competition? I want something simple like a radio (but fewer commercials :) - I'm too old for an ipod or that kind of stuff - but I want lots of music when going for walks. This looks good, but I'm reading mentions of spotty reception. Does this have competition that might be better for me? competition? I want something simple like a radio (but fewer commercials :) - I'm too old for an ipod or that kind of stuff - but I want lots of music when going for walks. This looks good,... » Read More competition? I want something simple like a radio (but fewer commercials :) - I'm too old for an ipod or that kind of stuff - but I want lots of music when going for walks. This looks good, but I'm reading mentions of spotty reception. Does this have competition that might be better for me? « Show Less
1066280
LOL... too old for an iPod? I've got 4 iPods, and a music library of well over 5000 songs, and I'm 66 years old. I plan on using them for many years to come. 8-)
1066281
The only competitor to Sirius satellite readio is XM satellite radio, they have some portable units, though I'm not aware of reception quality with them.
1066282
It works best if you set it to record at night while you're sleeping. With a 100 hours of recording time you should be able to rack up quite a variety and reception won't be an issue. Also, Sirius has three satellites, XM only has two. Sirius' reception is way better than XM's.Good luck.
1066283
good for you - I was using shorthand, though, of course, to indicate that I feel too much like an old fogey to jump on the iPod bandwagon - and I'm still interested in some sort of portable Sirius or a competitor if anyone has any ideas.... Unless of course someone wants to hold my hand thru every step of the way of buying, loading, and using and iPod and its accessories... :)
1214796
Good news is it's not a lot of money to try it. I couldn't get any AM reception in my building and with some tweaking of the rotary pot on the Terk I get somewhat and I say somewhat decent listening levels. However, the lower the signal on AM the more noise, interference you're going to hear. Some days are lousy but most days are listenable. Good enough to listen to talk radio at work. I'd say about an 80 percent solution for my situation. I did have to go around my rooms to find the best spot and then I had to run a pretty long cable, but it did work with some effort. I'm happy with it. Good news is it's not a lot of money to try it. I couldn't get any AM reception in my building and with some tweaking of the rotary pot on the Terk I get somewhat and I say somewhat decent listening levels. However, the lower the signal on AM the more noise, interference you're going to hear. Some days are lousy but most days are listenable. Good enough to listen to talk radio at work. I'd say about an 80 percent solution for my situation. I did have to go around my rooms to find the best spot and then I had to run a pretty long cable, but it did work with some effort. I'm happy with it.
2060206
Hey Deanna, I purchased this item on Sept 9th, and I am still using it. I am happy to share with you my experiences thru which you will find the answers to your questions. Firstly, I would care to let you know why I purchased this item. I love to listen to my favorites musics on the go. I had used transmitters of the other so-called brands, and ended up using a tape adapter, but I was not satisfied because they died earlier. So, I purchased this device. Secondly, I tell you the good things about it. Whatever channel you choose, the transmission is 100% clear with no intercession with the others. The transmission goes widely to a point that another car can stick on your musics with no interruption. It reads everything mentioned, and even a flash drive. It plays alphabetically, so you can choose what music must be played first by naming the music with an A...or a number 1..2..3... I can't tell about the MP4, because I don't have any file in that format. Overall, I would just suggest that you give it try...and then...tell me whether or not my answer was reasonable to you. Thanks!
1556763
I researched this before purchasing and it appeared to be better than the competition at the time (earlier this year). I live across the sound from seattle (manchester). I have a lot of tall cedars and this area is quite "hilly". And I'm able to get all the local channels, and about 25-30 more that aren't worth viewing. I bought it because I so badly wanted to fire my cable provider, and this little black box worked out for me. I have three, and they all have different levels of reception, because they are all in different windows in my home, but they all give me the major networks. Sometimes, during stormy weather I will get distortion. Try a different location in your home, and definitely on a window sill. Does not work in more remote areas - I know I took it camping and nothing. But if you're only a couple miles from a major hub like Cleveland, then you should definitely be getting pretty good reception. If you're getting other channels, then it's possible that fox and cbs are just out of range. I personally recommend this product. It's all about Geographics. Good luck!
