Car radio that gets BBC Radio 4?

Qualitymark

Can anyone recommend a car radio that will allow me to tune in BBC Radio 4? My current one has AM, but it's useless.

padd b1975

198 long wave, if your car has AM, it should have long wave.

Qualitymark

I used to get it on 720AM in my old car; in my new car the radio has AM but I can't tune in BBC R4. Think it may be the radio...

Doodah7

Surely it is the aerial rather than the radio that is the problem here??

Cardinal Richelieu

When is LW BBC4 getting switched off?

AM BBC4 is extremely hard to tune in even with a decent aerial never mind a moving car.

Greenman

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

When is LW BBC4 getting switched off?

This might be interest.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/09/bbc-radio4-long-wave-goodbye :mad:

Greenman

Qualitymark wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a car radio that will allow me to tune in BBC Radio 4? My current one has AM, but it's useless.

Whats the make and model of your radio?

Qualitymark

Panasonic, I think; maybe three years old.

If the aerial is the problem, is there any way of retrofitting a better aerial?

L1011

tallpaul wrote: »

Surely it is the aerial rather than the radio that is the problem here??

Generally its the radio, many factory fitted units have no LW.

Qualitymark

No, as I've said, this radio has AM, but doesn't pick up BBC Radio 4.

L1011

Qualitymark wrote: »

No, as I've said, this radio has AM, but doesn't pick up BBC Radio 4.

Can you tune down to 198 though? "having AM" and having LW are not guaranteed to be the same, my Fiat has one "AM" option that does tune down to LW, my Opel doesn't.

Technocentral

I don't drive but I listen to R4 on my phone through the net when going for a stroll or on public transport and find that the signal is fairly consistent over longish distances, maybe some kind of wireless net connection for your car audio system?

Qualitymark

Technocentral wrote: »

I don't drive but I listen to R4 on my phone through the net when going for a stroll or on public transport and find that the signal is fairly consistent over longish distances, maybe some kind of wireless net connection for your car audio system?

Unfortunately, I don't have a large data allowance on the phone.

ads20101

Technocentral wrote: »

I don't drive but I listen to R4 on my phone through the net when going for a stroll or on public transport and find that the signal is fairly consistent over longish distances, maybe some kind of wireless net connection for your car audio system?

I was going to say the same thing. I listen to R4 regularly on my phone, through my car radio.

Qualitymark wrote: »

Unfortunately, I don't have a large data allowance on the phone.

Qualitymark - there are many tarriffs including ones on pay as you go that allows for a fair amount of data + you can just transfer over your number and you're unlikely to spend more than what you are spending already. I would say that this would be your best bet (and cheapest) instead of playing with aerials & car radios with an intermittent service at best. Shop around - you might find what you are looking for. Good luck:)

The Black Oil

What's worth listening to on Radio 4 outside of some of the main show? I wake up to Today (via internet radio), but don't listen to a whole lot else, sometimes Woman's hour, Today in Parliament, main news stuff, etc, but what else should I check out, particularly around 5pm ish?

Phone is only PAYG, 0.99 cent for 50MB of browsing until midnight, so if using it daily that would be a fiver a week. There must be some sort of add on to stretch that and get better value.

spank_inferno

I use the "Tuned in" app on Android played via Bluetooth or cable in the stereo

Also, the channel comes in pretty good on FM here in Wicklow

The Black Oil

I've that app. I tested it on home wi-fi (listening to 10 minutes of Radio 4). Seemed to use about 1MB per minute.

ads20101

spank_inferno wrote: »

I use the "Tuned in" app on Android played via Bluetooth or cable in the stereo

Also, the channel comes in pretty good on FM here in Wicklow

I also use this app - honestly the best one out there, and yes the bbc stations use a fair amount of bandwidth as they all stream at 128 as standard (except radio 3 that streams at 320 - I sh1t you not - you really will need an unlimited plan if you are going to listen to this station in the car!!!).

Anyway, back to the point. Bbc stations used to have smaller bandwidths available (32 & 64) so if you have a limited plan then then change in the tune-in settings. I say used to because I have been informed that the smaller streams have been discontinued. I will check for myself in a mo & I'll get back to you.

ads20101

ads20101 wrote: »

I also use this app - honestly the best one out there, and yes the bbc stations use a fair amount of bandwidth as they all stream at 128 as standard (except radio 3 that streams at 320 - I sh1t you not - you really will need an unlimited plan if you are going to listen to this station in the car!!!).

Anyway, back to the point. Bbc stations used to have smaller bandwidths available (32 & 64) so if you have a limited plan then then change in the tune-in settings. I say used to because I have been informed that the smaller streams have been discontinued. I will check for myself in a mo & I'll get back to you.

