Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and WWLG author, John Figliozzi, who shares the following review:
A Review And Analysis Of The Choyong LC90 (Export Version)
By John A. Figliozzi
General
To my knowledge, this is the first radio to combine AM Shortwave with Internet Radio. This makes it the first true “full service” radio incorporating ALL of radio’s major platforms. Many radio listeners question why this hasn’t been done sooner, so this very good first effort is most welcome.
The initial presentation of the radio to the new owner is impressive. The stylish box in which it arrives is worthy of a respected instrument of high quality. The radio has the solid substantial feel of a device with excellent build quality. Its sizing – that of a paperback book along the lines of some previous well-respected AM/FM/SW receivers like the Grundig YB-400 – gives it the perfect form factor for a radio that can be enjoyed both in the home and as a portable.
There is so much to like here. Over and above its unique combining of Internet radio and shortwave, there’s a “permanent” battery that offers many hours of use before it needs recharging, ATS tuning, the ability to save frequencies and stations in several preference lists, several ways of searching for Internet radio stations, an easy way to add Internet stations not already listed by the manufacturer, and others.
But the LC90 really shines with its fantastic audio on FM and Internet radio. There’s a woofer, a tweeter and a low frequency diaphragm inside the speaker cavity that occupies the left half the case – and nothing else. The radio’s excellent build quality and its developers’ efforts to produce a world class audio section in a portable radio really pays off.
But no radio is perfect, and this one obviously is a work in progress. So, being critical – which is what a review and analysis like this does — should not imply disapproval on any level. On the contrary, the LC90 is already a well-formed radio worthy of consideration by any purchaser.
The Screen
The screen that is the center of the LC90 provides much information depending on the platform being used. But in some cases, useful information is missing and in other cases the information provided seems unnecessary or of questionable utility.
In AM (MW), FM and SW, it is not readily apparent what all the symbols mean or why they are there. The time, signal strength and SNR (signal to noise ratio), bandwidth, meter band, heart (for including a frequency in “favorites”) and the “Freq. vs. Addr.” indicators are all helpful and understandable. But what is meant by “Memo” isn’t entirely clear. Is it holding just my preferences? Or the number of stations found by ATS? Or something else?
So, too, with the Internet Radio screen. What do the three dots, the speaker icon and the return icon mean? The ability to tune stations in sequence as they appear across the bottom of the screen depending on mode is both unique and helpful. But the use of a timer to tick off how long one might listen to a particular station seems of dubious value.
Some suggestions for better use of the screen in some circumstances are detailed below.
Operation
Initial setup matching the radio to home internet service proceeded flawlessly. The time clock is in 24-hour mode and showed correct time and date in my time zone. Some purchasers had previously noted that the clock showed a time one hour earlier than the actual time. I surmise that this is because the clock remains in standard time year-round. There is no facility to reset the clock, compensate for seasonal time changes or set the clock manually. This is an oversight that should be addressed.
This is a sophisticated, multi-faceted radio. As impressive as it already may be, it should be perceived as a work in progress in need of the improvements it will get eventually through firmware updates and design modifications. It would be helpful if those updates could come directly and seamlessly through the Internet, something that apparently can’t be done currently.
The LC90 comes with a rather short, almost cryptically worded pamphlet. This can serve as an ok quick start-up guide. But after using the radio, it’s obvious that there’s need for a comprehensive operation manual with copious directions for the user, along the lines that Eton provided for the E1. A radio of this quality and at this price point demands such consideration.
In short, becoming fully familiar with and comfortable using all the features of the LC90 requires a prodigious learning curve, one that is not intuitively discerned. I have to say that even after using it almost constantly for a few weeks, I feel I am still missing things.
Just a few examples of aspects that go unexplained include:
- What does “Auto Play” mean in Settings?
- Getting to preferences (the “heart” icon) is confusing and I’ve inadvertently removed them without learning how it happened.
- Why does the screen show “Please add radio channel first” when I think I’ve already done that?
