WI FI Radio

[fred]

SWMBO wants a battery operated radio that can pick up Radio 4 via the internet (we have a domestic wifi network.

What are her options ?

[The Other Mike]

(we have a domestic wifi network.

Why not a battery powered radio that picks up 198kHz or 92 - 95 ish MHz?

[Mike Barnes]

fred :

AAMOI what's wrong with a radio radio?

[Martin Brown]

(we have a domestic wifi network.

Most that are capable of that are also capable of DAB and FM. Digital radios eat batteries quickly so it is a bad idea!

You will probably find the FM provides the most acceptable quality.

I have a DAB radio (that would run on batteries) that is used on the internet because it is so lousy at receiving DAB.

[Dave Liquorice]

Remember we are talking about a SWMBO'd here, logic doesn't come into it= . And knowing SWMBO'ds Radio 4 may actually mean Radio 4 Extra, that is a =

digital only station. You are also making tha assumption that there is a= useable R4 FM or LW signal available (depending on her ethusiaium or not= for Cricket).

As for an "internet radio" Squeeze Boxes are OK but not cheap, but then = I don't think there are any cheap (

[polygonum]

(we have a domestic wifi network.

Almost any laptop PC or Mac, Android phone or other similar devices are possibilities.

[Andy Bartlett]

Remember we are talking about a SWMBO'd here, logic doesn't come into it. And knowing SWMBO'ds Radio 4 may actually mean Radio 4 Extra, that is a digital only station. You are also making tha assumption that there is a useable R4 FM or LW signal available (depending on her ethusiaium or not for Cricket).

As for an "internet radio" Squeeze Boxes are OK but not cheap, but then I don't think there are any cheap (

[Roger Mills]

(we have a domestic wifi network.

Why eat into your bandwidth allowance when there's a perfectly good FM signal available?

[Andrew Mawson]

[Brian Gaff]

Many seem to use their smartphones for this sort of stuff. Brian

[Steve Firth]

An iPhone or Android device running TuneIn Pro works really well. Sound is a bit tinny, battery life terrible but the actual application is impressively good. It replaced my Worldspace radio that I used to get foreign language stations and it's much better.

I wonder if they do a radio set... hmm they license to others, including Logitech for the squeezebox.

[Steve Firth]

Bandwidth allowance? Are you using the poor people's Internet?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That's progress? My old Nokia phone has an excellent FM radio built in with decent sound quality and good battery life...

[polygonum]

My Galaxy S2 has FM as well - but OP asked for internet radio... Honestly not sure of battery life with that running.

[Martin Brown]

available?

More to the point battery powered and DSP radio don't really work.

Satellite has severe monthly quotas and is by no means cheap.

There are plenty of places in rural England where Internet radio stalls at busy times of day like the early evenings. I get just about enough bandwidth to stream normal TV but HDTV is out of the question and there is no prospect of any upgrade here until hell freezes over.

We presently have three BT OpenReach vans parked in the village trying to sort out the mess they made installing the most recent ADSL connection and breaking 3 POTS circuits in the process. Three weeks and counting spent on repairing the collateral damage so far.

[Andy Burns]

+1

Don't forget to turn off the annoying announcements of foolball matches you can listen to.

[Mike P]

[Steve Firth]

Yes Dave, whatever you say. Good luck with picking up RAI or Ngoma or Africa No 1 on your FM radio.

[Mike Barnes]

Well, no, I wasn't making any assumption, I was asking a simple question. It's always possible that an FM radio with an "Internet Radio" sticker on it would satisfy the customer. :-)

[damduck-egg]

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:45:37 +0000, Martin Brown wrote:

internet (we have a domestic wifi network.

Some of the Pure or Revo ranges have rechargeable batteries .The Revo I have runs for about 7 to 8 hours on a charge. Seems a bit limiting to tie oneself to a mains socket if you are using a WIFI radio. I have a Revo Pico IR It's been built to be showerproof I can safely perch it near the bath or take it down the garden. Been superceded now by a later model that also has FM and DAB as well. Some models will be able to let you use the Listen again /Podcasts feature provided by some stations though occasionally you get an annoying drop of connection and the programme starts again at the beginning. Radio 4 extra seems to do that a lot in the evening. Another feature of Internet radios is the ease of clearly listening to stations not otherwise available. It has been interesting listening to WCBS in New York as the City got flooded , shut down and then gradually came alive again. One of the power distributors was getting some stick this morning for being too slow at reconnecting. Mustn't get too smug ,seems they are owned by National Grid so that'll no doubt end up being less profit for them and higher bills for us then. They all seem fairly expensive, Cheapest I found is a set from ALDI that was around the forty poundish mark some years ago . Mains only and no listen again feature and a bit slow to operate but not too bad a set once the presets are set up. It has two speakers but too close to be make much difference over a single one. Both it and the Revo have a stereo audio out though so can supply headphones or a suitable amplifier. The quality will vary with how good the Internet stream is ,some are poor, some are better a choice than DAB.

G.Harman