Ok, I've checked... R4 streams with 128kbps (57.6MB/hour) or 48kbps (21.6MB/hour)

Technocentral

Black Oil wrote: »

What's worth listening to on Radio 4 outside of some of the main show? I wake up to Today (via internet radio), but don't listen to a whole lot else, sometimes Woman's hour, Today in Parliament, main news stuff, etc, but what else should I check out, particularly around 5pm ish?

Phone is only PAYG, 0.99 cent for 50MB of browsing until midnight, so if using it daily that would be a fiver a week. There must be some sort of add on to stretch that and get better value.

Not at 5pm but some of the funniest comedy shows around with the best British comedians such as I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue and The News Quiz, I also listen to The Moral Maze, Any Questions, Loose Ends, Book At Bedtime and loads of others. I have unlimited data allowance on 3 (I used 20GB one month for no extra charge, not just on radio of course)

Cardinal Richelieu

Technocentral wrote: »

Not at 5pm but some of the funniest comedy shows around with the best British comedians such as I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue and The News Quiz, I also listen to The Moral Maze, Any Questions, Loose Ends, Book At Bedtime and loads of others.

I second that, the 6.30 comedy slot has some of the best comedy anywhere on the BBC. Bleak Expectations would be another to look out for

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleak_Expectations

Qualitymark

Yes, great shows, great comedy, wonderful news coverage, insightful investigative journalism. But in my current circumstances moving to a more expensive mobile phone deal purely to listen to BBC in the car wouldn't be feasible. Getting a decent aerial booster might be, if there is such a thing and if it's cheap to buy and instal.

coylemj

Qualitymark wrote: »

Getting a decent aerial booster might be, if there is such a thing and if it's cheap to buy and instal.

Unlikely to fix the problem, can you receive RTE on 252 LW?

The Black Oil

Yeah, I've dipped into the those shows and used to podcast the News Quiz. Have reverted to the stream with lighter bandwidth, so I'll see, and maybe another phone service provider might be an idea.

Technocentral

Qualitymark wrote: »

Yes, great shows, great comedy, wonderful news coverage, insightful investigative journalism. But in my current circumstances moving to a more expensive mobile phone deal purely to listen to BBC in the car wouldn't be feasible. Getting a decent aerial booster might be, if there is such a thing and if it's cheap to buy and instal.

I'm pretty broke myself at the moment but my unlimited internet works out at about 15 a month, so for less then the price of a pint a week (or a dvd rental) I get hours (I would be out walking or on public transport about 15 hours a week) of pleasure listening to the likes of BBC and NPR, some things are worth paying a bit for I think, personally.

Qualitymark

Technocentral wrote: »

I'm pretty broke myself at the moment but my unlimited internet works out at about 15 a month, so for less then the price of a pint a week (or a dvd rental) I get hours (I would be out walking or on public transport about 15 hours a week) of pleasure listening to the likes of BBC and NPR, some things are worth paying a bit for I think, personally.

Unlimited internet on your phone? What plan is this, and what provider?

ads20101

Qualitymark wrote: »

Unlimited internet on your phone? What plan is this, and what provider?

I am with three and they have an unlimited plan - well to be honest it is a 15gb fair usage policy (that they don't openly tell you) but they won't charge after this only reserve the right to slow you down. You'd have to listen to a massive amount of Internet radio to get to 15gb anyway. They do this with pay as you go as well if you top up by 20 each month. I'm sure the other providers do something similar - have a look around:)

Qualitymark

ads20101 wrote: »

I am with three and they have an unlimited plan - well to be honest it is a 15gb fair usage policy (that they don't openly tell you) but they won't charge after this only reserve the right to slow you down. You'd have to listen to a massive amount of Internet radio to get to 15gb anyway. They do this with pay as you go as well if you top up by 20 each month. I'm sure the other providers do something similar - have a look around:)

I went with Vodafone as the main person I talk to on the phone is with them (also heard that 3 coverage wasn't the Mae) - was spending a fortune on long covos with the Vodafone customer. Unlimited broadband would be nice (sigh) but not worth it for raised call bill.

Technocentral

Qualitymark wrote: »

Unlimited internet on your phone? What plan is this, and what provider?

Three as ads201 mentioned, I just checked and I used 26gb one month and didn't get charged extra or notice speed drop (bbc and npr stream at 32kb so probably wouldn't be affected if there was a speed drop), its called flex plan and there are a couple of options starting at 25 a month.

Marcusm

Black Oil wrote: »

What's worth listening to on Radio 4 outside of some of the main show? I wake up to Today (via internet radio), but don't listen to a whole lot else, sometimes Woman's hour, Today in Parliament, main news stuff, etc, but what else should I check out, particularly around 5pm ish?

