When Was the Last Time You Bought A Radio?

[Mark Roberts]

Any HD radio can receive AM stereo broadcasts---the station just has to a) be broadcasting in stereo and b) have an HD channel. The problem is that there are very few of either (AM stereo stations and AM HD stations) out there.

Somehow, Denver manages to have five of them (four of them are Crawford properties) and a sixth is on the way, 1190 KVCU at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Lightning zapped KVCU's main transmitter last year so they had to get a new one anyway.

I will say, though, that it sounds stunning. 15 or so years ago, when KOY-AM in Phoenix was still doing standards, its HD channel in stereo sounded amazing.

810 KLVZ is the Crawford station that plays the most music (sort of like background music for 75-year-olds who miss Bachman-Turner Overdrive) and it sounds OK in HD though there may be some rolloff of higher frequencies. The brokered talk programming that's featured on weekends suffers from digital artifacts, though. The station is promoted as "Legends 95.3", after its translator.

It will be interesting to hear how KVCU sounds when it gets back to full power with its new transmitter and in HD.

 

[CTListener]

Perhaps a better question is the last time anyone you know that isn't a radio geek such as ourselves has purchased one.

And look at the radios we geeks are buying! Walkmans! Multiband portables! Ham rigs! I don't even see a component tuner for a stereo system among the three pages of submissions. Since everyone here is either in the business or a radio geek (and the two groups do overlap), this thread is doing nothing to disprove the assertion that practically no one is buying radios -- as in AM/FM radios -- anymore.

 

[cc333]

And look at the radios we geeks are buying! Walkmans! Multiband portables! Ham rigs! I don't even see a component tuner for a stereo system among the three pages of submissions. Since everyone here is either in the business or a radio geek (and the two groups do overlap), this thread is doing nothing to disprove the assertion that practically no one is buying radios -- as in AM/FM radios -- anymore.

Component tuners?

Oh, yeah! I did buy a Carver TX-11a last April. It needs work, probably a recap.

And an MCS 3050 AM Stereo/FM Stereo tuner last June. This one works, but I wanted to mod it with a wider IF filter.

And a Sony CFS-6000 boombox in August, primarily for it's AM/FM radio but also for it's cassette deck

Anyone notice a pattern to the radios I'm buying? All but one (the Sangean, which I got primarily for DXing and listening to the weather bands) supports analog AM Stereo, all for the purpose of being able to hear my Part 15 AM station, which is broadcasting in stereo.

c

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't see a model number on my new clock radio. It's a GPX Clock Radio with Dual Alarm.

 

[kevtronics]

Today, actually. I just got a new AM/FM/CD/cassette/Bluetooth boombox from Walmart. Their description of it even says "tune into the AM/FM radio, just like the good ol' days":

onn. Portable Bluetooth CD/Cassette Boombox with Wireless Technology, Black - Walmart.com

Buy onn. Portable Bluetooth CD/Cassette Boombox with Wireless Technology, Black at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[NYAZSporty]

Insignia NS-HD02 HD radio many years back, wished they had AM stations alongisde FM considering there are AM stations in HD. Bummer SiriusXM (not a subscriber) doesn't has a portable radio where you can walk around & listen & not worry about cell/internet signal listening online through your phone. I'd be interested in getting another one with AM/FM HD along with charging via USB instead of batteries.

 

[formerradio]

Back around 2013 I purchased some DaySequerra reference radios. I did buy a new truck in 2023. It has an AM/FM radio in it. I've only listened to it for a minute to see if an old station was on the air.

 

[awsherrill]

I bought this today...

Inovonics 635 FM SiteStreamer

It's a replacement for an existing unit that got fried in a lightning strike. Very useful for monitoring multiple FM signals for dead air, carrier loss, etc.

 

[boombox4]

Bought a Sangean HDR-16 two weeks ago....for tuning HD.....
A nice compliment to my Sangean PR-D5...
The D5's AM section is better than that in the -16....

Yeah, the antenna is bigger inside on the PR-D5, and the HDR-16's noisy LCD readout doesn't help it much on AM, although it will pull in plenty of stations.

 

[boombox4]

I bought an XHDATA D-219 maybe six months ago, and the XHDATA D-328 around Halloween last year. Both are pretty good for what they are -- DSP radios with analog tuning (less parts, less inherent noise). The D-328 was $15 and actually is very, very good on SW and FM. The D-219 is OK on SW and FM (probably depends on the terrain where you live) and pretty good on the AM band. Before that, I got a Tecsun PL-398 in early December 2022. Around $70. All purchases online.

