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HD Radio

E

EddieM

Guest
Guest
No, not that HD! Anyone have any experience with it? I'm looking for something to replace the XM Radio on the bike. I got tired of paying for signal dropouts even here in the Florida flatlands! Pros, cons, do most places have HD stations? I found a small HD receiver at Best Buy that looks interesting. It's about the size of a small MP3 player. Any ideas or comments? Eddie COG Marketing Asst. Sanford, FL 2005 Concours 1969 Triumph Bonneville AMA# 686667 COG# 7073 CDA# 0136 http://picasaweb.google.com/Eddie753
 
Eddie: I'd just look for a radio that does a 'scan' for stations, like AM or FM. I don't believe in paying for something I can get for free. So I have to endure some commercials, that is OK as I also get the local weather, local news, and often some insight to the area I'm in. That has proven to be beneficial many times, so I'll stick with the 'usual' radio. For a preferred playlist, get a iPod or MP3 player. I carry a bunch of songs on my cellphone, thus eliminating one more item to carry. tcars John
 
Yeah, John. That's why I was leaning this way. Local traffic info, weather conditions, etc. Apparently, if there are no HD channels, the radio defaults to standard FM. And it's only $40. I can easily throw away more money than that! Thanks. Eddie COG Marketing Asst. Sanford, FL 2005 Concours 1969 Triumph Bonneville AMA# 686667 COG# 7073 CDA# 0136 http://picasaweb.google.com/Eddie753
 
Eddie if you are having signal dropout it is probably your antenna. http://www.xm-radio-satellite.com/xmsatelliteradiomotorcycleantenna.aspx The regular xm antenna uses the metal in the car to recieve the ground plane based xm signal. It is not effective on a motorcycle due to this and the generally lower mounting height of the antenna on a motorcycle.
 
I have had XM for many years, and HD for a few years. XM should not have drop-outs unless you pas under very dense tree tops. That has to last for more than a few seconds for the audio to drop. I have had drop-out in that same situation, but it is very rear to have it otherwise. HD will not be as good as XM for these reasons. HD needs to have a strong solid signal, if it does not, it will pop between analog FM and digital HD. This results in a odd sound as the shift from one to the other involves a shift of time. There is a delay when jumping to the digital signal, to the inverse is a jump forward. This shifting becomes very annoying. It's not very noticeable on the home HD system. This is because I have an antenna outside and the signals are usually very strong ones that don't ever drop out. For the home I have a Sony receiver that is very good. It is a hackable model that has a large following of users. XM should work best on a bike and in the car. With me, I had trouble hearing any radio while riding my bike. I also feel that it might be a distraction that I don't need. Florida has lots of old drivers, uninsured drivers, and crazy-ass drivers.
 
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