What's the difference between a DAB radio and a normal radio?

[LadyTophamHatt]

Dh wants a DAB radio and I'd like to know what's so special about them.

Its a digital wotsit. Get freebiew tv and then he can listen to DAB radio on that, and you get extra TV channels in the bargain.

incomparably better sound quality as it's digital so no tuning probs. but not all radion stations are DAB, but some really groovy ones are....we're going to get one for our new house, i got my dad one for his last bday and he has it on in the kitchen the whole time, definitely worth it imo

DAB digital radio is different because, instead of being made up of analogue waves, the radio signal is transmitted digitally, as a series of 'zeros and ones'. You don't need a satellite dish to receive digital radio, just an aerial positioned in the correct place. Traditional FM analogue radio waves are sensitive to noise or distortion from electrical equipment or from the atmosphere. The waves can bounce off tall buildings and hills and become interrupted or distorted.

As DAB digital radio uses digital signals, with plenty of extra information transmitted to allow the tuner to fill in any missing bits, the DAB signal does not suffer from the same problems as the FM signal. If you live in a weak signal area, you'll find that, even with all that extra information, the sound sometimes breaks up. If you live in a strong signal area, you'll find you have uninterrupted listening without 'drop-outs'.

can you get many more stations with DAB?

It's digital. I got DH one for Christmas last year. It's great as with our old radio alarm we could hardly get a signal - but with this the sound is great.
They tend to be more pricey than a normal radio though.

less i think sd, but lots of groovy ones.....and more and more all the time

if you do get one, make sure you can take it back

we live in London (supposedly brilliant digital reception area) and we could not get one jot out of 2 digital radios we bought. The sound quality was so bad, I'd rather have listened to Long Wave on a 20 yr old crappy radio.

Apparently it's because next door had to put a lot of steel (or something like that) in their walls to strengthen them when they bought the house so the only room it worked in was the front room (and not the kitchen where I wanted it!).

So make sure you can try it and take it back if it doesn't work!

darn it, I want one that will pick up French and Spanish stations

short wave is my only option I suppose, or listen on the internet

Hmmmmmmm, they are expensive aren't they?

He also wants one that has a CD player.

Seems like a lots of faff for nothing to me.

boys and their toys, eh?

Befor you buy check here to make sure you get reception in your area. And buy one that receives FM as well as DAB,
a) so can be certain of getting the stations you listen to now
and
b) so you can listen to something on those occasions that the DAB transmitters are being worked on.

between 50 and 100 quid....worth it imo

Mine is a panasonic, plays CDs as well as FM and DAB, and has a clock and alarm

I love it, not faff at all

could you show me a link please Easy?

That's sounds like just the thing he'd want, and it will be him faffing about with it so that means he'll stop going on about them to me

Its this one

As well as everything else, it has a very funky motorised panel which opens to put in the CDs, Like star trek doors.

Mine came from john Lewis, but I haven't done a price comparison.