![]() ![]() Eventually one can tell which radios are the most stable and forgiving under difficult reception conditions.Īlso, be aware when watching videos of portable radios being compared that the sound must be picked up by a microphone, not by a direct connection to the radio. I even go so far as to test two radios simultaneously, using one earbud from each radio and listening for subtle differences between them as I move about. Then I do actual use tests, walking around with them on certain difficult signals to see what the final user experience is like. Again you simply have to take your time, moving the radios and cords to get the best reception. Also be aware that shortening the rod may help for one station but not others.įM Walkman-style radios which use the earphone cord as their FM antenna present another challenge. Some multi-band radios which also cover the shortwave bands may have very long rod antennas…it is worth experimenting with antenna length as well as orientation when trying to maximize a problem FM signal. ![]() Adding more length to its antenna didn’t help at all. Because of this, at least one radio with a shorter-than-average rod antenna is one of the best performing units…it is seemingly not at all compromised by its shorter whip. Today’s DSP chips are usually closely matched to the length of the whip antenna on the radio. Therefore, if you see a test where the radios and their antennas remain stationary beware…the results may be misleading. ![]() Of course, this does not always happen but it occurs often enough that it must be checked on every station in order for comparisons to be valid. But swap their positions and that signal does not follow the radio that had it first…it may stay in that location, now being received by the other radio. In many cases, with two radios side by side I will receive a given station on one radio but not the other. When comparing two FM portables it is absolutely crucial that for every test signal you move the radio into different positions and aim its antenna in every direction to maximize reception. One of the problems concerns how critical radio placement and antenna positioning can be. – many vintage radios have FM which is relatively sensitive but not as selective as the best of today’s FM tuners.Ĭomparing portable radios for FM performance is slightly different than for AM or SW. This means that, unlike the AM Mega Shootout results, many of today’s FM portables rate Five and Four Stars, which is not surprising when you realize many of then are a built on the same chips. One, Two and Three Star radios generally are older or much less expensive sets. On FM, these modern radios are often phenomenal, with excellent sensitivity, quieting curve, selectivity and capture ratio and excellent unit to unit consistency without many of the variables of critical alignment. As DSP technology has matured AM and SW performance has improved. (On AM DSP has had a rockier track record, where a few radios have been truly outstanding on AM but many have been less good than their pre-DSP counterparts. DSP has generally benefited FM reception dramatically, raising the bar in portable FM performance, such that even some of today’s relatively inexpensive portables outperform many FM portables of any price and even some component FM tuners from just a few years ago. Almost all current production radios utilize DSP IC Chips (Digital Signal Processing). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |