[BC] Insignia Digital Portable

[cld at admin.umass.edu]

I have to admit some surprise that our local Best Buy (Hadley) had sales people
who knew exactly what I was talking about when I walked in. What's up with that?
Rich.... did you clue them in?

Thus far, I see that in areas where multipath is an issue this thing has
potential. I have to try some more "walking about Amherst" experiments.

At a ~30 mile distance from the transmitter, from my backyard, coverage is
marginal for HD, as is expected from just inside the 60 dBu. But I can get
HD-2 inside the house. Yep- like Rich, it's not consistant.  But not unlike some
of the table top models I've auditioned
(ie BA Recepter) here either. Perhaps better. I also can get a few HD signals
from the Hartford market to lock in (50 miles from West Peak, Meriden, CT).

As a piece of technology, and remembering that we were envisioning carrying 30
lb gel cell back-packs not too long ago, what it does is pretty darn cool. I
like the RDBS displays for the FM stations and the overall simplicity is cool.
Audio quality isn't bad in a good set of headphones. I even figured 90% of it
out without cracking the manual. That's either a testament to my intelligence
(unlikely) or a user friendly design.

Will this help to sell HD Radio? I don't know.. but it's a positive step.

Now- back to monitoring the almost nightly thunderstorms, power outages,
Skywarn......

Chuck Dubé
WFCR
(at the East Longmeadow residence)

Message: 32
From: Rich Wood <richwood at pobox.com>

>Actually, Rich, based on your reception, listening, and programming reports, I
>wouldn't listen to HD Radio, either.  My experience is different.  Not
>life-changing, but certainly better.

I would listen, since most receivers can't reproduce the alleged
audio improvement it's not critical, but I can't. The signal goes
away. What's a person to do? You can't say I haven't tried. I own 5
digital receivers and have driven within 100 miles of Easthampton,
MA. I've spent more than a year visiting retailers to keep track of
sales. I had hoped to write about it but there's no story.

Rich