How can we reliably get our radio stations playing?

We still get a lot of requests for basic tuners or radios that can handle AM and FM reception, when talking to customers in the showroom.

While these products are still available from a select few of our brands, are they still the best way to listen to your favorite radio stations?

What lots of our customers don't realise, is that their favourite radio stations are also available over the digital broadcast signals, known as DAB and DAB+. Yes, that includes 702 ABC and the likes, fortunately! The benefits of digital include far higher clarity of audio, better sound definition, and usually written extras that will pop up on your radio interface to tell you names of artists or tracks you're currently listening to.

While you can also get a tuner that handles DAB+ radio stations, sometimes along side the trusty old AM and FM frequencies, this still doesn't address a major issue which we find to be very typical of our store's location:

RECEPTION ON THE NORTHERN BEACHES IS NOT AMAZING

While the northern beaches of Sydney are a lovely area for a massive variety of reasons, including the location and views, radio reception certainly isn't a reason most people would recommend life on the peninsula.

Fact is; transmission towers in the area are becoming less and less focused on the AM and FM signals we could once get driving around in the car and in our homes, but far more focused on the digital signal.

Another fact is; reception on the Northern Beaches suffers greatly due to the geography of the area. For example, we have absolutely no access to ANY of the signals these towers send out within our shop, including digital. We are in a massive dead spot, which is unfortunate, but it has forced us to utilise the alternatives on the market. What we've found works very well, regardless of this reception problem.

Internet-Based Radio: How it Works

The radio stations we know as AM or FM stations, like the typical Triple M, ABC 702, 2Day FM, etc, are all broadcasted through internet based channels also. Access to this is far easier than it sounds.

Internet radio can be received through a variety of devices you may or may not already have access to, like smart phones, tablets, computers like desktops and laptops. Applications exist for handheld devices like TuneIn Radio, which allows you to select your location and gain free, instant access to your radio stations, but through the internet, NOT AFFECTED BY SIGNAL FROM RADIO TOWERS.

When you want to look at a new radio to replace an old model, or simply to get the radio playing throughout your place again, consider the reception in the area. If some stations are better than some others, or if most stations are effected by dropouts or fading in and out, consider Internet Based Radio units. 

A great example is the popular Bose Wave Radio, which also comes in an Internet-Ready equivalent model. The standard model covers the playback of CD's and AM & FM radio stations. Around here, the model to go for is the Internet ready model. The reason being, without AM / FM reception, this internet unit will still have uninterrupted access to your radio stations, which is a necessity. These internet based stations can still be set to your 6 presets just as any normal station could. 

Sonos Wireless multi-room audio systems for your house, as another example, also have direct access to every radio station, local or international, through the internet and TuneIn Radio servers. 

Come and talk to us today about options in your area, or give us a call on (02) 8088 3088 to find out more about how you can overcome reception problems.