Roberts WM201

JohannM · 09-12-2008 11:00pm #1

Hi all

Does anyone has a Roberts WM201 internet radio? How do you find it? I am interested in buying an internet radio. Any suggestions?

TRSJ · 10-12-2008 8:29am

I have one. Best internet radio I have bought (if a little expensive). In fact I would say it's one of my top 10 purchases of all time. Great, I give it 99%. The only reason for not giving it 100% is that it does not have actual pre-set buttons on the unit itself (just on the remote).

The sound (bass and stereo separation) is better than most fm radios I have owned (depending on station stream of course). Listen to something like ipartyradio.com on the roberts and it is just wow!

BTW Roberts have another newer radio that has fm, dab and wi-fi all in one but I don't own one so I can't stand over it.

JohannM · 10-12-2008 10:14am

To tell you the truth I am also interested in the Revo IBlik WI-FI or the Revo Radiostation.

I am not sure if I want to spend more than €200 though.

I also read that DAB in Ireland is useless no? I am not very up-to-date with DAB though.

Need to read more on user experiences

mike65 · 10-12-2008 11:25am

DAB is useless outside certain areas, basicly the Pale, Cork, Limerick have it.

bugsyboy · 28-12-2008 12:20am

Can you get the bbc stations? Just bought a roberts 202. Can get everything except bbc stations. Any special settings?
Cheers

paul

bossdrum · 28-12-2008 3:00am

bugsyboy wrote: »

Can you get the bbc stations? Just bought a roberts 202. Can get everything except bbc stations. Any special settings?
Cheers

paul

I have a roberts 202 aswell and all the bbc stations are very easy to find. Try searching by location.

bugsyboy · 28-12-2008 10:05am

Thanks for the reply. Can't get bbc any which way. Think it must be something with router setup firewalls etc. Did you change any router settings when you installed.?What router do you use, internet company?
Cheers
paul

Tallspoon · 28-12-2008 10:18am

Hi
I had an Acoustic Energy which died on me after 18 months. I just bought 2 x Logic100 radios for €45 a piece on ebay. These are entry level radios and can have a sensitivity issue due to the wifi dongle being inside the casing.
These radios can be modified very cheaply and simply. I bought an EDIMAX EW-7318USG Dongle which comes with a usb extension and now my wifi reception has improved hugely.
If you are considering an internet radio then the roberts is very pricey and I reckon that my cheap Logic100 is just as good although it does not come with DAB.

Fos pictures of the modification see link:
https://www.reciva.com/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=108&func=view&id=7309&catid=3&limit=6&limitstart=6

Anyway whatever you choose best of luck. You will never have to listen to Irish radio again!!!

bossdrum · 28-12-2008 7:19pm

bugsyboy wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Can't get bbc any which way. Think it must be something with router setup firewalls etc. Did you change any router settings when you installed.?What router do you use, internet company?
Cheers
paul

There was no setup required, it just picked up the wireless internet. I have a belkin router & BT. Try getting the stations through http://www.wifiradio-frontier.com and then you can access them through the favouites menu.

bugsyboy · 29-12-2008 10:01am

bossdrum wrote: »

There was no setup required, it just picked up the wireless internet. I have a belkin router & BT. Try getting the stations through http://www.wifiradio-frontier.com and then you can access them through the favouites menu.

Thanks Bossdrum. Have tried the website and registered various stations as favourites. Only the BBC ones give the "network error" message. In my chats with Franner (of Boards) I am beginning to think it may be my router setup. Apparently if I could turn off the firewall at the router it might do the trick. Seems to be impossible to do this with a Linksys WRT54GS. I have a Zyxel 600 modem attached to the router. The guy in the Sony/Peats shop in Dun Laogahire said they had no complaints like this before and that he would ask one on fhe techy guys for a workaround. Hope to talk to him today. It's a comfort to know (from this discussion) that the Roberts 202 can definitely pick up BBC Radio in Ireland. Therefore the problem can only be with my router setup or my Internet provider Imagine. I also have philips modem router which if I have the balls will try to setup today. Don't know much about routers. But will give it a lash.

Humbled and amazed at the willinness to help there is here. Thanks
Paul

JohannM · 29-12-2008 2:40pm

Hey guys

Thanks for all your replies.

