CHOOSING A RADIO
Personal, Portable or World Band:
"Personal Radios" are very small radios - 'walkman' sized or smaller - designed for listening whilst you are on the move. "Portables" are larger and range from small sets operating only on batteries, to much larger radios with built in mains adaptors. "World Band" receivers are sets with short wave coverage. Many of the features found in such sets improve FM, MW and LW reception.
Buy the best radio you can afford:
When buying a radio, you usually get what you pay for. In particular, avoid the cheap unbranded receivers seen advertised in the press. They usually offer poor performance and poor reliability.
Small size means small sound:
The smaller the radio, the more portable it may be but, it will have a smaller loudspeaker and will be much less suitable for playing at any great volume. Very small sets are often only suitable for use with earphones.
Check it covers enough bands:
If you are interested in a radio which receives the majority of UK stations and also want to listen to the World Service on 198 kHz, Atlantic 252 and Radio 4 on LW choose a long wave radio. Furthermore, there are still parts of the country where long wave is essential for good reception if you want to listen to broadcasts from other countries.
Digital or Analogue Tuning:
This refers to the way the radio is tuned to a frequency.
"Analogue Tuning" sometimes termed 'mechanical tuning' usually operates by a control that moves a pointer across a tuning scale. Tuning is not as precise as digital tuning.
"Digital Tuning" can be operated in a number of ways. Best of all, is the means in which the frequency can be entered on a keypad. Other methods include a rotary tuning knob, or pair of switches, enabling you to scan up and down the frequency numbers until you find the frequency you want. The more expensive radios often have both direct entry and scrolling features. Digital tuning takes the guesswork out of finding a frequency and is generally preferable to analogue tuning.
Presets or memories:
"Presets" or "Memories" allow for the re-selection of a favourite radio station with the touch of a button. If you like listening to a range of stations they are an invaluable feature that really simplify and speed up re-tuning. They are a feature commonly found on digital radios.
Clock/Alarm Features:
These do nothing to improve reception but can be useful additions to a bedside radio or a radio used whilst travelling.
Batteries or Mains:
Avoid using a radio on batteries. Batteries are up to 1000 times more expensive per unit of electricity than mains power. Reception can also be better on mains, as once the batteries start to run down, reception suffers. Digital radios tend to use more power than analogue - and if you find you are spending a lot on batteries consider using rechargeable batteries. Many portables can be used with a mains adaptor which cost approximately £10.00.
Aerial:
Cheap sets often skimp on telescopic aerials - which are often too short and don't rotate. Changing the angle and orientation of the telescopic aerial is an essential tuning feature for good FM reception. With many personal radios designed for use whilst gardening, walking, or jogging, the earphone-lead also operates as an aerial.
The Radio Data System (RDS):
RDS first appeared in the early 1990s and only works on FM. RDS is now commonplace on car radios and there are a number of portable and personal sets with RDS. It is not an essential feature on a portable radio but the station name display is a useful feature, particularly if you are travelling. Some of the key features include: 'Station Name' (RDS radios have an eight character display which shows the station name when tuned to an FM station that uses RDS); 'Automatic Tuning' for networked stations with more than one frequency - RDS provides the radio with information to help it retune; 'Travel information' (TA) - when a local station broadcasts a traffic report, an RDS radio tuned to it (or with EON - tuned to it's network) will interrupt normal radio or tape playback to broadcast the traffic report; 'Enhanced Other Networks' (EON) radios with an EON facility will pick up a BBC local station traffic report even when you are tuned to one of the BBC national networks; 'Programme Type' -some stations code programmes according to their type. RDS radios which recognise these codes enable you to search for stations broadcasting a particular type of programme; 'Time and Date' -some RDS radios also display an RDS maintained date and time. The information for this is transmitted within the RDS signal and such clocks should not need adjusting.
Stereo:
Portable sets are often advertised as stereo - but only if you listen through earphones. If you want a louder stereo sound and are not concerned about size, you could be better to consider stereo radio cassettes or CD players with built-in radio. Earphones can be used on radios with an earphone socket but depending on the socket used by the radio manufacturer, may only give sound from the left earpiece. Mono-Stereo adaptor plugs are available that deliver sound to both ears.
Radio if you have special needs:
Features to look for are presets, large buttons, controls that are easy to use. A good contrast between the buttons and the olour of the set can also help people who are partially sighted.
If you have sight problems The Talking Newspaper Association of the UK and Big Print may be able to help with radio schedules.
Don't forget the accessories:
Some radios are sold with batteries; AC (or mains) adaptors; carrying cases and earphones - but many are not. Check which extras are included. Some expensive radios don't seem quite so pricey when you consider that they come with the extras listed above.
Remote Controls:
Remote Controls are frequently found with hifi systems but they can also be found on a number of radios. Remotes are particularly useful if you are not mobile or want to operate the system from your bed.
Additional speakers:
One thing which can be done to boost the volume from a radio is to add an additional or, if you want stereo an additional pair of, speakers. Most are designed for use with walkman-style personal stereos but work with most radios too. Sony produce a range, as do Aiwa, Panasonic and Maplins. Prices range from £15 upwards.
Cordless Headphones:
If you are listening as you move around the house or garden, an alternative to using a personal radio is to invest in a pair of cordless stereo headphones. A small 'base station' connects to the radio's earphone socket and uses radio signals to transmit output to the headphones. Range is typically 100 metres. They can be used with any piece of audio or TV equipment which has an earphone socket. The only real disadvantage is their weight, which is considerably more than in-ear style earphones. Prices range from £30.00 upwards.
Listening on short wave:
You generally get what you pay for with a short wave receiver. Cheap or unbranded radios generally lack quality and sometimes offer only partial coverage of the main short wave bands. They usually only enable you to listen to the stronger international broadcast stations. Before you buy one, check first that it covers the frequencies you want to listen to.
If you want quality short wave reception you should also consider a table-top receiver and an external aerial. Such a set-up will perform much better than a portable radio.
Never assume that an expensive short wave system will enable you to listen to distant countries with the quality that you would expect from a nearby FM or AM transmitter. If you are interested in overseas broadcasts without the whistle and hiss of short wave, look at satellite radio- in particular the broadcasts of World Radio Network (WRN) who feed the output from a number of the world's broadcasters onto satellite. More recently worldspace broadcasts have started. These carry overseas broadcasts from satellite in digital quality.
If you are serious about short wave listening and want detailed radio reviews, they can be found in "The Passport to World Band Radio" and on Radio Netherlands excellent web pages. www.rnw.nl/realradio/rx_intro.htm.
Source: Radio Listeners Guide 2002