- Why does screen alarmingly show “Saved channels removed”, having done so when I press the tuning dial thinking I am obtaining a list of my preferred or saved stations?
The cleverness behind the LC90 is not intuitively apparent. If I hit the wrong keys in combination or hard press instead of soft press a key, I get a result I don’t understand and for which there is no explanation in the exceedingly short manual provided now. In some cases, I put myself in a corner I can’t get out of, so I must reset by shutting down and restarting the radio to get back to base.
Following are my observations on the performance of the LC90 by platform:
FM
The LC90 has a very good FM section that is quite sensitive. Using the ATS feature, (automatic tuning) it found 37 stations in Sarasota FL, for example.
For its size – and even considering many larger radios — the LC90 has an excellent audio response on FM. However, although it has activated stereo capability, it does not appear to actually provide stereo through its ear/headphone jack. This is because the same output is used to provide audio to the speakers and the ear/headphone jack. This feels like an oversight that should be rectified. The radio does “recognize” a stereo plug and audio does play into both ears. It’s just not stereo audio.
As currently configured this LC90 does not offer RDBS (RDS in Europe) on FM. This should be incorporated into a radio of this quality being offered at this price point.
Even so, in this user’s opinion it earns a 4.5 on scale of 5 on FM. But if it had stereo and RBDS, it would easily earn a 5.
A question arises: Were HD Radio (in North America) and DAB+ (in Europe and Australia – if these are targeted markets for the LC90) considered for incorporation into this radio by its developers? If not, why not; and, if so, why was a decision taken not to include them?
Shortwave
Performance of the LC90 on shortwave is very good, especially since it clearly is not intended as a hobbyist’s DX machine. As such in my opinion, it doesn’t require the SSB capability that some have said they wish it has.
Rather, this radio is intended for the content-focused listener. I view the AM (MW), FM and SW platforms as back-up alternatives for and secondary to the primary focus — Internet Radio. Nonetheless, the LC-90’s performance is above average on both FM and SW which should be assuring to anyone considering its purchase.
The LC90 is quite sensitive on SW for a small portable using just its built-in expandable and rotatable 9 stage rod antenna. But it does especially well when a common clothesline reel external antenna is extended and plugged into the receptacle provided for that purpose on the radio’s right-hand side. (Similar improvement is noted for AM (MW) and FM, as well.)
Complaints about placement of this receptacle close to the tuning knob is of no concern when an external antenna of the type described above using a 3.5mm plug connector is used. Any more sophisticated an external antenna would likely overload this radio considering that “birdies” – false signals internally generated by the radio itself — can be detected throughout the SW spectrum even when just using its built-in rod antenna. This flaw should be addressed in any future modification or upgrade.
The audio enhancements made on this radio through unique use of speakers and their orientation are not as apparent here as they are when listening to FM and Internet Radio.
On AM signals generally — both SW and AM (MW) – a listener can detect artifacts in the audio. Audible random “clicks” often can be heard – usually when receiving weaker stations – which sounds as if the radio’s audio section is clipping. Adjusting the bandwidth appears to offer only minimal help with this.
Indeed, the audio produced by SW and AM (MW) sounds somewhat mechanical except on very strong stations. It seems to lack body or depth on SW and AM. Some of this undoubtedly is due to the quality of AM audio to begin with. But the latter does sound more natural on other receivers. The 7 bandwidths provided (1, 1.8, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 6 kHz) do help to somewhat shape the audio, but it appears that there could be better choices for what this radio is trying to achieve.
Nonetheless on SW, the LC90 rates a comparative 3.75 on a scale of 5 for sensitivity off its built-in antenna. That rises to a 4.0 when the external antenna described above is connected.
An unrelated anomaly was noted from using the radio on SW: The LC90 (or at least this test unit) apparently cannot be tuned directly to frequencies in the 25 MHz (11m) band. The radio will only accept 4 integers here, so it reverts to 120m instead of 11m. Instead, one must press the tuning knob to change the display to 11m and then tune manually via the knob to the desired frequency.
