6 volt radio

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It seems to be essential to fit circuits that aren't really needed for efficient operation of the said portable device but make a big difference to battery life.

[Ian Stirling]

No, it's DAB.

This is - at the moment - very complex and power consuming to decode.

This will get better in the next generation of chips, which should be hitting around now.

Neglecting the whole problem of DAB actually sounding considerably worse than FM when you've got a decent signal.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Indeed - but I was actually referring to the 20 hours or so quoted for an analogue radio.

I only use DAB for R4 and it's fine for that.

[Sylvain VAN DER WALDE]

You are correct, of course, if it applies to a DAB radio. But Roberts is a reputable manufacturer, and would not (I believe) supply such a set with just 4 AA batteries. They're connected in series, and as you state would only last a short time. I think that that radio is an analogue one.

Sylvain.

[Sylvain VAN DER WALDE]

It's to do with the special DAB chips (integrated circuits) used. They were designed to work in desktop/tabletop radio sets and use a lot of current. I believe that some more economical ones may be on the way (they may already be available).

Sylvain.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

These new chips are also for a different non compatible version of DAB - it uses a better data reduction algorithm than MPEG2. And I'm not clear whether they will also work with the present system. Or the timescale when/if UK DAB is changed over to the new version, which will require replacement of all DAB radios.

[Harry Bloomfield]

jacko4747 used his keyboard to write :

Check the current rating too, but it should probably be OK. If you don't want to take the risk, you can drop it down by 2x 0.6v by putting a couple of diodes (1N4000 or 1N4001) in series with one of the leads. That will drop it down to 6.3v - about the same as a brand new set of batteries.

Like this...

7.5 + in_____|\|__0___|\|__________6.3v + out |/| |/|

The end of the diode with a white ring needs to be to the right in the above diagram.

[Steve Firth]

The better radios can have firmware updates over USB, though this does depend on one having a computer.

I'm hacked off with Worldspace. I have an (excellent) Hitachi Worldspace radio which can now only be used as an FM/SW radio because Worldspace have turned off their Europe/North Africa beam.

All these technologies sound useful - it was good to be able to pick up a clear radio signal in Italy and the UK for the same range of channels for example. I also really enjoyed radio from Mali and Southern Africa. I enjoyed Italian radio while it lasted which was all of one summer and the reason I bought the radio set in the first place.

Now I'm eyeing up a WiFi radio, I reckon they will go belly up as soon as I get one.

[manatbandq]

The phenominally complex processing (relative to analogue FM) required to demodulate the signal.

MBQ

[The Natural Philosopher]

Digital chips not engineered for low consumption.

[The Natural Philosopher]

They were once. I got two expensive radios, one a replacement for the other, a few years back. The aerial still falls out. I gave up.

Inside, the circuit board is covered in really cheap components, and the loudspeaker is worse than a cheap chinese import.

All MY Roberts radio turned out to be was a $5 chinese radio in a leather covered box retailing at £70.

A replacement battery cost about a quid, and lasted three weeks if that.

I fitted it with a model car nicad pack, and I recharge that every month or so now.

Next time I'll get a decent Sony ghetto blaster and make my won case for it out of machined oak and hand cured deerskin. I wouldn't touch a modern Roberts with a bargepole.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Tons on ebay as well.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

How do you tell they are 'cheap components'?

So what? If it is a leather covered box that could easily 'retail' at 70 quid on its own.

They certainly buy in the chassis, but have input as to its spec.

Must be vast in comparison to the original battery. And how much would that and the charger add to the 70 quid you find excessive?

You'll find that gets through batteries at an alarming rate too. But I'm not quite sure why you'd want a battery portable radio in a posh case?

Could be. But then this applies to so much.

[The Natural Philosopher]

When the tuning capacitor is a postage stamp sized thing with polythene between the blades, and not not an aircored one with ball races. When the circuit board is a punch and crunch phenolic papre, not a CNC drilled epoxy. When components don't fit the board, and have been bodged to fit. When the IF filter is a single resin dipped 4 pole design, and there is only one. When te whole thing drifts off tine in the sun, and the AGC stops working when the battery is even slightly low

Need I go on?

Not really.

Yup. CHEAP please, we are sellng leather boxes, The radio just has to work once, in the shop.

Well I had a 20 wuid charger and a 15 quid battery lying around anyway, due to my preoccupation with model planes..

At about £1.50 a month, after 4 years its paid for itself allright.

It looks nice in the bathroom.

Indeed., BUT they are trading on the reputation of being quality radios..I have a friends 20 year old one with a dodgy switch to be repaired. THAT is superb. The magnet on the loudspeaker is VAST. It will do more on half a watt than most will do on 5..its wuality through amnd through.

The modern one is possibly the worst radio I have ever owned, as a radio. The quality of its guts are what you get on a market stall for a couple of quid. The sound quality is crap..mainly due to the 50c loudspeaker.

[Sylvain VAN DER WALDE]

I've got a Roberts DAB/FM Gemini 6 mains radio, which cost me well in excess of £100.00. Which? consumer mag. gave it a very good report on sound quality (yes, I know that some of you scorn Which? reports). And I'm pleased with its sound quality on both bands, and its build quality. It also has time shift on DAB. I also have a modern "Classic look" Roberts radio (with the controls at the top) which I haven't used for years (it's practically in new condition). I believe that's the one you're talking about, and I tend to agree with you about the quality of the printed circuit board. I was very disappointed to find (my memory is a bit vague on this) that the IF (intermediate frequency) filtering on FM was done by just one cheap-looking ceramic filter (no tuned circuits). That radio was quite expensive too. Whatever happened to the Hacker company, who made quality radios in the

50's.

Sylvain.

[Sylvain VAN DER WALDE]

I can tell.

The original battery is big. PP9?

I think that he may be talking about a _large_ mains/battery portable radio.

Very true.

Sylvain.

[Sylvain VAN DER WALDE]

I believe that I have the same radio, and I agree with everything that you've said about it.

Sylvain.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Excellent for electronic components well past their use by date too.

[HLAH]

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't touch Sony these days. They don't seem to be what they once were going by all the negative accounts online about their consumer AV gear.

H

[Clive George]

My bedside clock radio thing is a roberts - seems pretty good to me. However it isn't a traditional leather thing with tuning caps etc but a RDS radio (not by choice, although it does mean it keeps time by itself - and for that sort of thing I wanted something which wouldn't lose tune if I knocked something which limited the choice quite a lot).

I expect if I looked inside I'd find a couple of chips on a brown single sided PCB - just like every other piece of low-tech consumer electronics.

cheers, clive