A/B Amp with DAB

[Lucid]

I can't believe you wrote that. The problem is that most stations are no longer on MW/LW. That includes the UKs most popular stations BBC radio 1 and 2.

What, do you mean apart from the ones like Caroline that were never on FM?

How about some of the others on MW or Long Wave?...

Absolute Radio
Air3
Anker Radio
Apple AM
Asian Sound
Basildon Hospital Radio
BBC Asian Network
BBC Essex
BBC Hereford & Worcester
BBC Radio 4
BBC Southern Counties R
BBC Three Counties R
BBC World Service
BBC World Service DRM
BFBS Gurkha Radio
BFBS Northern Ireland
Big 1458 AM
Blast 1386
Blue Bull Radio
Burst Radio
Cambridge University Radio
Capital Gold
Carillon Radio
Celtic Music Radio
Chichester Hospital Radio
Classic Gold
Classic Gold Amber
Classic Gold Breeze
Classic Gold GEM
Classic Gold WABC
Club Asia
Clyde 2
County Sound
Crush
Desi Radio
Dorton Radio
Downtown Radio
Forest of Dean Community Radio
Forth 2
Frequency 1350
Fresh Radio
Future AM 1350
Garrison Radio
GU2
Hemel Hospital Radio
Highways Agency Radio
Hospital Radio Crawley
Hospital Radio Pulse
Hospital Radio Yare
Hub Radio
Insanity
JAM 1575
KCC Live
Kingstown Radio
Kismat Asian Talk Radio
Knutsford AM
L&D Radio
LBC News 1152
LCR
Livewire
London Turkish Radio
Lyneham Radio
Magic AM
Manx Radio
Marcher Gold
Mid Downs Radio
Moray Firth Radio
Nevill Hall Sound
Northsound 2
Pinesbury AM
Premier
Pulse Classic Gold
Queens Radio
R Bristol
R Cambridgeshire
R Cornwall
R Cumbria
R Derby
R Devon
R Gloucestershire
R Guernsey
R Humberside
R Jersey
R Kent
R Lancashire
R Leeds
R Lincolnshire
R Merseyside
R Newcastle
R Norfolk
R Nottingham
R Scotland
R Sheffield
R Solent
R Stoke
R Ulster
R Wales
R Wales (Clwyd)
R Wiltshire
R York
Radio 5 Live
Radio Cavell
Radio Gwendolen
Radio Hope
Radio Hotspot
Radio nan Gaidheal
Radio Nightingale
Radio RamAir
Radio Redhill
Radio Royal
Radio Tyneside
Radio West Suffolk
Radio XL
Radio Ysbyty Glan Clwyd
RaW
RED
Red Sands Radio
Sabras Radio
Signal 2
Solar AM
Somerset Sound
Sound Radio
Source Radio
Spectrum Radio
Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio
Sunrise Radio
Sunshine
Surge
Swansea Sound
Talk Sport
Taunton School Radio
Tay AM
The Cat 1251am
The Magic 756
Trust AM
University Radio Bath
University Radio Falmer
University Radio Nottingham
URY
Valleys Radio
Victoria Radio Network
Virgin AM
West Sound
Xtreme AM

That's quite a big list, isn't it? Just short of 150; and I haven't even counted the FM stations. Switching back to AM or FM wouldn't be much of a problem at all then. Just remind me again how many stations are on super-duper DAB+... What was it.... almost 20, if you count the religious radio stations?

Isn't this where we started?
The OP wanted to buy an A/B amp with DAB and I recommend he make sure it was actually DAB+.

Not really.

Where we started was you stating in quite a point blank sort of way that anything other than a DAB+ for a DAB radio would be a waste of time. I've countered by showing that there aren't actually that many DAB+ radio stations to choose from. You quite helpfully banged a couple of nails in to your own coffin with Ofcom comment.

 

[winston1]

You must have spent a lot of time compiling that list of (mostly) ethnic, hospital, and local stations.

Noticeably missing are BBC radios 1, 2, 3, 4extra, 6 music, and quite a few locals, let's see R London, Isle of White radio, and community stations such as Maritime radio, Angel radio, the list goes on.

Anyway to get back to the point DAB is obsolete, DAB+ is the way forward.