AM (Mediumwave)
All Internet-capable radios up to now have avoided including AM – both MW and SW – into their designs due to noise and interference issues generated by the radio’s internal control signal and screen, and the difficulty involved in shielding both.
While acknowledging the considerable effort put forward by the LC90’s developers to ameliorate this problem, the radio does not fully overcome these challenges to producing “clean” AM audio.
The developers themselves seem to recognize this problem. While they have incorporated an internal ferrite MW antenna in the radio’s design, its utility is overwhelmed by internal interference. Rotating the radio to emphasize or null certain signals yields no apparent difference. Consequently, the developer suggests that the listener extend the internal rod antenna for “best results”.
The AM (MW) section is unfortunately the weakest aspect of this radio. Daytime reception is very poor – rated comparatively a 1.5 on a scale of 5. The LC90 receives and saves through ATS only very local stations and misses several of them.
Reception does improve after dark, largely due to skywave propagation. But it is only comparatively fair – 2.5 on a scale of 5.
Using the external clothesline antenna described above improves daytime reception to a 2.0, but those purchasing this radio should expect only marginal pedestrian – even comparatively substandard — results with AM (MW).
In sum, the audio improvements the LC90’s developers have successfully worked to provide elsewhere in the LC90 are almost undetectable here unless one is listening to an exceptionally strong AM (MW) station.
Internet Radio
To this observer, this is the core of the LC90.
There are three equally important tasks that an Internet radio must achieve to serve as a quality example for the genre:
- Stability of signal reproduction,
- Superior audio quality,
- Easy user interface.
Let me begin by pointing out that it is readily apparent that the developers put lots of work into this aspect of the LC90.
The stations that do play successfully sound very good with excellent stability. But compared to other internet radios I own and have experienced, there are just too many stations that lack that stability (characterized by frequent audio breaks or “hiccups”) or don’t load at all.
Here are some specific observations from use over several weeks:
Simply put, the user interface needs work. While the LC90 offers several flexible tuning assists, there seem to be too many that overlap and others missing. The effort does not seem to be centrally focused enough. For example, listings within each category appear randomly, and many unexplainably with what looks like the same links that are indistinguishable and scattered throughout a given category.
Indeed, there are many individual listings that are repeated within the same and different lists which are found via the Tag, Menu, News. Music, Language buttons on the radio. Why? Is it to provide different codecs or levels of streaming quality? There is no indication as to the way each might differ one from another, if at all.
As mentioned earlier, there is much going on here that cannot be intuitively discerned by the user/listener — and it must be! Comparing it to other Internet radios such as the Pure Elan Connect, which uses the constantly updated Frontier Silicon station and podcast database, the LC90’s Internet radio operation is confusing and the logic behind it is difficult to perceive.
Some stations appear in Chinese and Cyrillic script, and others just as dots across a line. This is unhelpful to listeners outside these cultures. Also, there appear to be features within the LC90’s architecture that are “hidden”. For example, through an inadvertent combination of key presses I found myself briefly in a listing that appeared designed solely for the Chinese market until I reset the radio by turning the radio off and then on again.
The developers appear to have created their own stations database rather than use one of the others already in use on other Internet radios. Since it is apparently an entirely new approach, it’s impossible to determine if it is continuously updated, systematically modified or updated periodically according to some schedule. This observer did not see any activity or change that would indicate that anything was updated over the weeks he was using the LC90.
Many domestic BBC links (Radio 3,4,5,6, e.g.) just don’t work. When ostensibly “loading” them after selecting them, the percentage just stays at zero. Given the importance of the BBC internationally, this is concerning and should be corrected with all deliberate speed.
In fact, this observer experienced an inordinate number of links that didn’t seem to work at all. Some links also play initially, but then just “hang” or stop working or “hiccup” periodically (RTE, RTHK, e.g).
When comparing the LC90’s admittedly many offerings with those on Internet radios using the Frontier Silicon database, many stations appear to be missing. However, the LC90’s developers have included in the radio’s architecture a very accessible means for the radio’s users to add stations that are not already in the radio’s database. Whether these are just added only to the user’s radio or added globally to the LC-90 database is unknown.
