crap radio

On a sunny day (Thu, 7 May 2009 17:09:57 -0700) it happened "Joel Koltner" wrote in :

Then you also have to add or subtract the IF frequency... More logic needed, may as well do the PLL thing.

Back in the seventies I did that by preloading the counter with the IF frequency. Very simple.

Good point in general, although direct-conversion receivers are pretty popular these days too.

Yeah... as Joerg discussed, the cheap ones are apparently not even frequency counters... just open-loop control, with the tuning voltage directly "displayed" as a frequency.

That had instantly reminded me of stuff like this:

I figure that having a digital display and letting people assume the display is representative of what's actually controlling the tuning (e.g., a PLL) is from the same group that gave us PMPO power levels ("250W PMPO!" -- comes with a 12V, 1A power supply...) or perhaps the multitude of advertisements where "digital audio" is meant to imply "CD quality," even though they're talking, e.g., 32kbps bit rates.

And of course there's "HD radio" where "officially" "no, HD doesn't stand for high definition... it doesn't stand for anything at all..."

Also good: Headphones advertised as, "digital ready!" and "digital antennas" for ATSC TV reception.

Sometimes I listen to Bluegrass music on the PC and purposely select

HD radio is still around? I thought that had fizzled by now just like AM-stereo. I have never seen a radio advertized with "HD" in any of the local stores here. Must be niche stuff. I wonder how the stations finance the programming.

Some people naively believe this stuff. One neighbor told me that our TV would stop working soon because it all goes digital, only cable and satellite would carry the digital signals. Another said that if we don't get a digital antenna the "old analog one" will not let digital signals through. When politely telling them that it ain't so they both became a bit huffy. Because they'd seen it explained on tee-vee so it must be true. I told them that it probably was a plot or an ad by cable companies but they wouldn't have any of that. No, it had to be true.

with

Which reminds me... I still haven't found an optimal web/Internet radio _tuner_. Is there anything out there.

A number of Phoenix AM stations tout "HD radio", but I've never seen such a receiver.

I was told, many years ago, at Radio Shack, that you had to have a special antenna to receive color signals ;-)

There are leftist weenies up in your remoteness ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

I find 32kbps borderline even when working, but 64kbps is fine.

If anything it seems to be slowly growing. There are plenty of stations down by you:

It is still nichey, certainly. However, we live out in the boonies a bit, and while the stations out of Medford are very scratchy via regular FM (using a roof-mounted dipole), the HD radios come in "digitally perfect" without any dropouts.

You can get them at Fry's, Best Buy, and (formerly) Circuit City.

When politely telling them that it ain't so they both became a

I inadvertently hit "enter" there before being finished...

You neighbors must not know you very well. :-)

The cable and satellite TV companies were definitely guilty of trying to take advantage of consumer's confusion to gain new customers.

---Joel

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I seem to recall the Roku units were looking closest to what you wanted when that thread ended... did you have a chance to try one out?

Amazon has several new items under "internet radio tuner" these days.

Good to know these sorts of shenanigans are nothing new!

The current administration emboldens them to come on out of the woodwork and from under every rock. :-)

---Joel

On a sunny day (Fri, 08 May 2009 16:53:38 -0700) it happened Joerg wrote in :

Ask them if they did see it on analog TV. If so, explain that analog is not very precise, and the info on digital will be much more accurate ;-)

Join the club... Just seen a flight of pigs go by !

I was going to, but couldn't find one in stock. I see they're available again

I'll check that out, Thanks!

...Jim Thompson

Anyone know anything about the Logitech Squeezebox? Receiver?

Also: Though not a fan of wireless networks, I need to go wireless to an Internet radio, to avoid pulling more CAT-5 thru the attic :-(

What do you lurkers recommend for wireless networking? I already have a LinkSys 8-port router in use, with 3 spare ports available)

...Jim Thompson

y not

tupid!

Millions of those sold at Wal Mart in various case designs. I even got a few at .25c each closeout, with batteries. Use hearing aid style pill sized coin batteries.

Do you keep it in a safe with three inch solid iron walls?

EM Pulse would end it otherwise, like most other electronics.

But when The Big One hits, the annoyance of scanning through so many stations would no longer be an issue.

The cheapies with the scan button only do FM.

ou

The $1 ones at Wal Mart have a scan button and a reset button but no tuner display.

OK, So who makes a GOOD version of these tiny clip on or in-ear radios for walking/jogging and how much do they sell for?

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I have one... both my wife and I think it's great. We use it primarily to access our CD collection, but it does do "Internet radio" as well -- I just haven't used that function enough to really comment on how well it works for that. Initially they were more concentrated on the "playback through your PC" scenario, and the addition of Squeezenetwork (which eliminates the need to have a PC on whenever you'll be listening) is relatively recent.

Perhaps there's a local neighbor kid who'd like to make a few bucks? ;-)

I use an Asus WL-330gE

It's a bit ironic that wireless access points tend to cost more than full-fledged wireless routers!

---Joel

I don't know about good ! I bought one from Asda/Wallmart for £2/$3. It was full of dry joints. The first thing I found was that one of the battery clips fell out. That was when I found that just tapping the thing with a pencil would make all kinds of weird things happen.

A good going over with a soldering iron solved all the problems ! It works just fine now.