Phone is only PAYG, 0.99 cent for 50MB of browsing until midnight, so if using it daily that would be a fiver a week. There must be some sort of add on to stretch that and get better value.

Start the week, In our time, The Archers (even), Call you and yours (less aggressive than Liveline), News at One, the various comedy shows on at 6:30, Any questions, many of the quiz shows (e.g. Just a minute - not the Larry Gogan thing).

The Black Oil

Can you listen back to these or do you have to be listening live? Obviously some have podcasts available, but maybe that's more bandwidth, I'm not sure.

Technocentral

This, which was on earlier and is on listen again now is why BBC4 is great, its ultimately about loving radio and how it can make you late for work!


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018fljy

Technocentral

Black Oil wrote: »

I've that app. I tested it on home wi-fi (listening to 10 minutes of Radio 4). Seemed to use about 1MB per minute.

BBC's own R4 android app says that 32kps is the streaming rate on my phone.

Qualitymark

You can listen live. But I don't want to use my bandwidth to do so; I can't afford to pay a huge bill if I go over.

If 3 offered one or two or five non-3 number to add to 3's own free-to-3 calls, as well as the usual allocation of minutes, I'd probably switch. But for now, no. I'm just looking for a decent car radio that will get Radio 4; I know this is possible - I have friends whose car radios (pre-installed in their cars) do this perfectly adequately.

redtelephone

If a car radio has a Long Wave LW band it will pick up Radio 4. Long wave is transmitted using AM, and so is Medium wave, but AM is often used to describe Medium Wave only. As MYOB says, a radio might have an AM band, but it might only be Medium Wave compatible (MW), not Long Wave (LW). To get Radio 4 in a car you must have either a LW band on the radio, or the AM band must be capable of tuning both MW and LW. There are radios in places like Argos which have LW, an example being JVC KD-R45E In Car Radio which has FM/MW/LW tuner. Signal quality from Radio 4 LW is best on the east coast. It carries a fair bit of cricket in the summer which can be annoying if you're not a fan.

Also there's some good news here for LW listeners:
http://www.radioguide.co.uk/radio-news/34-radio-news-item-5.html

Qualitymark

It does have AM, but picks it up very faintly.

The trouble with car radios is that you can't try before you buy, which is why I'm asking here. I'm hoping someone can say "Yeah, I've got a Panasonic/Bose/Sony/Something car radio with AM and it gets it clear as a bell".

I am on the east coast; I regard cricket as what the nuns used to call a profitable source of meditation.

redtelephone

Qualitymark, the frequency you need to pick up is 198Khz for Radio 4. That is the LW frequency and your radio needs to be able to tune to that. There are other Radio 4 MW frequencies around 700Khz which come in too faintly to be of any real use. If your radio is tuning to 198Khz and the signal is still weak, I would suspect an aerial problem.

Qualitymark

How does one solve an aerial problem?

I've only ever got R4 on 720, never on 198, either on home radios or in the car.

Fuzzy Clam

Qualitymark wrote: »

How does one solve an aerial problem?

I've only ever got R4 on 720, never on 198, either on home radios or in the car.

Not too easy on the car. How is the reception of other stations? Is it possible that the aerial is faulty. I "think" some aerials have amplifiers fitted somewhere on the coax. This may be faulty.

If you do actually have a LW radio at home, there's no reason why you shouldn't receive R4 anywhere in the country. Even on a cheap Silvercrest radio, I can get reasonable reception on 198 Khz and I'm a good 70 miles from the east coast.
Some HiFi's require an external aerial for MW/LW. Check the rear of the radio.

Qualitymark

I've been trying on 720 on the AM channel on the radios in the house - a Denon, a Roberts - without success; I'll see if there's 198 on the AM dial.

On the car radio, the FM channels are fine; the AM is useless generally, but then the only channel I'd look for on it would be BBC R4.

Fuzzy Clam

Qualitymark wrote: »

I've been trying on 720 on the AM channel on the radios in the house - a Denon, a Roberts - without success; I'll see if there's 198 on the AM dial.

On the car radio, the FM channels are fine; the AM is useless generally, but then the only channel I'd look for on it would be BBC R4.