I am between the Sound 43 and Sound 53. Can I find a retailer in Dublin, or do I have to order it online?

Greenman · 29-12-2008 4:46pm

JohannM wrote: »

I am between the Sound 43 and Sound 53.

Don't see wifi on these radio's. I stand corrected.

JohannM · 29-12-2008 4:50pm

You are right!

I think i will go for the WM 202, although its a bit pricey

Greenman · 29-12-2008 5:21pm

JohannM wrote: »

I think i will go for the WM 202, although its a bit pricey

Come back and tell us how you get on.

Phoenix3 · 31-12-2008 12:30am

I got a WM-202 under the tree.It is a cracker of a kit.Fast wireless connection,Excellent sound although no tone or bass/treble controls.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed.

bugsyboy · 31-12-2008 9:37am

Phoenix3 wrote: »

I got a WM-202 under the tree.It is a cracker of a kit.Fast wireless connection,Excellent sound although no tone or bass/treble controls.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed.

BBC Radio working okay?
Paul

JohannM · 31-12-2008 9:54am

What about the Pure Evoke Flow?

At the moment I am between the Pure Evoke and the Roberts WM 202.

Can't decide yet

Phoenix3 · 31-12-2008 12:38pm

Bugsyboy

With all the excitement I obviously overlooked BBC.No they aren't working at the moment,even though they are actually connecting.

Phoenix3 · 31-12-2008 1:13pm

Bugsyboy,

Disregard my last post.I spoke to Roberts support line and they thought there shouldn't be a problem.I then discovered I had plugged into the headphone jack last night and that was why I had no audio.

There is a website mentioned on page 66 of manual.you can register and check any station to see if there is a problem with it.It also asks for the access code which is unique to your radio so this may help.

Just wondering where you are located,I am in Dublin 15.

Let me know how you get on?

Phoenix3.

bugsyboy · 31-12-2008 3:32pm

Thanks Pheonix3 for the reply.
I can actually play Radio 4,5 etc from the website wifiradio-frontier. I can get anything that is wma or mp3 broadcast to play on the radio. It only seems to be realplayer stuff that it can't do. Spoke to Roberts number UK and and they said that their engineer wouldn't be around until Monday. I have changed my router to a Philips modem/router in the hope that might solve it. I live in Shankill. Doyou mind if I ask what router and isp are you using? Did you ring the Roberts UK support number or perhaps another?

Great radio-poratble sounds great easy to use. If i can't solve this I think the only option will be a netbook (crappy speakers though).

Cheers

paul

Phoenix3 wrote: »

Bugsyboy,

Disregard my last post.I spoke to Roberts support line and they thought there shouldn't be a problem.I then discovered I had plugged into the headphone jack last night and that was why I had no audio.

There is a website mentioned on page 66 of manual.you can register and check any station to see if there is a problem with it.It also asks for the access code which is unique to your radio so this may help.

Just wondering where you are located,I am in Dublin 15.

Let me know how you get on?

Phoenix3.

DMC · 31-12-2008 5:32pm

Oooh. This isn't good. Does other stations using Real Player codecs work on the WM202?

If so, I'd say its down to the real player links that Frontier use. Remember that the BBC has 3 sets of streams. 1 is WMA, just for UK listeners, and 2 for Real Player; 1 for UK and 1 for International. I wonder do Frontier have International radios links installed. Are their any forums on the Frontier website, like the fantastic forums on the Reciva site?

HuntingDrog · 02-01-2009 4:44pm

not much of a radio purchaser meself so need ye're expertise.......which UK websites are worthwhile for purchasing these wifi radio's?

(must be pretty cheap now with the exchange rate near parity) tks in advance

DMC · 04-01-2009 6:35pm

HuntingDrog wrote: »

not much of a radio purchaser meself so need ye're expertise.......which UK websites are worthwhile for purchasing these wifi radio's?

(must be pretty cheap now with the exchange rate near parity) tks in advance

Any site that can deliver electrical goods to Ireland, tbh.

So the likes of Amazon are out.

DMC · 04-01-2009 6:38pm

DMC wrote: »

Oooh. This isn't good. Does other stations using Real Player codecs work on the WM202?

