{"id":30295,"date":"2018-01-16T07:24:53","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T11:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=30295"},"modified":"2018-01-16T18:51:11","modified_gmt":"2018-01-16T22:51:11","slug":"a-review-of-the-sangean-hdr-16-am-fm-hd-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/a-review-of-the-sangean-hdr-16-am-fm-hd-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"A review of the Sangean HDR-16 AM\/FM HD Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny that, while I\u2019ve written dozens and dozens of radio reviews over the years, I\u2019ve never written even a single review that included an HD radio.<\/p>\n

Well, the time to begin is now: HD radio, here we come.<\/p>\n

Those readers living outside North America may be scratching their heads, asking, \u201cWhat exactly is<\/i> \u2018HD radio?\u2019\u201d To answer in clear terms, I\u2019ll turn the question over to Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/p>\n

HD Radio<\/b> is a trademarked term for iBiquity’s in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data by using a digital signal embedded “on-frequency” immediately above and below a station’s standard analog signal, providing the means to listen to the same program in either HD (digital radio with less noise) or as a standard broadcast (analog radio with standard sound quality). The HD format also provides the means for a single radio station to simultaneously broadcast one or more different programs in addition to the program being transmitted on the radio station’s analog channel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Got that? \u00a0In brief, HD radio is digital radio broadcasts that occupy the same FM\/AM spectrum currently allocated for analog broadcasts. <\/i>\u00a0Wikipedia adds:<\/p>\n

[HD radio] was selected by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2002 as a digital audio broadcasting method for the United States, and is the only digital system approved by the FCC for digital AM\/FM broadcasts in the United States.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For my own part I had mostly ignored HD radio, assuming there would be few stations to listen to from my rural home location. That is, until recently, when I purchased a car that has built-in HD radio reception. I was impressed by the number of commercial stations I found that I can receive via HD radio. In truth, only a handful of the mainstream HD station offerings had any appeal for me, but I really took notice when I received a commercial-free jazz station via the HD2 channel of my favorite NPR member station, WFAE<\/a>. \u00a0Having been a jazz fan since I studied music in college, I was intrigued: could a portable HD radio receive this distant HD station reliably? \u00a0I had my doubts; moreover, I really didn\u2019t want to purchase a radio, then be obligated to send it back if it didn\u2019t receive anything.<\/p>\n

Instead, I contacted Sangean. \u00a0The company was more than happy to send me a loaner radio for review. I requested the HDR-16<\/b>\u2013\u2013at the time it was Sangean\u2019s most affordable HD portable, one about which a number of SWLing Post<\/i> readers had expressed their curiosity.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sangean HDR-16 is a simple radio with a modern design. The chassis is a glossy black hard plastic and feels substantial. It has a useful fold-out carry handle and substantial telescoping whip antenna. The front face features a 16-character two-line backlit display, five function buttons, five dedicated preset buttons, and a dedicated power button. On the right side of the radio you\u2019ll find a dedicated (two function) tuning knob and smaller volume\/tone knob. The left side of the radio features an \u201caux-in\u201d port, a \u201crec-out\u201d port, an earphone jack, and a 7.5 volt \u201cDC-in\u201d port.<\/p>\n

Features<\/h2>\n