02-10-2016, 12:16 PM
(02-10-2016, 11:56 AM)Paul_RK Wrote: I actually rather welcomed DAB at the time, not just for ready access to the BBC World Service, still a favourite station here, and the now defunct Radio 7, but because it introduced a little life into a dreary domestic radio market where the vast majority of consumers were settling for very cheap and very poor portables. Then, with the maturing of the DAB market, most folk looking to buy a standalone radio at all today are probably settling for very cheap and very poor DAB portables...
Paul
Yes, agree entirely.
The biggest issue is the race to the bottom on price driven by big retail chains etc and falling quality of all consumer electronics and electrical goods, partially fuelled by marketing companies buying up well known brands.
Bush, Philips, RCA, Akai, Alba, Grundig and Roberts etc on radios, TV, so called HiFi are merely labels on cheapest to source electronics now.
Tesco has a "Goodmans" and own brand mini "HiFi" here, that doesn't appear to even meet 1970s definition of HiFi.
They do have a €9 "World Band" LW/MW/SW/VHF radio, but you might have to take it back and swap to get one that works properly. Ergonomics are excellent. It's let down by a too small loudspeaker driven by a low power stereo headphone amp (in mono bridge). It's a simple superhet with two ceramic filters (10.7MHz and 460KHz).
I did get an early version of the Tesco Kitchen radio, again speaker too small compared to possible for case. A second sample had to be taken back. I opened it to see why it was full of whistles on MW & LW. The 10.7 and 455 or 460 IF gone. The 4 gang tuning capacitor replaced by a plastic pot (what will life of that be?). Only visible RF parts were LW & MW ferrite coil and one VHF coil. Performance on VHF poor too compared with original. A small watch style crystal on the IC. I've no idea how it works. An Asian Kit using CD9088 (=7088T) and TRF 3 pin IC like MK484 works better than the Tesco AM/FM pocket sports radio (which is a real superhet).
Anyone interested in a thread reviewing eBay radio kits? Perhaps in a "private" section? Very many from £4 to £12. Good practice for beginners to solder and a cheap source of ferrite rods, polycons, IFTs and even audio transformers!
