Original Insignia HD Portable Design Changed!

[JohnnyElectron]

Has anybody else noticed this - Best Buy has significantly changed the styling of their first Gen 01 HD portable radio! It is a very noticeable change in the case styling.
Question of the day - did they change anything in the software or electronics?
I checked, and both boxes have the same barcode, same 49.99 price, but only the white sticker on the back of the new design had a '12' in it, while the original model had an '11' on the white square sticker.
Anybody know if it's improved, or sunk to the 02 model reception, or if they fixed how pressing the presets doesn't always take you back to P1 or if the reception or battery life are better?

 

[Darth_vader]

Probably a revised firmware (not to be confused with software) but I don't know about the rest.

The Worst Buy near me closed recently (good riddance) so I can't go and have a look at it, but maybe it's a prototype of a new design using the same electronics as the old one, just to use up their surplus. Kinda' like what Ma Bell did during the "Model 5302" period.

 

[tomservo]

Judging by the screenshots I've seen it's almost certainly the same internals with a new firmware update.

 

[Savage]

Never mind!! It's a NEW HD RADIO!! (I'm so excitedmmmzzzz...zzzz....)

(What, no "I'm asleep" emoticon??)

 

[Darth_vader]

Wow, Savage. First you complain about there being so few receivers available, then when another one does become available, you even complain about that.

I suppose some people are just impossible to please either way...

 

[tomservo]

Wow, Savage. First you complain about there being so few receivers available, then when another one does become available, you even complain about that.

I suppose some people are just impossible to please either way...

In this case, I believe his complaint is justified.

This isn't a new radio, it's the same homely girl in a new party dress, that's all.

 

[Savage]

Well, Darth - you nailed it. I AM impossible to please when it comes to HD Radio. It's an "innovation" that never should have seen the light of day. Nobody wanted it from the git-go save for its alleged "developers".....it has never worked acceptably nor offered anything of real value. It causes destructive interference and makes the radio industry look like a cabal of clueless ninnies, for stubbornly clinging to an idea which was dead three years ago.

It has also divided the radio industry in its time of need, when scarce resources should be devoted to far more pressing matters.

 

[Darth_vader]

"It causes destructive interference and makes the radio industry look like a cabal of clueless ninnies, for stubbornly clinging to an idea which was dead three years ago. It has also divided the radio industry in its time of need, when scarce resources should be devoted to far more pressing matters."

Well, hate to break it to you, but the '90s actually did all that, long before Ibiquity came about. As did their byproducts Air 1, Calvary Chapel, Way-FM and K-Love amongst potentially others.

I've not really noticed Ibiquity generating any really "destructive" interference on VHF that the glut of godd translators haven't already been generating for years, but I suppose being in the Northwest I'm probably not in as crowded a radio market as you might be (I don't believe you've really mentioned what your listening location is, at least not that I can recall.) At least we all agree the mediumwave implementation isn't even worth it.

 

[tomservo]

[…]and makes the radio industry look like a cabal of clueless ninnies, for stubbornly clinging to an idea which was dead three years ago.

It all depends on perspective; if you go to Engadget or Ars Technica or TWIT or other tech-heavy sites, you'll see people saying that about analog radio in general today. The idea they're stubbornly clinging to is that anyone listens to music radio anymore and the commercials that support it.

I don't know who these nerdnicks are and how much they must blow on unlimited internet to stream Pandora on the go or whatever, but analog radio still works just fine for me, it just doesn't offer anything I want to listen to. HD radio brings me new and interesting stuff, but nowhere near its potential. And at least with my particular carrier, in my particular market, HD actually works better in many areas than streaming radio does. So take that, tech elite.

 

[Savage]

One wonders if an apparently built-in feature of the Insignia HD portables has been changed in the new model: "premature death."

Check BB's site for customer comments on the 01 Insignia. Apparently they are developing quite the reputation for expiring as soon as the warranty's up. You've gotta give BB kudos for coming up with such a design where the life-span timing is so precise. :

 

[nd2023]

One wonders if an apparently built-in feature of the Insignia HD portables has been changed in the new model: "premature death."

Check BB's site for customer comments on the 01 Insignia. Apparently they are developing quite the reputation for expiring as soon as the warranty's up. You've gotta give BB kudos for coming up with such a design where the life-span timing is so precise. :

I'm on my fourth Insignia HD radio, the first 3 died. I got the extended warranty for my 4th one, so I'm sure after a year the 4th HD radio will die.