In short, the way these lists — and the way the user tunes them in — work now appear to detract from rather than enhance the performance and user’s overall experience with the LC90. This situation leads this observer to the perception that the developer’s concept(s) behind station lists and tuning is unfocused and disorganized. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. As stated, this user interface needs reconsideration and refinement in the opinion of this observer to make its use more intuitive for the user.
The LC90’s display for Internet radio is attractive but supplies only stream loading percentages and the station name. There is no means of knowing the actual quality of the audio signal other than by ear. The timer provided counting how long the station has been playing is not really of any practical use when listening to an Internet radio station.
A better use of the LC90’s screen would be to include visuals like station logos and station-provided metadata, neither of which are present now.
An anomaly that came to light through use: The “Podcast” button only seems to provide stations like other buttons, not podcast lists. This observer could find no way to access or listen to podcasts. Again, this needs to be corrected.
In the opinion of this observer, the Internet section of the LC90 earns an overall 3.5 on a scale of 5 with the proviso that the radio’s audio performance with the highest quality Internet streams earns a clear 5.
Bluetooth
The LC-90’s Bluetooth feature works well. Audio volume is jointly controlled by the source and the radio. Its set-up and operation appear seamless.
TF and SIM cards
Not tested. Since most SIM cards are tied to phones here, I anticipate that Internet access for the LC90 Export Version will remain with WiFi for the vast majority or, when and where WiFi is unavailable, by linking one’s phone to the radio using Bluetooth.
Neither was the timer or sleep function tested, but it can be assumed that both work as they should.
Final Notes
Other reviewers have expressed a desire for an air band, SSB capability and a fold out strip on the rear of the radio’s case so that it might be angled when used.
Frankly, I don’t see the need for any of these with the LC90 or any future enhancement or modification of it. Anyone wishing to angle the receiver can find an inexpensive tilt stand on which to place it. But, in that regard, I would suggest that the developer recreate the rod antenna so that it clears the perimeter of the case and allows it a full 360-degree rotation.
Otherwise, my preference would be that any such effort and the resources necessary to pursue them be concentrated on the more important matters I highlight for improvement in this analysis.
Just bought one of these at a clearance outlet – not sure how they ended up with one but for $100 I’ll try it: New – sealed in box.
It had version 4.5 loaded, I connected to wifi – it cannot use even WPA2 secured connections. My router no longer supports WPA so I created a guest account with no password to get it to work. Upgraded to the latest firmware – 4.6.2. SSB is still terrible, wifi connection issues not reolved, and the interface is still a mess. MW has not improved (I live just a few miles from an AM broadcast tower – this radio picks it up with the telescoping antenna extended but the signal is poor – even going outdoors yields a signal filled with static – really?) Using an outdoor antenna overloads the front end really bad on all bands – I hear local FM stations on the SW bands. There should be a simple signal attenuation control like Sangean and old RS models. Adding an outboard MFJ attenuator helps somewhat.
As John said in his review, pressing multiple keys at once put the radio into weird states. There should be a comprehensive manual written for this device.
Adding stations for OTT listening is terrible compared to other internet radios. As I said on another site, for the high price tag most people will pay, you could almost buy a couple of C Crane radios (Wifi3 and Skywave) and have MUCH better performance. Audio and battery life is the only areas where this radio excels.
I only spent $100 – I feel sorry for folks expecting a better receiver for $250.
This is an old thread but I just came across this thing in stock at Universal Radio of all places on their front page! So much for being out of business!
Anyway, what I came here to say is that I had to go through too much effort just to find out the supported LTE bands for this radio: 2 (PCS 1900), 4 (AWS 2100/1700), 5 (old 850 MHz cellular), and TDD-LTE Band 41 (2600 MHz old Sprint band, now [AFAIK] 5G-NR only here). Someone commented an IMEI search from ATT & VZW came up incompatible; someone else said the same for a Euro carrier (but forgot which). I think both of those carriers have started white lists because there’s no other obvious reason why it shouldn’t.