That's very strange. Even here, i can get 720 Khz. You're not living in nuclear shelter by any chance:D

Qualitymark

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

That's very strange. Even here, i can get 720 Khz. You're not living in nuclear shelter by any chance:D

This may be the answer. Only way I can get 720 is through the TV. At home, I sometimes listen to the BBC on the computer (no longer on the phone after I fell asleep and woke up later to find out it had knocked off its wifi access and gobbled up a load of the data allocation, which is 5c per kilobyte if you overrun your limit, eeek), but on the radios, can't get it at all.

redtelephone

The Radio 4 transmitter on 720Khz is probably Lisnagarvey (Belfast), which has a power of 10,000 Watts, the useful range might roughly be 50-60 miles depending on aerial, terrain, etc. The only other nearby 720Khz is Derry but that's only 250 watts. I'd say you'd need to be north of Dublin to get a reasonable signal on 720Khz, but I could be wrong. IMO 198Khz is the best option to go for. Here's a handy list of all MW transmitters in the UK:

http://www.mediumwaveradio.com/uk.php

Qualitymark

Tried a radio with AM last night. The AM band runs from 65 to 160, so I can't get 198 on it.

It gets some Dutch and Swedish stations clearly; there was some BBC channel - not sure which - but it kept coming in and out, from faint to loud, with a lot of interference.

The Black Oil

Technocentral wrote: »

BBC's own R4 android app says that 32kps is the streaming rate on my phone.

Is this what you're referring to? Tried it this morning, it crashed.

I then tried BBC R4 via Tune In on the train. Listened for about 15 minutes, used about 9.3MB (48k WMA, I think). It kept stalling quite often and then wouldn't come back for 15-20 seconds. Whether that was down to the stream, my coverage or something else, I don't know.

After 9am I went over to WBUR for 10 minutes, that was around 4MB, but this stream was 28k mp3, though when I checked the phone it was saying 48k .

Re car radios, I presume that ones that are pre-moulded into the dash are pretty impossible to change?

Qualitymark

Not at all - they slide out and you can slide in a new one. I already got a new one a couple of years ago, carefully selecting one with AM so I could get Radio 4; to my anguished fury, it didn't work for my purpose.

I suppose what I need to do is talk to the mechanic who mends the car, and ask him to track down a radio that will actually tune in properly to AM and get a clear Radio 4 signal.

By the way, if TuneIn doesn't work well for you, you might try WunderRadio, which is also wunderbar, though TuneIn is usually better.

Also by the way, another particularly good programme on the channel is the early morning farming programme, which I think is called Countryfile; it's on around 5am. Used always listen to it as I got up for work on the early shift in the Evening Press... It is first with the latest farming news, and very ecological; back in those days it was fulminating about the dangers of organo-phosphates (considered perfectly safe at the time, when farmers would plunge into the dip to help the sheep through; this programme was the first to warn that they could be being brain-damaged). In recent years it's warned of the bee colony collapse disorder, and explored the possible reasons and solutions; it covers fishing too, and the dangers of insane EU fishing quota bargaining.

exaisle

There are two issues regarding receiving BBC Radio 4 on Long Wave...the radio and the antenna.

Simply having an "AM" band does not guarantee you the ability to tune in Radio 4. What you need is a radio that has an Long Wave AM band. Most car radios have an AM band but the more modern only have a Medium Wave AM band. Generally, older radios will have MW (medium wave) and LW (long wave) bands.

Lets assume that your car radio can receive Long Wave. If you're having difficulties in receiving Radio 4, then the problem is almost certainly with the antenna. As a rule of thumb, when receiving Long Wave signals, size DOES matter. The longer your antenna, the better the signal you'll receive. If you recall the old "whip" style antenna which was basically a 6-foot plastic rod with a wire up the middle....these were excellent for LW reception. If you don't want to become a 70's retro icon, then I'd strongly suggest going the internet route...

exaisle

I've just noticed the availability of AM/FM antenna boosters on Ebay.

Not sure how well they work. Anybody try one??

They are connected between the antenna and the radio. I'd be curious to hear if they are any use on lower frequencies like the LW band.

jthrppel

If you are driving/living (for example in Skerries/Rush road) in the eastern seaboard FM104.65 will get you Radio 4 FM broadcasts. You can also get radio 4FM broadcasts in parts of Swords. I am not sure whether it is an original broadcast at that frequency or some sort of 'deflection' from another frequency like FM94(?) from the North.

Technocentral

Black Oil wrote: »

Is this what you're referring to? Tried it this morning, it crashed.

I then tried BBC R4 via Tune In on the train. Listened for about 15 minutes, used about 9.3MB (48k WMA, I think). It kept stalling quite often and then wouldn't come back for 15-20 seconds. Whether that was down to the stream, my coverage or something else, I don't know.

After 9am I went over to WBUR for 10 minutes, that was around 4MB, but this stream was 28k mp3, though when I checked the phone it was saying 48k .

Re car radios, I presume that ones that are pre-moulded into the dash are pretty impossible to change?

Yeah that is the one, I suppose we will have to wait a couple of years before fast constant wireless net is available in this Country if ever.