 

[JohnnyElectron]

It's an HD radio thing, or maybe its the watered-down lead-free solder that causes premature failure. My Directed Electronics HD tuner died an early death at age two, while 25 year old full of lead Sony and 40 year old full of lead and made in the USA Atlas hardware still works...

 

[RadioDoogie]

Anyone know the firmware version of the new model? Mine is 4.00.14 and I bought it recently.

 

[tomservo]

Anyone know the firmware version of the new model? Mine is 4.00.14 and I bought it recently.

Rats, I was just at BB two days ago and had the new radio and it's tabletop cousin in my hands. I saw the software version on back was 4Jxx if I remember it correctly, which is definitely newer than what the other design shipped with, but I didn't bother to look for a software version on the box. I don't think it was printed anywhere.

 

[RadioDoogie]

The firmware version in actually on the menu of the radio, under "version." The first radio I bought in Jan. 2010 had a 09J (version 3.00.00) at the beginning of the serial number and this one I bought about a month ago has a 11J (version 4.00.14). I assume this is the year it was made. The newer version seeks faster and locks into HD quicker. The buttons respond quicker including the volume switch and the signal meter stays on when RDS analog shows up. All of these were glitches in the older models. I noticed that the HD artist/song info is off center to the left whereas on the older version it was more centered in the display. The scrolling somewhat messes up in the newer version and skips on some of the letters that scroll by. Analog RDS is much better in the newer version. There is still an issue with the fact that when I land on a station that is on my preset list, it starts over at the beginning of the preset list when I push the preset button.

 

[nd2023]

I wonder if I'll get this new radio when my current portable HD radio breaks. I got the extended warranty on my current HD radio, seeing as it was the 4th time I had to buy one. I'm not going to waste $50 to get a new HD radio when my current one works fine, for now. Although better RDS would have helped me last Tuesday when I was away from home (and my Sony XDRF1HD) during the strongest e-skip of the year.

 

[tomservo]

The poor RDS implementation in the previous model was definitely a heartbreaker, and it might be worth buying one of the new ones on sale if I can be sure it's been fixed and works as good as it should.

I'm still wary of how HD is implemented as well, since my older more defective Insignia decodes HD flawlessly (it's what I used to get dropout-free listening from over 30 miles of interstate driving last year on a station that was 30-60 miles away) but the newer, quicker HD radio drops out just sitting still, but only on Clear Channel stations. The Cumulus HD stations (and Crawford in B'ham) seemed fine.

If they could take care of those glitches, I might save up and splurge for a new great DX masheen.

 

[RadioDoogie]

I have noticed the decoding issue as well. I did also notice that the new radio I bought has a 750 mAh battery versus the old one that has an 840 mAh battery. Usually the higher the number, the longer the battery life. I have not used this one the full ten hours yet but this is not a good sign that the battery will last as long as it did in the old radio.

 

[nd2023]

The poor RDS implementation in the previous model was definitely a heartbreaker, and it might be worth buying one of the new ones on sale if I can be sure it's been fixed and works as good as it should.

I'm still wary of how HD is implemented as well, since my older more defective Insignia decodes HD flawlessly (it's what I used to get dropout-free listening from over 30 miles of interstate driving last year on a station that was 30-60 miles away) but the newer, quicker HD radio drops out just sitting still, but only on Clear Channel stations. The Cumulus HD stations (and Crawford in B'ham) seemed fine.

If they could take care of those glitches, I might save up and splurge for a new great DX masheen.

I'm in New Jersey where the dial is crowded with stations, and some places have a pirate station on every open frequency, even the first adjacents. The Insignia HD radio gets solid HD reception for only 15 miles, increasing dropouts out to 30 miles, and no HD past 30 miles. The analog's good to 60 miles. In Minnesota, I got solid HD reception up to 40 miles away from a 100kw class C.

 

[RadioDoogie]

I got the new model today. It now has the model number NS-HD01A but same UPC. The firmware is 04.00.16 dated Jan 24 2012. The code number is 12D09. The outside is completely different. Slightly larger than the original (in a smaller box) and is more V-shaped with buttons going along the perimeter of the radio in front along the V. They changed the volume button to a push button and you push the two up and down buttons together to mute the radio. Same battery at 750 mAh. The finish is more matted than the shiny finish on the original model. It now comes with a belt clip instead of the armband. The display is a slighly better quality with a much better refresh rate and higher resolution. The radio moves even faster than the last version (4.00.14 dated April 26 2010). The preset glitch is still there. The buttons are more raised, larger, easier to use, and gray in color. The rest of the radio is still black. The display is the same size and the guts are pretty much the same (as suggested in an earlier post). The USB port is no longer covered up.