If I were to buy this, I have Google Fi (running on top of T-Mobile US) and their shared data SIM (up to 4) would work perfectly in something like this. As often with these Chinese Rx-only radios, though, I highly doubt I will especially at the price they’re asking.
From what I’ve seen of this radio on Youtube videos is that it appears to be making use of the “Radio Browser” database of internet radio stations.
https://www.radio-browser.info/
This database is used by a number of free/open source internet radio applications like “RadioDroid”, “Open Radio” and “Transistor” for Android, along with the “Shortwave” desktop application for Linux. (BTW, “Open Radio” integrates with Android auto if you happen to own a vehicle that uses it) .
I have from time to time been a contributor of radio stations to this database, and in seeing Youtube reviewers scroll through the internet radio station database, I recognized my “digital handwriting” (so to speak) on some of the entries in the database.
This database is a completely “crowd sourced” database that is updated by its users, and not by any kind of commercial entity. That’s both a strength…in that anything that’s missing from the database can be added in minutes, and a weakness in terms of the quality of some of the entries.
Also, the database had some problems a number of years ago with it being defaced, and so the lead maintainer of the database removed the ability of anyone to “edit” entries. Despite many folks putting forward what I thought were good constructive suggestions on how to restore edit functions but in a more responsible way, the lead maintainer hasn’t budged.
So, you can add stations to the database and that is all.
There were times when I entered something and made a typo or other error like that, and I had no way to fix my own errors. All I could do was add another entry that was correct. So the result would be two entries….one with my typo and another that was correct.
So while the internet radio station database is really quite extensive, it looks kind of sloppy at times…and that’s a bit of why. The database could use a “DX’ers touch”. I should probably give lessons on how to extract the “real” stream URL from a website, since I’ve done so much of it and there are very few streams that stump me these days. 🙂 If you can figure out the “Web Developer” tools in Firefox or Chrome, you can figure this stuff out! (Firefox I find easier to work with on this kind of stuff).
Anyway, a most interesting radio and one that I think I might actually buy…even if for no other reason than (I think) I’ve made a small roundabout contribution to it.
As long as you’re providing feedback:
I really wish it was possible to sort (and possibly group) my favourites, and it was a bit less easy to remove them inadvertently.
It seems easy enough to save SW, FM and MW frequencies and I like that they throw up a QC code that takes me to a website that allows me to name them, but once I name them and try to re-access the stations through the favourites, I’m asked to name them again instead of going directly to the station, and my often names seem to be forgotten.
And with e-waste in mind, I hope the next version of their radios come with a removable/replaceable rechargeable battery. I’d much rather replace a battery than a whole radio.
I bought the mini version (LC90m) for US$200 from Amazon. There is no documentation beyond the basic pamphlet that came with it anywhere online, but some of user reviews for the regular sized LC90 on radiooddity suggest that software can only be updated via a SIM card. So for kicks I bought an Eiotclub SIM card, which runs on AT&T/T-Mobile. I activated the card and the radio works quite well on a 4G connection. Sadly, currently there’s no software update to resolve some of the bugs, but it’s great to know that when I go to sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and elsewhere, where often WiFi connections are poor but cell service is good, I can use it there.
Agreed with the rest of your review at the extent that it applies to the mini. The software definitely feels v.1 but if they continue to improve that, this could be a game-changer radio.
Tested this radio with a TF card full of OTR shows that work perfectly in three other m3p devices I have. The Choyong LC 90 displays the files nicely but chokes when asked to go forward or backward a file and begin playing. Sometimes when selecting one file to play, it plays the next one instead.
Spent some time trying to figure out how to establish a new station using the methodology mentioned in the instructions, but could not get anything to work.
US stations in the libraries are arranged by individual States but Washington, DC is not listed. Thus significant stations like NPR station WAMU and news station WTOP are not available.
No apparent way to upgrade the software on my radio.
