back to article Ofcom blesses Linux-powered, open source DIY radio ‘revolution’

Small scale DAB radio was (quite literally) conceived in an Ofcom engineer’s garden shed in Brighton, on a Raspberry Pi, running a full open source stack, in his spare time. Four years later, Ofcom has given the thumbs up to small scale DAB after concluding that trials in 10 UK cities were judged to be a hit. We gave you an …

  1. batfastad

    Potato

    If it sounded better than my last DAB experience which had the sound quality of a potato underwater then I'm all for it!

    The problem with DAB is that a high proportion of annual radio listening time is when the receiver is moving around or in remote locations, an order of magnitude higher than with DVB. And DAB is pretty terrible at coping with either of those things.

    If anyone can point me in the direction of a portable pocket-sized DAB radio that can get through a whole test series of Test Match Special on a pair of AAAs then I'm sold! But until then, LW it is!

    1. Gerry 3
      Boffin

      Re: Potato

      The Sony XDR-P1DBP is sensitive on DAB/DAB+ (although a bit deaf on FM, and there's no LW) and will fit in a shirt pocket. It has a micro USB for charging its internal battery.

      Sadly there's no Line Out socket and it goes a bit deaf on DAB/DAB+ when earphones are plugged in because the telescopic aerial is then disconnected.

      There's a good review of portable DAB+ radios here and some blog posts here.

      1. Gene Cash Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Re: Potato

        goes a bit deaf on DAB/DAB+ when earphones are plugged in because the telescopic aerial is then disconnected

        What the hell kinda stupidass design is that? Here, you can have this jacket if it's cold out, but you can't wear it with gloves.

        1. cyberdemon Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Potato

          > There's no Line-Out socket and it goes a bit deaf on DAB/DAB+ when earphones are plugged in because the telescopic aerial is then disconnected

          > What the hell kinda stupidass design is that? Here, you can have this jacket if it's cold out, but you can't wear it with gloves.

          Because then you'd be able to connect a tape cassette recorder and steal content in er, perfect digital MP2 quality. Cassette tapes will be the death of the radio industry, don't you know!

        2. PNGuinn
          Go

          Re: Potato

          But I like my spuds IN their jacketses.

          No need for the gloves unless the spud's still hot.

      2. Gotno iShit Wantno iShit
        Thumb Up

        Re: Potato @Gerry 3

        Thanks for the link to the reviews, useful.

        Slightly bothersome that the Pure comes out so clearly on top. I bought a Pure Revo for internet and NAS streaming and it is utter, utter, UTTER shite. The Mrs wanted something more portable than a laptop to listen to Alex Lester at a civilised time of day. Great sound but the reviews neglected to mention it has no pause, forward or backward ability. This has the knock on that when it drops out, which it does a lot even on a wired network, it restarts the broadcast/track from the beginning. It's never managed to get past 5 minutes of any BBC programme we've tried to stream on it.

        It's a lot of years now and there have been zero firmware updates despite talking to Pure about it. It's just been a very expensive external speaker for something else. Even that is rare now as the power connector (in the unit, not the PSU) is so poor quality it needs cleaning most time I want to use it. Oh and the original PSU failed after a few years. [edit] On checking it was 6 years old, that doesn't feel good to me but better than 'a few'.

        I swore I'd never give Pure my money again. Reading that review I was wavering but having written the above and reminded myself just how shit the Revo is, nah.

        1. Gerry 3

          Re: Sony XDR-P1DBP

          The Sony obtained a poor rating because its DAB/DAB+ sensitivity is poor when using the earphones as an aerial. Perhaps they form a V shaped dipole which is effectively horizontally polarised, fine for most FM but not so good for the low-powered vertical transmissions that the minimuxes use?

          Similarly, when used as a tuner for a stereo hi-fi the Sony's aerial will only be the connecting lead.

          Otherwise it's a well-built no-frills pocket portable that's very sensitive on DAB/DAB+. Its choc-ice size means it's no boom box, but it's a good choice as a handy travel radio as long as you are aware of its strengths and weaknesses.

          BTW, there's some good DX reception at the moment on FM (and possibly DAB/DAB+).

    2. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: Potato

      Perhaps a slight misunderstanding: DAB radio is predicated on the basis that the receiver *will* be moving, and that there will be multiple low-powered transmitters on the same frequency coded such that interference is constructive.

      Trouble is that it's been (a) built as large transmitters co-sited with the FM transmitters and subject to similar fading and noise, and (b) sold as a stationary receiver technology. Since digital bitstreams *can't* fail gracefully (analogue gets noisier but remains generally intelligible, while digits just stop or, at best, burble) this is a recipe for disaster.

      Where DAB works it works excellently, on the move and occasionally at a stationary site, but where it doesn't, you need FM.

    3. Tony Humphreys

      Re: Potato

      Don't even bother with things like DAB, or batteries.

      Get yourself a nice germanium diode, a toilet role core, a reel of wire, a variable capacitor and a crystal earpiece. Put it all together, with the help of Google, and you have a nice AM radio receiver - batteries not required.

    4. FlossyThePig

      Re: Potato

      @batfastad

      If anyone can point me in the direction of a portable pocket-sized DAB radio that can get through a whole test series of Test Match Special on a pair of AAAs then I'm sold! But until then, LW it is!

      Took a little pocket DAB radio to a test match as my little Roberts AM one had died. Sound was fine but delay made it useless, players were starting their second run before the ball on bat click made it to my earphones.

      I can remember driving through France listening to the NatWest final on LW with the signal dying south of Bordeaux. Current car has all sorts of fancy "infotainment" features (DAB, Bluetooth, SatNav, etc.) but not LW, reception of British stations vanished shortly after getting off the ferry.

      1. brotherelf
        Windows

        Re: Potato

        Ah yes, the joys of long wave, maybe one of the upsides of being a nuclear power.

        (Over here in Kartoffelland, we now have no AM radio at all anymore, short, medium or long, not even Deutsche Welle, and TPTB are making noises like "can't we make sale of FM radios illegal to push adoption of DAB+?")

  2. M7S

    They'll just use this as another "thing"

    to show the popularity of DAB and hasten the switch off of FM and related technologies.

    Not to decry the technical achievement involved, and full marks to the sheddie's involved.

  3. Mage Silver badge
    FAIL

    No, nothing to do with DIY Innovation

    It's abrogation of regulation and pushing a failed format that only suits National Broadcasters.

    Also the ergonomics of DAB for users is a disaster. AM/FM radios are superior.

    Ofcom is pro DAB and anti AM/FM for political reasons.

    Comreg has already done the same "promotion" of such a system here in Ireland.

    This is typical Ofcom (and earlier Comreg) propaganda.

    It's only a moderately clever achievement as 10 years ago I was doing this with MPEG4 HD DDT using an off the shelf card in a PC.

    I don't mean at all to denigrate the techies that did this, just Ofcom's exploitation of it.

    http://www.dektec.com/

    It's easier with DAB.

    Why are there no DAB pirates? The Technology is off the shelf.

  4. Vince

    Haven't they turned DAB off yet?

  5. John Robson Silver badge

    So...

    When can I pop one on the local tall building for my community radio station?

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