For those who might be interested, Amazon currently has this radio discounted more than I have seen previously. Current price is $137.75 – as always, this may be a limited time or limited amount of radios available at this price. Here is the link:
Robert Gulley, AK3Q, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs at All Things Radio.
Amazon currently has this radio discounted more than I have seen previously. Current price is $137.75
Now gone up slightly. Not exactly huge discounts.
Was: $149.35
Price: $141.88
You Save: $7.47 (5%)
Is AM/FM reception audio muted on this radio during manual tuning along the band with the rotary control, or can you always hear ‘what is there’ as you manually tune along the band?
Joe,
I didn’t mean to single you out. I was mentally reviewing some of the “petty” complaints by reviewers on Amazon. Your issue is rather typical of HD’s hybrid mode. If you live in an area with borderline reception of a specific station, the “warbling” phenomenon can be noticeable. I understand and your complaint of this hybrid mode is valid. Hopefully, the FCC will eventually allow a strictly digital mode, especially on the MW band.
Ron,
Yes, a slightly fast clock which does NOT affect one’s ability to rise for work, fall to sleep, or stay informed in emergencies does NOT detract one bit from the radio’s FUNCTIONALITY. NO thing is perfect and an atomic clock on a desktop radio is a bit unnecessary.
I bought this radio, and really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, it has a flaw that made it unusable for me: If the HD signal for a particular station is weak in your area, the station will “warble” back and forth between the HD and FM signal. I would have kept this radio if there were a way to defeat the HD signal altogether, but alas, there isn’t.
I currently own two other Sangean tabletop radios, both of which I like better than the HDR-18: the WR-15, and the WR-50P. The new WR-7 also looks pretty sweet for someone who doesn’t need AM (e.g., me).
I have one. It’s a fabulous radio in all respects. Yes, I know that some people will nitpick anything to death, e.g. the blue light and slightly fast clock. Essentially, this radio is flawless except for the ideal of using a compact IR remote that fits in a shirt’s pocket. Am I nitpicking, too? 😉
Tom, I’m glad you’re happy with the HDR-18. Maybe you live in a better reception area than I do. In my case, it wasn’t nitpicking; certain stations were simply unlistenable due to the “warbling” issue.
So what you’re saying is that – apart from the fact that the radio can be tiring to look at and listen to, and the clock doesn’t keep good time – this radio with a clock in it is flawless? 😉
All HD radios warble back and forth on weak signals. That’s just one of the reasons I gave up on HD (and think it was a terrible idea) long ago. FYI – listen to a weak signal on HD-2. Complete drop-outs! Great for talk radio. 😛
It would be great if they introduced a design where after an HD dropout occurred or if the signal is below a certain db level that it would just stay on a standard analog signal.
This same phenomenon was very present in many of the first automatic headlight sensors. You would go under a bridge or through the shadows of trees and your lights would come on and then cycle back to off. This has improved overtime as it appears the car manufactures have added delays to the lights. Maybe the same can be done for these HD Radio circuits?
” If the HD signal for a particular station is weak in your area, ”
There quite likely is some way of forcing analog-only reception on the current station being received (such as by holding a button or buttons for several seconds), but so far unpublished by the manufacturer?
The HD component of the station may of course be troublesome due to reasons other than a weak signal, such as a distant station(s) fading up in strength on the adjacent +/- 0.2MHz channel(s) due to ‘Tropo’ or Sporadic-E on the FM band, lightning storms or some nearby non-broadcast interference.
Just pressing a button to force analogue-only reception (until the next change of station by the user) would be a user-friendly feature and zero extra cost to the set.
“Just pressing a button to force analogue-only reception (until the next change of station by the user) would be a user-friendly feature and zero extra cost to the set.”
Yes, one would think so. For me, it would have made the difference between returning the HDR-18 and keeping it (in spite of the lack of backup power for the clock, which I would consider an indispensable feature for a device that one relies on to wake up in the morning).
Hi Joe and everybody else,
The warble between HD and non-HD reception really is a deal-breaker for me! And I was just about to place an order! The Sangean WR-2 radio looks identical to the HDR-18. From the little I’ve been told by hardly totally reliable sales representatives, it has the same electronic “guts” as the HDR-18, only without the 18’s stereo output for hooking it to one’s larger home stereo system, — but still with jack for stereo headphones — and with easier access to the inner electronics. But have they fixed the warble problem you discuss on it? Is it the newer or older of the two models? Why are there two different models that are nearly identical in the first place?? I know none of these things. So if anyone knows whether the WR-2 version of the radio has the warble problem solved, or whether Sangean has now fixed the HDR-18 itself, perhaps by a adding a defeat HD switch — and how could they have possily designed it without one! — please let me know. Otherwise, peace symbols and hippie beads to one and all! … Well, at least enjoy your day!