This radio is going up in the attic permanently…
Evidently you need to buy a SIM card to upgrade the software. I bought an EIOTCLUB Prepaid SIM Card from Amazon and tested it. There is no new software, but at least the radio checks it.
Phil:
Use the menu function on the LC90 to add WTOP and other streaming radio stations you like to listen to, that the LC90 does not have. There are instructions on their website on how this is done. Since the radio has terrible AM reception; I’ve just loaded up all the AM stations I like listening, into the radio. I think the radio is incredible. Battery life is excellent. FM and SW is excellent. Internet radio listening is excellent; depending on the streaming conditions. Build quality is outstanding. Also; find a leather smith and have a custom case made for it. Well worth the investment.
I suggest that radio designers should consider using color e-ink displays as low RFI devices to avoid using noisier kinds of color displays.
Any word on the price point?
Glad to see someone step into this market niche. Let’s hope it sells so others might get into the game (looking at you, C. Crane).
Soaking of, any idea on the price point? Don’t remember seeing that in the review (which was quite detailed and seemed fair– good job).
The lack of SSB completely ruins the radio for me. Anything that can go into the SW band should have SSB. SSB can be used for far more than just listening to Hams and non broadcast signals, it can be used to listen to AM broadcasts of any kind to side step interference. Plus without SSB you do miss out on a bit (especially pirates). Listener or DXer, SSB should be a requirement for anyone. The only time when SSB doesn’t make sense is if the radio is only an MW/AM and FM radio (no shortwave) but even then it would be nice.
Latest update from the manufacturer and designer is that work is ongoing on adding SSB capability with 10 hz resolution, as well as work on the UI for including SSB. Adding a physical button for SSB would require modification of the cabinet, so SSB may be added under MENU options. I have recommended that SSB be controllable via one of the two tuning knobs at the right if not also via key presses. Work in progress for the next version of the radio
In a recent firmware update, they added SSB support.
But it’s a buggy implementation, like on the pl330w unfortunately.
John,
I take it that you wanted this radio to listen to broadcast programs from around the world instead of listening to amateur radio and other non broadcast signals.
This radio like many others from Asia is missing Digital Radio Mondiale. DRM produces FM quality sound even in the HF bands provided the signal is strong enough to be reliably received. In August 2023 China has followed the European Union and made terrestrial digital radio reception compulsory in new cars for domestic use, but have gone further in specifying DRM in the frequencies below 30 MHz and their modified version of DRM in the FM band. They are now going to rollout medium frequency transmitters, they already have 5 high frequency 30 kW DRM transmitters for internal broadcasting. North Korea also has one and there is a religious HF broadcaster in Guam who also transmits in DRM. India has by far the greatest number of DRM transmitters including some HF transmitters. Indonesia has started DRM broadcasting and it is expanding. There is now a very small DRM receiver module available to manufacturers and it will tune every broadcast band in the world.
The reason why the clock is correct is that it is using the time from the time server signal from the internet which is in UTC time and the local time is generated by adding the time zone local offset to the UTC time value. It is negative if West of Greenwich UK or positive in the East.
I think since this radio — at least its export version — appears to be targeting the North American market, DRM capability wasn’t a priority. Even now on SW, nobody in targeting NA with DRM.
DRM does not produce FM-like sound quality on HF bands. The bitrates used are less than 30 kbps. Dial-up internet in the late 90s could do up to 56 kbps, DRM is behind that. Which station in Indonesia transmits DRM signals?
Don’t believe what the DRM Consortium and well-paid spokespersons tell you — DRM . . . . STILL . . . isn’t going much of anywhere for portable radio use.
Great review. Very detailed.
For the price, no SSB and poor AM BCB performance rule it out for me. And it doesn’t continuously tune SW up to 30MHz?
And obviously, you need internet for internet radio. Duh. But if I have internet access, I can listen to any internet radio station via my PC or even my phone, and save them in memory/bookmarks, probably easier than this radio allows apparently.