If so, I'd say its down to the real player links that Frontier use. Remember that the BBC has 3 sets of streams. 1 is WMA, just for UK listeners, and 2 for Real Player; 1 for UK and 1 for International. I wonder do Frontier have International radios links installed. Are their any forums on the Frontier website, like the fantastic forums on the Reciva site?

Apologies for quoting myself, but this is a serious issue that needs clarification. It appears you can only log onto the forums of Frontier Silicone's wifi radio website if you are registering a new radio, so I can't see if any issues are arising.

Can anyone with the Roberts WM 202 in Ireland listen to all the BBC Radio stations ok?

bossdrum · 04-01-2009 6:54pm

DMC wrote: »

Can anyone with the Roberts WM 202 in Ireland listen to all the BBC Radio stations ok?

I can receive all the bbc stations on my wm 202.

bugsyboy · 05-01-2009 9:47am

bossdrum wrote: »

I can receive all the bbc stations on my wm 202.

I still can't get any bbc radio stations. I reckon it must be my router (having changed one alread!). Am I the only one? Anyone else had the problem and then solve it? One person solved the problem by disabling their firewall. Hasn't worked for me. I'll be talking to Roberts today.

Paul

DMC · 05-01-2009 2:57pm

Its odd. Do let us know.

Is there any forums or such like on http://www.wifiradio-frontier.com/ ?

byte · 05-01-2009 9:57pm

bugsyboy, would I be right in assuming you can stream those BBC stations on your PC no problem?

bugsyboy · 05-01-2009 10:48pm

byte wrote: »

bugsyboy, would I be right in assuming you can stream those BBC stations on your PC no problem?

Absolutely no problem with reception on the pc.. Spoke to roberts Tech today who said that they were unaware of any problems in Ireland. They suggested I try another Roberts 202 which the Sony?peats shop kindly gave me. Same problem.
The Sony/Peats in Dun Laoghaire are aware of a problem themselves. BBC radio is hit and miss on their setup with various brands. Interestingly the Roberts 202 could only receive Radio 4 LW in the shop (more than i can get at home).

The Reciva Quattro radio seemed to be receiving all the BBC radio broadcasts. Some of the radios were receiving BBC radio but in a scrambled way (ie the sound was warped and unlistenable to.)

They will talk to the Roberts rep and get back to me by wednesday. Very confusing. The more I hear the more it sounds like the isp/router setup is delicate. Some are lucky and unaware of the problems.

Cheers
paul

bugsyboy · 08-01-2009 6:22pm

Sony/Peats have advised (having spoken to Roberts Ireland rep) that I must have arouter problem. I have order my ISP (Imagine)'s standard wireless router in faith. Should be here by the weekend.
Paul

DMC · 08-01-2009 7:29pm

Fingers crossed for ye

bugsyboy · 14-01-2009 9:12pm

Got the prestige 600 series router modem today from Imagine. BBC not working. Amazingly I got 5Live for a bit and then I tried the other stations. Nothing. Couldn't get 5 live then. No problem with getting them on the PC and through th wififrontier siteSo frustrating. Disabled the firewall. Still nothing. The Roberts 202 is going back to the shop. Feel like throwing it against the wall.

Anyone out there with imagine who has got a Roberts 202 receiving BBC?

Paul

bossdrum · 14-01-2009 9:54pm

bugsyboy wrote: »

Got the prestige 600 series router modem today from Imagine. BBC not working. Amazingly I got 5Live for a bit and then I tried the other stations. Nothing. Couldn't get 5 live then. No problem with getting them on the PC and through th wififrontier siteSo frustrating. Disabled the firewall. Still nothing. The Roberts 202 is going back to the shop. Feel like throwing it against the wall.

Anyone out there with imagine who has got a Roberts 202 receiving BBC?

Paul

5live might have cut out for you because the live football started at 8pm and they aren't allowed to broadcast that outside the UK.

Try again later on.

Stellanova · 27-12-2009 5:19pm

Reviving this thread because I just got a Roberts 202 and am having the same problem. None of the BBC national and digital stations appear in the station list at all, although the local ones do. To make things more peculiar, I found almost all the BBC national and digital Listen Again options under the Podcasts, so obviously I can stream audio from the BBC somehow, although I have no idea why it's listing these shows as Podcasts when most of them are not available as podcasts on the BBC site (they're the shows that are available via iPlayer for a week after broadcast).

