What FM/AM Stereo Radio On Small Yacht?

CaptainBob

CaptainBob

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www.yacht-forum.co.uk
I want to get myself a nice little radio for my Centaur for pleasure (and poss weather forecast reception) listening - ie music/chat, radio 2, radio 4, radio 1 etc etc. It needs to fulfil certain criteria (which I'm sure are common to a lot of folk here):

Good signal.
Reliable.
Robust.
Low power consumption (or clockwork/solar).
At least FM, but MW, SW, LW a definite advantage.

--

Additional features a plus:

Waterproof.
Stereo.


Have been looking at the clockwork units from Freeplay. They seem to get pretty good reviews.

This one has all that I want:

http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/products/freeplay/summit-radio/

But are they just a gimmick and likely to stuff up on me after a month in sea air?

What about DAB, is it worth a try? Or is coverage still just too hit and miss - and I guess poor signal when offshore a bit.

Any thoughts/options/experiences?
 
Any car radio will do. It's a big mass market and so there's good value to be had. Main problem is to avoid the gimmicky extras that you probably don't want so look at the cheapest models of quality manufacturers eg. Sony and especially any discontinued lines. The good news is that they'll work with just any bit of wire as aerial. In a Centaur it's convenient to fix one in one of the high level storage compartments in the cabin running the power wires down into the lower level compartments and the speaker wires horizontally along from the radio through the other high level storage.
 
Car radio - hadn't thought of that... but obviously that's going to draw current from my batts - which means a requirement to run the engine periodically to keep the batts topped up... which I was hoping to avoid really.
 
I use an old Roberts radio. They usually go for a few quid at the local general auction house. Never break (well nearly) excellent hardware, hence reception is very good. Lots of big batteries which last for ages. Lovely sound too.
Nicki
 
DAB will be like FM - line of sight. if you are planning to sail offshore then AM, SW or LW would be an advantage so you can continue to get the weather forecasts and listen to the programmes.
 
I use one olf these
sonyradio.jpg


Works off AA batteries, they seem to last forever. SW/LW/MW and FM. Used it all the way from Chichester to Falmouth and back this year. It recieved Radio 2 perfectly while crossing Lyme Bay. Advantage is it's small and doesn't take up much space.
 
A few years ago I was bought a wind up/solar radio it was a complete waste of time very poor reception I think due to always being under powered (not enough sun or not wound up enough)

I would get a decent radio run it on re chargable batteries and get a 12v charger, you can charge them in the car and if they run down aboard recharge them on the boat.

pete
 
Wouldn't recomend anyone to buy DAB at the moment. It's current UK implementation is about to become obsolete, and when it's upgraded your old set will be a dead parrot. A bit like your old telly when we go digital.... As for the boat, car stereo is good, and if you don't mount the full "white van thump" your battery won't suffer too much.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Another problem with DAB is the pips are always late.

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously!? I guess it's obvious thinking about it, but that's a proper problem though!

Though I've typed that now and I think perhaps my own anality over the accuracy of my watch is perhaps unwarranted, and dates back to childhood. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

How delayed is it? 0.25 seconds? 5 seconds? More?
 
Can be several seconds, which is why I find it impossible to listen to the radio commentary and watch the game on TV at the same time - by the time the goal has been scored, the radio has the attack just beginning!
 
are you planning to buy this radio before ---












or after you fix the hole in the bottom of your boat ? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Do not get DAB - you keep moving from cell to cell. Get cheap car radio with LW and then you get weather forecast. Or Sony portable with LW, last forever, easy on batteries and can run on mains
 
[ QUOTE ]
Do not get DAB - you keep moving from cell to cell.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do they not auto-tune, or is that the whole point? Never owned one, someone had one in work but obviously it was stationary.
 
[ QUOTE ]
are you planning to buy this radio before ---

<snip dramatic pause>

or after you fix the hole in the bottom of your boat ? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Cheeky sod /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

BEFORE, so I have something to listed to while I work on the boat!! /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
A car radio generally has the most sensitivity and a good aerial connection. You can mount a decent sized speaker/s in the boat through a bulkhead for good quality sound.
However if you go to a car breaking yard you may get an old analogue mechanical tuned car radio. These are excellent in that they don't require battery wasting power to keep the memory alive and or don't lose the stations when you turn off the power.
Avoid digitally tuned car radios for this reason. However if want CD player you will have no choice but to go digitally tuned.
There is of course much to be said for a stand alone portable radio with no boat electrical interface. Less electrics in a boat the better.
good luck olewill
 
Cheers Will. Yeah, that's a good point about an old car stereo. Like your thinking.... but even more drawn to the simplicity of a portable. That sony posted earlier is looking like a good option. 2 AA cells supposedly run that one for 30 hours, and they're not expensive.... tempted in that direction more than any other at the mo.

The whole winding up idea does really appeal though. I guess the green "spin" has worked its magic upon my subconcious more than I thought!
 
Any old portable should do the job. Long wave is good for shipping forecasts if straying to Europe, otherwise it tends to be easier to use SMS for the job.

I'd avoid wind-up. I was given one of these a few years ago - a hulking great thing. I used to use it in the bathroom, but after a while the mechanism started making a noise while running; eventually it became too loud to hear the radio. It's now in the attic waiting for me to either repair it or chuck it. I don't know if this is a general thing, or the humidity of the bathroom, but doesn't sound good for a boat! Anyway a couple of AA batteries last a long time in a portable radio.

What is worth having is one or two of those shakey torches - no batteries to run flat, just shake'em up for a few seconds. No good as a steamer scarer, but really useful to have one hanging just inside the hatch where you can find it on a dark night - enough light to fire up the oil lamp.

Of course if you really want a wind-up, we could talk about skin fittings!
 
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