198037
Max,I got a new HT via A,azion.com and it came from Radio mart in KY. Just way to many of you are worried about the newest version. My newest version is a 5RA and it has the 2nd to the last firmware.But that means nothing at all. All you need to know is here. http://www.miklor.com/ Please join the list but those guys will just tell you to read up in the files.I like mine,it has a siren,the case is beautiful but it has it's quirks. Guys are downloading software but I did mine manually. Some need WIN XP and others using VISTA need to download an updated driver. PLEASE DO NOT WORRY ABOUT LATEST FIRMWARE as i may only be a restriction on what you can or can't do out of the ham bands. I called this pure junk because it is hard to manually program it and at timed I'm in FREQ mode and it jumps into memory mode. Keep in mind that the mailing list is very,very large and many still do not have a TECH license. Use it as it was intended for and don't try making a queen mary from a canoe. Many are still using the very first unit and have no problems http://www.409shop.com/shop_displaynews.php?id=608&userid=100556 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baofeng_uv5r/ These links will help BOB AF2Q
1809610
It is good. I suppose it depends on the area you live in. I gave this radio to my 90 yr old mother and she is thrilled with it. In her area, Central New Jersey, she gets good reception from fm stations in NY, Phil, and Princeton.
1875812
I've never used any of the apps out there, so difficult to compare. I would make sure the apps provide the same real time localized information (your specific county) available from their radio broadcasts. The whole point of this sort of radio is for severe weather alerts, and if the app doesn't do that, then there is no point in getting the app. I bring this radio with me when i camp. I think I prefer the radio if for no other reason than I have camped in areas where cell phone coverage is spotty. I also wonder what sort of data hog those apps can be, or how annoying the inevitable ads are. I've never used any of the apps out there, so difficult to compare. I would make sure the apps provide the same real time localized information (your specific county) available from their radio broadcasts. The whole point of this sort of radio is for severe weather alerts, and if the app doesn't do that, then there is no point in getting the app. I bring this radio with me when i camp. I think I prefer the radio if for no other reason than I have camped in areas where cell phone coverage is spotty. I also wonder what sort of data hog those apps can be, or how annoying the inevitable ads are.
357827
I bought an iPod nano 5G as my first Apple product. It was on sale and seemed to have a lot of great features. But as someone said do you really need all that? The only thing I use it for is listening to music. I have not even learned how to use the video camera, pedometer, built in speaker or the radio. I think it is well built, attractive, has a good sound and overall I am happy with it. I guess I do have some neat features in the unit if I ever should need them.