Any suggestions? I'd like to be able to just listen to various BBC stations live rather than just via Listen Again.

The Black Oil · 27-12-2009 6:18pm

You shouldn't really have any difficulty in finding the BBC national stations. I listen to BBC Radio 4 each morning on my 202. It would be worth your while setting up an account through this site as suggested in the manual of the Roberts radio. This way you can add whatever you wish and let it sync with your radio, then set a few presets. It's a bit like having a bookmark option in your browser.

Have you manually searched? Turn on the radio, select the Menu button, then Stations, Station list, Search Stations and move across the A-Z until you can input BBC Radio 4, etc. I just tried 'BBC 4' there and it found them.

egal · 28-12-2009 12:02am

Got a Stream 202 for Christmas. Managed to add U105 (Belfast) to My Added Stations on the Frontier website and it's working. However, when I try to add 4FM, I just cannot get it to work on the radio (works OK on the computer via the Frontier site using Realplayer). Anyone have detailed instructions for how to set it up to work on the radio. Or maybe 4FM just isn't compatible with the 202.

decies · 28-12-2009 12:14pm

Got roberts 202 before xmas ,no problem with bbc stations,rights issue a nuisance all right on five live and five live extra. cant manually add 4fm as well

.any body manage it?

The Black Oil · 28-12-2009 3:58pm

Maybe email 4FM and ask them if they've an ideas? Mightn't get much of a response at this time of year..

ntlbell · 28-12-2009 7:09pm

decies wrote: »

Got roberts 202 before xmas ,no problem with bbc stations,rights issue a nuisance all right on five live and five live extra. cant manually add 4fm as well .any body manage it?

is there a way to force proxy settings for specific stations on the roberts? (i don't own one to check) but if you can, might be useful for matches etc

egal · 28-12-2009 9:39pm

E-mailed 4FM about a week ago. They didn't even ignore me :rolleyes:.

egal · 30-12-2009 12:06am

For the benefit of anyone having difficulty tuning the BBC stations, you can find the following notice on the Roberts website:

"BBC Internet Radio connection problems when using the Stream-202

Following recent changes made by the BBC to the range of streaming formats which are made available,
you may find that your Stream-202 Internet Radio no longer allows you to listen to BBC National and BBC
Local radio stations. Specifically, you may find that when attempting to connect to to a BBC station, the
radio is now reporting "Network Error" or "Network Timeout". If this is the case then it is most probably
the case that your radio is not using the most recent internal software (also sometimes called firmware).
This can be checked and updated if required using the following procedure. Note that if you have the
issue 1 version of the instruction book, then this is a slightly more detailed description of the procedure
than in that book, although you are recommended to read that as well, see page 64. If you have the
issue 2 version of the book, please refer to page 68.
1) Start with the radio on (powered from the mains) and connected to your internet router using either the
WiFi connection or an Ethernet cable. (Note - It does not matter whether the radio is actually playing or
not.)
2) Navigate to the Main menu, and then to the System Setup menu
3) In the System Setup menu navigate to the Software update entry and press the Tuning/Select control.
4) If the radio detects that new software is available you will see a message such as "Press INFO to
update to..." followed by a version number. If this is the case and you wish to update the software then
press the Info button.
5) The radio will then start the update process. It will display a message saying "Warning: Do not
remove power" followed by "Updating" and a progress bar. It is very important that the radio is not
switched off during this process.
6) When the update has been completed, the radio will display "Update complete. Press SELECT to
start". Press the Tuning/Select control to restart your radio.
7) The radio should then restart displaying a ROBERTS logo and a start up progress bar.
8) The radio may connect to the internet and set the clock. If not, then you will need to re-enter your
WiFi encryption key details.
9) You will find that the menus and displays on the radio look a little different to those that you saw
previously. The new software contains a number of enhancements to the user interface, including display
backlight and contrast adjustments. A short description of the new features which are obtained by using
the software update is available from the WM-202 product page on the Roberts Radio web site
(http://www/robertsradio.co.uk)
10) A revised version of the instruction book which describes the operation of the radio more fully taking
the changes into account is also available from the Stream-202 product page of the Roberts Radio web
site.
If your radio is already running the most recently available software, then you should find that the radio is
already able to connect to the new BBC streams (just use the internet radio stations menu as normal).
However, if you wish to check whether a firmware update is available for your radio, then please use the
procedure above. The radio will show a message if the software is already up to date. If not, then you
may update the software as described.
Once your radio has been updated, you should find that the BBC stations are accessible once more. You
may still find that not all BBC stations are always accessible. This may be due to changes still being
made by the BBC, or perhaps due to network congestion. Many internet radio stations can from time to
time have more radios trying to connect than they are able to support.
We hope that this revised software will allow you to continue to enjoy your Roberts Stream-202 radio.
Roberts Radio will work with the BBC to ensure that your radio continues to offer you the full range of
BBC radio stations wherever possible."

