Receptor Radio

[1290wgli]

Actually got a demo at work and have had it home.  Have played with it a couple of nights but not yet had a chance to see it at home during the day to evaluate the AM HD.

First of all, my Grundig Majestic 1963 console, GE SuperRadio, Phillips Boom Box (even an Optimus portable) all put it to shame when you use the supplied FM "antenna".

My Grundig has a pseudo "T" strapped to the back of the console which has two barrier screws.  Disconnecting the Grundig leads and using this with a 300-75 ohm converter yielded better results, but the Grundig still performed much better on its own antenna than the Acoustics.  It was slightly better than the GE, noticeably better than the Optimus, but, believe it or not, the Philips Boom Box was still slightly better at sensitivity.

Selectivity on FM was hands down the best, with the Grundig a second.  However, the noise floor on the Acoustics is troublesome.  In blended mono, it was about as noisy as my Philips boom box in stereo on weak stations.

As for the HD, from Holbrook LI, using the Grundig "T", only WEZN triggered HD and even that would blend back to analog on occasion.  None of the city stations triggered the HD at all (or the RDS).

I want to get this on an outside antenna, and will over the weekend, but have a few comments about indoor use.

1) The supplied antenna hardware is garbage
2) When hooked up to a semi-decent antenna, it performs well for an ANALOG tuner
3) It has a hard time recovering HD.  You basically have to swamp the front end to get it to go to digital.
4) This really needs a good outdoor antenna for any realistic and reliable HD coverage.  How many people (average people) are going to do that anymore?  Most will want performance out of the supplied hardware.  The Sangean table radio and Tivoli radio perform OK with the supplied hardware, this does not.  It is quite deaf.

[Jim George]

I have to tend to agree with most of what you said ...
The FM "antenna" (if that's what you want to call it) that came with the Boston Acoustics is really the main peeve I've had with the unit ...
It is basically inadequate for picking up much of anything really ...
I recently bought an indoor antenna from C. Crane and hooked it up the unit and got much better results ...
I know an outdoor antenna would be ideal, but I don't have the ability to do that ...
I'm in Toms River NJ - about an equal distance between NYC and Philly - and while I can receive a majority of the stations, none come in strong enough for the HD to kick in on any of them ...
The only HD stations I can pick up reliably from my location are WRAT (95.9, Pt. Pleasant), WRTI (90.1, Philadelphia) and WHYY (90.9, Philadelphia) ...
On the AM side, WOR 710 is the only HD station I get (occasionally WNYC 820 comes in) ...
WOR's HD sounds probably as close to FM as you're gonna get - can't really tell if it's in "stereo" or not, though ...
It is true, though, that the signal of the station must be coming in consistently strong, or else the HD will not light up (this is more prevelent on FM) ...

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New Jersey Radio Board moderator

[JM_pstar]

> I have to tend to agree with most of what you said ...
> The FM "antenna" (if that's what you want to call it) that
> came with the Boston Acoustics is really the main peeve I've
> had with the unit ...
> It is basically inadequate for picking up much of anything
> really ...
> I recently bought an indoor antenna from C. Crane and hooked
> it up the unit and got much better results ...
> I know an outdoor antenna would be ideal, but I don't have
> the ability to do that ...
> I'm in Toms River NJ - about an equal distance between NYC
> and Philly - and while I can receive a majority of the
> stations, none come in strong enough for the HD to kick in
> on any of them ...
> The only HD stations I can pick up reliably from my location
> are WRAT (95.9, Pt. Pleasant), WRTI (90.1, Philadelphia) and
> WHYY (90.9, Philadelphia) ...
> On the AM side, WOR 710 is the only HD station I get
> (occasionally WNYC 820 comes in) ...
> WOR's HD sounds probably as close to FM as you're gonna get
> - can't really tell if it's in "stereo" or not, though ...
> It is true, though, that the signal of the station must be
> coming in consistently strong, or else the HD will not light
> up (this is more prevelent on FM) ...
>

Please keep us updated with the results that you get with the outdoor antenna, 1290wgli!

PirateJim and 1290wgli, I have a question for both of you. Would the areas that you are in be considered "fringe"?

PirateJim, which antenna did you buy from C Crane?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

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16-year-old radio geek.

[Jim George]

>
> PirateJim and 1290wgli, I have a question for both of you.
> Would the areas that you are in be considered "fringe"?

In regards to NYC and Philly, yes, I'm on the fringe of both markets ...
However, come summertime, if there's a slight DX opening coming in the direction of either NYC or Philly, there is no doubt that I will receive the HD signals from both locations ...
Like I said, I already receive WRTI and WHYY from Philly somewhat reliably ...
I've even picked up their HD2 signals ...

> PirateJim, which antenna did you buy from C Crane?
>

The "FM Reflect" (comes in both black and white)

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New Jersey Radio Board moderator

[sbe]

Use a piece of RG6 or RG59 Cable TV coax and make a balanced Folded dipole just like Crane charges you a fortune for
Google home made FM antenna and you will get all kinds of ideas


> > I have to tend to agree with most of what you said ...
> > The FM "antenna" (if that's what you want to call it) that
>
> > came with the Boston Acoustics is really the main peeve
> I've
> > had with the unit ...
> > It is basically inadequate for picking up much of anything
>
> > really ...
> > I recently bought an indoor antenna from C. Crane and
> hooked
> > it up the unit and got much better results ...
> > I know an outdoor antenna would be ideal, but I don't have
>
> > the ability to do that ...
> > I'm in Toms River NJ - about an equal distance between NYC
>
> > and Philly - and while I can receive a majority of the
> > stations, none come in strong enough for the HD to kick in
>
> > on any of them ...
> > The only HD stations I can pick up reliably from my
> location
> > are WRAT (95.9, Pt. Pleasant), WRTI (90.1, Philadelphia)
> and
> > WHYY (90.9, Philadelphia) ...
> > On the AM side, WOR 710 is the only HD station I get
> > (occasionally WNYC 820 comes in) ...
> > WOR's HD sounds probably as close to FM as you're gonna
> get
> > - can't really tell if it's in "stereo" or not, though ...
>
> > It is true, though, that the signal of the station must be
>
> > coming in consistently strong, or else the HD will not
> light
> > up (this is more prevelent on FM) ...
> >
>
> Please keep us updated with the results that you get with
> the outdoor antenna, 1290wgli!
>
> PirateJim and 1290wgli, I have a question for both of you.
> Would the areas that you are in be considered "fringe"?
>
> PirateJim, which antenna did you buy from C Crane?
>
> Thanks in advance for your answers.
>

[TXengineer]

I bought the Boston Acoustics radio about two weeks ago and absolutley love it. Mine is a top notch performer. The RDS section works wonders for those not in HD, and the HD section works well too. I live in a bad RF enviroment (I am line of site 2 miles of a Class B and Class A stations, the class A is transmitting in HD, the B is not.) and don't have any issues with front end over load or sensitivity. Ive heard others with some touch and go results but I can honeslty say I haven't had them with mine.

I am in a fairly metro RF area but get Boston and New London FMs halfway decently.

However with all that said, I am using an outdoor scanner antenna (yes, not a true FM antenna) and it seems to work well. I have yet to try AM HD, or the indoor antenna.

But that's my own opinion.

[ai4i]

Other than the HD software, extra speaker and amplifier, and two letters, is there any difference between the Receptor and the Receptor HD, such as sensitivity, selectivity, image rejection, amplifier, speaker, display, or clock functions?

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Proud 2 B a pioneering satellite radio subs¢riber
Ai4i is always on the trailing edge of technology
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