1594371
Pretty good. For some reason, was spot on in Portland, Oregon, and a little funky in the Boston area. I think it needs to be updated, but haven't seen anything from Pioneer about that. I might hold off if I were you. My Iphone has a much better, more up-to-date nav system and my car stereo guy says that the new trend in nav systems is to stream from your phone precisely for that reason. Also, if you have an iPHone 5 and want to use the AVIC-D3, the last I heard, they do NOT have a compatible adapter for the Lightning. The Apple adapter works but NOT for charging. At least on my iPad mini. Very disappointed. Pretty good. For some reason, was spot on in Portland, Oregon, and a little funky in the Boston area. I think it needs to be updated, but haven't seen anything from Pioneer about that. I might hold off if I were you. My Iphone has a much better, more up-to-date nav system and my car stereo guy says that the new trend in nav systems is to stream from your phone precisely for that reason. Also, if you have an iPHone 5 and want to use the AVIC-D3, the last I heard, they do NOT have a compatible adapter for the Lightning. The Apple adapter works but NOT for charging. At least on my iPad mini.... » Read More Pretty good. For some reason, was spot on in Portland, Oregon, and a little funky in the Boston area. I think it needs to be updated, but haven't seen anything from Pioneer about that. I might hold off if I were you. My Iphone has a much better, more up-to-date nav system and my car stereo guy says that the new trend in nav systems is to stream from your phone precisely for that reason. Also, if you have an iPHone 5 and want to use the AVIC-D3, the last I heard, they do NOT have a compatible adapter for the Lightning. The Apple adapter works but NOT for charging. At least on my iPad mini. Very disappointed. « Show Less
1785356
Not good at all...I'm in your typical suberb approximately 60 miles from a major city. If I hit "scan" on my radio, it will only stop at one station which is our local radio station. Even if you only listen to FM for traffic reports or whatever, it'll drive you nuts. Save the money
519429
Gregory: I think the free trial is a great idea on Pandora's part- I know that it is worth it to me to continue. Iespecially like how you can create your own stations so easily. Or you can find others that have been seeded for you-Blue Note records has seeded several jazz stations that are fantastic.How will I know when the time is up- will the Pandora simply stop working?Chuck
1494413
This portable,handheld radio is very nice.I understand what your asking in your question and this is true it is pricey,however its worth it.This radio can't compete with most am/fm handheld radios alone,plus you have NOAA weather on this with an alert system.The other big plus is the reception,this lil yellow radio can pull in some real weak stations as well. I am very impressed with the AM stations @ night time that it brings in.FM is also good and if your outside or by a window your going to be happy with the reception.True its higher priced however you get what you pay for ,and in my opinion this this one nice radio to own. This portable,handheld radio is very nice.I understand what your asking in your question and this is true it is pricey,however its worth it.This radio can't compete with most am/fm handheld radios alone,plus you have NOAA weather on this with an alert system.The other big plus is the reception,this lil yellow radio can pull in some real weak stations as well. I am very impressed with the AM stations @ night time that it brings in.FM is also good and if your outside or by a window your going to be happy with the reception.True its higher priced however you get what you pay for ,and in my... » Read More This portable,handheld radio is very nice.I understand what your asking in your question and this is true it is pricey,however its worth it.This radio can't compete with most am/fm handheld radios alone,plus you have NOAA weather on this with an alert system.The other big plus is the reception,this lil yellow radio can pull in some real weak stations as well. I am very impressed with the AM stations @ night time that it brings in.FM is also good and if your outside or by a window your going to be happy with the reception.True its higher priced however you get what you pay for ,and in my opinion this this one nice radio to own. « Show Less
904756
I know with this one, this one has spotty reception, but I think that the one you may be looking for is this one: Pioneer GEX-INNO2BK Inno 2 Portable XM Satellite Radio with MP3 Capability. It looks the same, but I heard it gets better reception (I have the previous model), but if you are definitely looking into getting a Satellite radio, I think your best bet is to get the one that I mentioned. Just my personal opinion, also I've read a lot of good things about the other receiver.
133891
Its just like most scanners as RJP913 said, but you need to check out who you want to listen to first. I found out that the county's I wanted to listen to used a much higher freq. than the Uniden could be programed for. Still all in all its a great buy, and I like it.
1834291
Hi. I find that some days the reception is better than other days. Today, the reception is perfect. I would keep it plugged in and see if the reception improves and then you would have to accept that on some days you will have bad reception (which I know will be annoying).
489424
Always check the reception based on where you intend on swimming. I have at least 1 NPR station that comes in clearly in my locality. I enjoy swimming with mine but have to keep the earbud wires tucked under my goggles strap because the friction from my shoulder rotation on the wire occasionally tugs the earbuds out. I definately enjoy the motivational boost of swimming with my MP3 playlist.
2216564
I listen to FM nearly weekly and plays very well. Also has the weather band so if bad weather in the area you can get the most recent weather updates. The radio is very easy to operate and the directions to set the clock and preset your favorite stations is easy to figure out.