Hope this provides a cure for your problem. BUT, pay particular attention to point 5 above. And before you start make sure that your internet connection is rock solid. Apparently you can permanently damage the radio if you're not careful. Good luck.

decies · 30-12-2009 9:48am

decies wrote: »

Got roberts 202 before xmas ,no problem with bbc stations,rights issue a nuisance all right on five live and five live extra. cant manually add 4fm as well .any body manage it?

Found this site,would be nice to add uk feeds to roberts,but can listen to five live sports extra test cricket on net.http://www.radio-now.co.uk/listen_football.htm

egal · 30-12-2009 10:44pm

Anybody manage 4FM? Probably not compatible with 202, then?

ntlbell · 30-12-2009 11:00pm

egal wrote: »

Anybody manage 4FM? Probably not compatible with 202, then?

I think it's more of a recivia/4fm issue than 202 issue.

have you contacted 4fm?

egal · 31-12-2009 10:05pm

Yes, attempted to contact 4FM - see above. The 202 uses the Frontier-Silicon database, not the Reciva. Have a notion the isssue is with the 202, rather than Frontier or 4FM. The 202 claims to be compatible with MP3, WMA and Real audio only.

ntlbell · 01-01-2010 4:22pm

egal wrote: »

Yes, attempted to contact 4FM - see above. The 202 uses the Frontier-Silicon database, not the Reciva. Have a notion the isssue is with the 202, rather than Frontier or 4FM. The 202 claims to be compatible with MP3, WMA and Real audio only.

I've tried it on a number of radio's and it doesn't work, when i add it to the custom station's on pure's lounge the lounge itself can't connect nor can the radio.

so it doesn't seem to be a "radio" problem.

vinnielo · 02-01-2010 10:15am

The 4FM stream is in an aacPlus format. Your radio needs to support this format to be able to play it.

yoshytoshy · 02-01-2010 12:23pm

I've got a WM-201 and only have issues on magnet.
All bbc stations worked on UPC internet ,but as soon as I moved to new place ,BBC1 doesn't work anymore on magnet.

The Black Oil · 02-01-2010 1:58pm

If I may go on a tangent here, and this may only really apply to anyone who has had a Roberts 202 for a while, have you done a software update lately? I did one yesterday and it's changed the look of the menus a little bit. Had to rejoin my wireless network, redo alarms, presets, etc, but the new layout is growing on me. The text is smaller and they've made more things fit onto the screen at once, I think.

Incidentally, I don't think I can get any DAB stations at all. I don't think I'll ever use them, but you never know. I'm in north county Dublin.

egal · 03-01-2010 12:29am

vinnielo wrote: »

The 4FM stream is in an aacPlus format. Your radio needs to support this format to be able to play it.

Well, that's it then. End of story. Pity, though. There must be a few oldies like myself who are not within range of a transmitter and who would have liked to be able to listen on the 202 that Santa brought.

ntlbell · 03-01-2010 2:27am

egal wrote: »

Well, that's it then. End of story. Pity, though. There must be a few oldies like myself who are not within range of a transmitter and who would have liked to be able to listen on the 202 that Santa brought.

If enough of us bang on to 4fm they should offer an alternate stream,

AFAIK not many wifi radio's support it

Roberts WM201

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