OT: HD table top radio

[paulh]

What's the deal with this? HD radio was supposed to be the next big thing? My office has just too much steel around me and the regular boom box/desk radios just don't work well inside except for the one strongest station. It looks like the car audio market has a lot of this but try and search for what I want, and the discussions are from 2007 and "out of stock/discontinued" radios. Public radio has 3 stations through the air in my area... news, classical and alternative. So, if I could get reception of these 3 clearly with and ipod/iphone doc( but not necessary) that would be great. Any ideas? Thanks.

[kramnnim]

What about an online stream?

[bargainguy]

HD does not stand for high definition, as most folks assume...rather Hybrid Digital. Signal is sent in both digital & analog formats and blends between them.

I have this on my car head unit. It makes the most noticeable difference in AM stations, rivaling FM as far as bandwidth.

[Peter P.]

Not every station broadcasts in digital so before you buy, check the HD Radio (http://hdradio.com/) web site to see if enough local stations broadcast in digital to satisfy your needs.

You obviously need an external antenna to get the signal into your building. Some people will connect a wire wrapped around the extended whip of their radio to something steel that's part of the superstructure of the building. It's a butcher job but sometimes it works. Try connecting it to a pipe above the ceiling tiles, or to a window frame if the frame is steel.