 

[Lucid]

No time at all; top half of the first page of a Google seach. Then a quick cut and paste.

As for your station list, how many of those are on DAB+ and not DAB?

 

[winston1]

As for your station list, how many of those are on DAB+ and not DAB?

It does not matter. The fact that there are stations (even one) broadcasting in DAB+ in the UK with more to follow makes original DAB obsolete.

From http://www.wohnort.org/DAB/:

Own-brand DAB+ radios
In the UK, the last remaining bastion of died-in-the-wool, "original-flavour"-only DAB receivers is the range of own-brand radios sold by the major supermarket chains. Which brand will be last to switch? With the new UK digital radio tick mark now specifying DAB+ capability (among other welcome things) to qualify, it can't be long now. With DAB+ services already on air across the UK, and more certain to follow, Wohnort recommends that the own-brand ranges be avoided until they include DAB+.
Caveat emptor!

Note also this sentence:

With the new UK digital radio tick mark now specifying DAB+ capability (among other welcome things) to qualify

 

[Lucid]

It does not matter. The fact that there are stations (even one) broadcasting in DAB+ in the UK with more to follow makes original DAB obsolete.

From http://www.wohnort.org/DAB/:

Own-brand DAB+ radios
In the UK, the last remaining bastion of died-in-the-wool, "original-flavour"-only DAB receivers is the range of own-brand radios sold by the major supermarket chains. Which brand will be last to switch? With the new UK digital radio tick mark now specifying DAB+ capability (among other welcome things) to qualify, it can't be long now. With DAB+ services already on air across the UK, and more certain to follow, Wohnort recommends that the own-brand ranges be avoided until they include DAB+.
Caveat emptor!

Note also this sentence:

With the new UK digital radio tick mark now specifying DAB+ capability (among other welcome things) to qualify

And there ends the sales and marketing message on behalf of DAB+ brought to you by Wohnort (who?) and @winston1


Okay, so you've had your shiny new DAB+ radio for years without realising it because DAB+ has been available to the general public since 2016. Now let's have a look at all the national stations using this improved system...

Fun Kids - National children’s radio station
Exclusive to DAB+? NO - also available on internet, Wi-Fi radio, phone apps

Jazz FM - Jazz music
Exclusive to DAB+? NO - also available on internet, Wi-Fi radio, phone apps

UnionJack - British rock/pop
Exclusive to DAB+? NO - also available on internet, Wi-Fi radio, phone apps

JACK Radio (UK) - Pop music
Exclusive to DAB+? NO - also available on internet, Wi-Fi radio, phone apps

ForcesRadio BFBS - Armed forces radio
Exclusive to DAB+? NO - also available on FM, AM internet, Wi-Fi radio, phone apps

Virgin Anthems - 80s/90s Pop Music
Exclusive to DAB+? NO - also available on internet, Wi-Fi radio, phone apps

Virgin Chilled - Pop Music
Exclusive to DAB+? NO - also to be available on internet, Wi-Fi radio, phone apps



Unlike AM or FM, no broadcaster dare put all their eggs in the DAB+ basket alone. There's just not enough visibility of the platform for station sponsors to take that risk.

Take a look at the plain DAB stations; you'll often find parallel broadcasting on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media, and/or via internet, Wi-Fi radios, and smart device apps too. As a nation, we've passed the tipping point where more people receive their radio stations on a digital platform, but that doesn't automatically mean that DAB/DAB+ is the most popular choice. Freeview, Freesat, Sky, VM and web/Wi-Fi services are all digital platforms too, but of course those with a vested interest in spinning the DAB/DAB+ story in a positive light often leave out these rather telling details.

The bottom line is that DAB+ is too-little, too-late. It's largely irrelevant to the British listening public.

Static-location reception of radio in digital format is just as likely to be via some form of internet-based service accessed via a streamer/smart speaker/tablet/phone or through the additional radio channels on TV service platforms.

Mobile in-car is slightly different. But even then, the sorts of car radios that have DAB+ probably also have the ability to hook up a mobile phone by Bluetooth which will give as much or possibly more choice than regular DAB, but in stereo, and at a higher quality than normal DAB's mostly mono and low-bit-rate services. Also, the phone is portable so the listening experience travels with the user rather than being locked to the vehicle.