RE: Component tuners: Do they still make them? Being that no one really has big stereos anymore, it would seem component tuners would be more of an anachronism than clock radios or multiband portables.

 

[DXingRadio]

Looks like 2022 when I bought a Sangean H202 shower radio for my kids bathroom. It was mostly for the waterproof Bluetooth, but it also does AM/FM/NOAA WX.

 

[Mark Roberts]

So I have a little confession to make.

I bought the Qodosen DX-286. Yep, after everything I said about not wanting another radio and disliking the use of the 18650 battery. My excuse: I'm having surgery later this week and wanted something to distract me during the recovery process (which will take weeks). It looks like there are plenty of features to explore with this radio. I started it up this afternoon and was almost pleased with the performance. Pro tip: turn off automatic time-setting. Just as with other radios that offer this feature using RDBS data, it gets the time wrong if it latches onto a station that's promoting the wrong time. Unfortunately, that's very common. I remember that happening to me in San Francisco with the XHDATA D-808s I no longer have, so the problem was easy enough to fix.

The speaker sound is OK, maybe a bit tubby, but I plan to use it with headphones mostly anyway.

 

[Mark Roberts]

The only AM HD station is a religious talker on 770 from somewhere. I'm pretty sure they're mono, though.

KCBC Manteca - a Crawford station; Crawford seems to be one of the last holdouts for AM HD.

 

[fybush]

So I have a little confession to make.

I bought the Qodosen DX-286. Yep, after everything I said about not wanting another radio and disliking the use of the 18650 battery. My excuse: I'm having surgery later this week and wanted something to distract me during the recovery process (which will take weeks). It looks like there are plenty of features to explore with this radio. I started it up this afternoon and was almost pleased with the performance. Pro tip: turn off automatic time-setting. Just as with other radios that offer this feature using RDBS data, it gets the time wrong if it latches onto a station that's promoting the wrong time. Unfortunately, that's very common. I remember that happening to me in San Francisco with the XHDATA D-808s I no longer have, so the problem was easy enough to fix.

The speaker sound is OK, maybe a bit tubby, but I plan to use it with headphones mostly anyway.

Another pro tip: get the higher capacity (9900 mAh) version of the 18650. I didn't, at first, and wasn't happy with the battery use as a result.

 

[Don CT]

Last year, but it came with the car.

 

[jlalande]

I admittedly have enough of a 'problem,' that my wife and I have a 1-for-1 swap rule on new radios: if a new radio comes in, another one goes out.

I bought a C. Crane CCRadio3 back in January to replace a Sony ICF-36 as my kitchen radio. It's nice that the CCRadio3 also works as a bluetooth speaker, and it has the weather band. The digital tuner has been a huge upgrade over the analog Sony for tuning in some of the class A rimshots, but it's more stable tuning in stronger stations, too (previously, WERN, a strong class B, would occasionally fade in and out as I moved around the kitchen; haven't had that problem with the CCRadio3). I've been really happy with the tuner performance and sound. The only disappointment I have with the radio is the small number of memories (5 for the whole FM band), and it was a bit expensive -- even buying a returned unit, it was about $200 for the radio.

I've been even happier with a used Sony XDR-S3HD tabletop radio I bought on ebay back in April for $140 after shipping. It's my new office radio, replacing a Yamaha stereo receiver. I don't listen to much HD radio, but it's nice to be able to check it out. The analog tuner on this radio is fantastic. Great selectivity. I have it hooked up to a rooftop antenna, and I've picked up some distant stations that I never heard with my old Yamaha. The sound from the built-in speakers is nice and warm, too.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Last century

 

[cc-mar]

Bought a Best Buy insignia small hd radio on ebay in 2021.

 

[Kelly A]

And look at the radios we geeks are buying! Walkmans! Multiband portables! Ham rigs! I don't even see a component tuner for a stereo system among the three pages of submissions. Since everyone here is either in the business or a radio geek (and the two groups do overlap), this thread is doing nothing to disprove the assertion that practically no one is buying radios -- as in AM/FM radios -- anymore.

But look at the percentages of consumers related to radio nerds and typical consumers. I'd be willing to bet that radio nerds would be an insignificant rounding error in total.

 

[CTListener]

But look at the percentages of consumers related to radio nerds and typical consumers. I'd be willing to bet that radio nerds would be an insignificant rounding error in total.

My point exactly. Of course, we only assume that non-nerds aren't buying radios because we're all nerds here. We have industry people we trust -- David, for example -- telling us that "nobody" (general public) is buying radios (AM-FM) anymore, but no hard statistics.