I’ll wait to see the next iterations. For now it does not move my radio acquisition meter. Now maybe if it would include some SDR features like a waterfall and large bandwidth signal display…
Does it read m3u8 streams as the developer said it? It’s very useful to read m3u8 streams, it’d be one of the firsts radio to do it
It’s hard to determine what streams/codecs it does read. There’s no published specs and the radio itself gives few clues.
I got hold of an m3u8 link and successively added it: Al Jazeera English https://live-hls-audio-web-aje.getaj.net/VOICE-AJE/01.m3u8
If you scan the QR code, you will see a long list of audio formats available: AAC, FLAC, FLV, MP3, OGG, etc. m3u8 is not even on the list but it works fine.
successively -> successfully
..why NOT include SSB, Air Band, LW..? Is this radio with Wi-Fi and do you need a home router, or just pick a “
“HOT SPOT” and hope for a signal…? If you must purchase a home router to receive internet radio, then this radio is nothing earth-shaking…
Hi Mike. I said that because it doesn’t fit in with the primary intent of this radio. There are other radios that can scratch the itch of those interested in monitoring hams, utilities and aircraft. And–yes–if you want to listen to internet radio, you must have access to the internet. Most by far already have a home router.
Apparently you can use a sim card (LTE?).
Right, to comment to the Internet. 4G however.
connect
We await LC90 version 2. Reads as a possibly great radio, sham about the failing features. And in the European area DAB+ is a necessity.
In regards to the BBC database my Fontier Nuvola powered Sangean does not allow loading BBC 2-6 or any other BBC Chanel except 1. I used to have them loaded as favorites but the message not compatible with your devices comes up now. I understand it is some type of licensing issue.
Art – I’ve been trying to educate myself about this. The BBC says some gobbledygook about changing the way it distributes its domestic radio networks to serve its inland audience better and ensure that they — who pay for it through the license fee — (essentially) get what they pay for. An individual like you and me cannot readily get the links the BBC uses because they don’t as a matter of policy any longer make them available to us. The BBC will only deal with other corporates — internet radio chip makers, radio manufacturers and the like — granting them and by extension their customers access to these networks. One suspects some sort of payment is involved. In the absence of that, the BBC suggests that individuals access them via BBC Sounds available to everyone and use the Bluetooth feature on their radios linked to their devices to hear them there. Not optimal, I agree, but the BBC is saying that since you and I are not license fee payers, this is what we have to do if our radio makers aren’t playing ball with the BBC.
In addition, Art, in mid 2023, BBC dropped use of some codecs it termed “legacy”. Consequently, some older receivers who couldn’t change or update their codecs lost access to the BBC domestic networks. BBC World Service remains “in the clear” as it were.
I emphasize the difficulty for manufacturers to offer universal receivers that would pick up :
* DRM and DRM+ – main user India
* DAB+: Europe and Australia
* HD Radio (IBOC) in the USA
Not to mention the fact that in South Korea, DBM is an improvement on DAB+ …
A receiver integrating all these standards will inevitably be expensive, even very expensive, and only one standard will be used! Some manufacturers are planning to segment production to suit the market! For example, an emergency radio receiver capturing NOAA frequencies is of no interest to Europeans, who will prefer a DAB+ receiver incorporating EWL (Emergency Warning Functionality) … But I haven’t found one on the market yet!
What a shame about the bad AM performance. Even though I wouldn’t call myself a MW DX’er, I always look for good AM reception on any radio I buy. I like the look of this radio and the attention paid to the audio quality is impressive, but the AM performance and the quirky operation has put me off.
Yeah. As John notes, manufacturers have struggled to make portables with exceptional AM reception when the radio sports color screens, CPUs, and WiFi. It’s hard to isolate all of those noise paths in a handheld unit. I hope with V2 they can mitigate some of the MW noise intrusion.
Is the screen active all the time?
Or can it be made timeout or go off completely?
If so, it would be interesting to see if temporarily disabling the screen can improve MW reception?
It would also help battery life.
(the radio could be designed that pressing any button or turning tuning knob wakes up the screen again, from a total screen-off state)