how good is HD radio?

[yepimonfire]

so i can't listen to radio anywhere in my house for two reasons, 1. the WIFI router adds so much interference to the signal i cant hear the music, and 2. poor reception gives me a mono signal, i was wondering if the reception on these is any better and if they are affected by random analog noise coming from electronics, cell phones etc. i would think it would do what digital stuff usually does and either work correctly or not work at all but from experience on this board, what i think isn't always the case. so my question is would getting an HD radio tuner solve my issues and would i be able to get far more stations then with my analog tuner?

 

[pzaur]

Dunno, you could check signal strength maps for your area.

Map

-pat

 

[highfigh]

so i can't listen to radio anywhere in my house for two reasons, 1. the WIFI router adds so much interference to the signal i cant hear the music, and 2. poor reception gives me a mono signal, i was wondering if the reception on these is any better and if they are affected by random analog noise coming from electronics, cell phones etc. i would think it would do what digital stuff usually does and either work correctly or not work at all but from experience on this board, what i think isn't always the case. so my question is would getting an HD radio tuner solve my issues and would i be able to get far more stations then with my analog tuner?

Move your antenna and use shielded cable to bring it to the tuner.

 

[yepimonfire]

ive already done that, the antenna is what picks up interference obviously

 

[lsiberian]

It's rubbish. TLS Guy gave a very thorough discussion on it in his blog. Dr. mark says

 

[highfigh]

ive already done that, the antenna is what picks up interference obviously

I mean that it should be moved to a location where it won't pick up the interference. You need a directional antenna. What are you using now?

 

[Serj22]

I had a similar issue, and used a piece of speaker wire, with really thick shielding, and twisted it together at the top and ran it to the top of the attic: crystal clear reception, sounds almost like a CD or other media was just put in. Some stations still just come in like garbage, but such is life.

 

[TLS Guy]

so i can't listen to radio anywhere in my house for two reasons, 1. the WIFI router adds so much interference to the signal i cant hear the music, and 2. poor reception gives me a mono signal, i was wondering if the reception on these is any better and if they are affected by random analog noise coming from electronics, cell phones etc. i would think it would do what digital stuff usually does and either work correctly or not work at all but from experience on this board, what i think isn't always the case. so my question is would getting an HD radio tuner solve my issues and would i be able to get far more stations then with my analog tuner?

You need to be able to get a good FM signal to get HD, as it is in the side band of the FM signal. The HD signal has about 25% less coverage area than the analog FM. However the default in event of poor signal is to the analog FM signal, if there is one. If it is an HD2 or HD3 signal with no companion analog program then you get nothing.

So there is always one channel in both FM and HS, but other HD channels can be piggy backed.

A lot of stations have not invested in this technology. The maximum bit rate supported by this miserable IBOC system is 96 kbs. Stations often stream as low as 42 kbs to cram more stations in the FM mask, as everything on that carrier must fit in the mask.

You can find more here.

Your best bet is a good Yagi Uda roof array if you want good FM

 

[Cristofori]

Your best bet is a good Yagi Uda roof array if you want good FM

Hello TLSGuy,

You said to get a roof antenna for good FM reception. Although I don't have the particular make you mentioned, my landlord installed a new roof top antenna mainly for free digital TV, but I'm also using it directly in my Marantz receiver for the FM. Is this roughly the same thing you are talking about? I get pretty good FM reception for my area, but with all things FM, there is always something left to be desired.

What do you think about FM "amplifiers" or other devices that claim to give better reception? Also, what can one do to get the best AM reception?

 

[bandphan]

All things considered you need a good antenna and a good tuner

 

[riker1384]

If you've got Wifi, get a wifi internet radio. You can get stations from all over the world. I think there's also an app for it on the iphone or ipod touch, and maybe some other smartphones.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello TLSGuy,

You said to get a roof antenna for good FM reception. Although I don't have the particular make you mentioned, my landlord installed a new roof top antenna mainly for free digital TV, but I'm also using it directly in my Marantz receiver for the FM. Is this roughly the same thing you are talking about? I get pretty good FM reception for my area, but with all things FM, there is always something left to be desired.

What do you think about FM "amplifiers" or other devices that claim to give better reception? Also, what can one do to get the best AM reception?

If you are getting a good noise free signal, that is all you need. An amplifier is useful when you have more than four splits.

Remember an amplifier amplifies noise as well as the signal.

For AM, it is low FI unless you have access to an AM broadcast that carries the HD signal.

1950s vintage tuners give the best AM performance as a rule. Personally I never listen to AM.

For best reception, the unit needs good grounding and a very long unipolar antenna.

I'm surprised AM has survived this long, it is a total anachronism.

 

[highfigh]

If you are getting a good noise free signal, that is all you need. An amplifier is useful when you have more than four splits.

Remember an amplifier amplifies noise as well as the signal.

For AM, it is low FI unless you have access to an AM broadcast that carries the HD signal.

1950s vintage tuners give the best AM performance as a rule. Personally I never listen to AM.

For best reception, the unit needs good grounding and a very long unipolar antenna.

I'm surprised AM has survived this long, it is a total anachronism.

It may be an anachronism but it bounces off of the ionosphere, so it can still be useful in an emergency because of its long range.

I'm still amazed they tried stereo with such a limited bandwidth.

 

[joeluice]

Looking from the post it looks good to use all that HD radio but i don't have much knowledge about it..

 

[Rob_rector]

I just bought an Insignia HD radio off of e-bay for like $50. I hope it comes in the next few days. I don't listen to the radio hardly at all, but my wife does, so I figure why not give it a try. If it works as good as FM, I'll be happy.