sides...but no WHAT...:(
 
oasisrulz said:
I am about 7 miles as the crow flies from the farm and the rest of the stations and around 9 miles from 106.1 and 97.5.
Click to expand...

I'm 30 miles from WSTW and 30 miles from the antenna farm and I have no problems at all getting any of the HD channels. I'm using a standard T-wire FM antenna sticking out my (first floor) window into a Sony XDR-F1HD (the best radio I've ever owned). AM HD is another story, but my FM reception is spotless.
 
I guess you missed the subject of this thread.

What T-wire FM antenna is standard with "the new insignia hd portable"?

Not a reasonable comparison, is it?

You shouldn't have to go to the roof, attach large external antennas, or shimmy up a 40 foot flagpole just to get a few local HD stations "spotty" and within plain sight of the broadcast towers.

Kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a portable pocket sized HD radio, doesn't it?
 
SUPERCASTER said:
I guess you missed the subject of this thread.

What T-wire FM antenna is standard with "the new insignia hd portable"?

Not a reasonable comparison, is it?
Click to expand...

Yep, I missed it -- and thank God you were here to clear it up for me. You have made my life so much better. Never again will I try to compare and contrast something myself, or post an observation relative to someone else's experiences to see how something they have operates compared to a similiar, yet different, receiver. Thank God you were born and walk the face of the earth to enlighten us all on a daily basis. You contribute so much to society that I cannot even begin to match your life experiences. I am now going to move to Wyoming to a wheat field where I can hope that, yes, one day... one day... I may equal your intelligence and ability to read two or three syllable words on a message board. You do, after all, put the word "super" in "supercaster," oh, almighty dictator of radio knowledge.
 
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