Internet Radio

[Jeff Gaines]

Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.

Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

[Tweed]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

Depends how big is big. I’ve got a Roberts 94 Stream next to me. The clock
in digital mode has characters 12mm tall and the total displayed width is
40mm. I’ve got a Pure Siesta which has huge digits, but as you say, is not
an Internet based device. It does have Bluetooth so you could play back via
a phone, but that’s clunky.

[JMB99]

Post by Tweed
Depends how big is big. I’ve got a Roberts 94 Stream next to me. The clock
in digital mode has characters 12mm tall and the total displayed width is
40mm. I’ve got a Pure Siesta which has huge digits, but as you say, is not
an Internet based device. It does have Bluetooth so you could play back via
a phone, but that’s clunky.

I think my Roberts Stream 94i series Bluetooth is only an input, not an
output - just confirmed by connecting to the radio from my tablet.

[Andy Burns]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.

I have a Lenovo smart clock, largest font is about 1" high, its inbuilt
speaker is a bit tinny, so I use it to control a better set of speakers
via a chromecast audio device.

[Chris Green]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

The chances of an internet radio working with 'ordinary' stations such
as the BBC's various services for longer than a month or two are
minimal. The BBC now changes things so frequently there's no sane way
an internet radio can keep up.

Rant over! :-)

[Tweed]

Post by Chris Green

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

The chances of an internet radio working with 'ordinary' stations such
as the BBC's various services for longer than a month or two are
minimal. The BBC now changes things so frequently there's no sane way
an internet radio can keep up.
Rant over! :-)

I’ve had my Roberts Stream for 3 years now, and it still picks up the BBC
streams without a problem - I’ve just double checked.

[Scott]

On Tue, 13 Feb 2024 10:23:41 -0000 (UTC), Tweed

Post by Chris Green

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

The chances of an internet radio working with 'ordinary' stations such
as the BBC's various services for longer than a month or two are
minimal. The BBC now changes things so frequently there's no sane way
an internet radio can keep up.
Rant over! :-)

I’ve had my Roberts Stream for 3 years now, and it still picks up the BBC
streams without a problem - I’ve just double checked.

Mine too last time I checked.

[Angus Robertson - Magenta Systems Ltd]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers

An Amazon Echo Dot with clock would do all that, reasonably future proofed.
Works well for me.

Angus

[Jeff Layman]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

Well, if you can't find one why not go for separates? I don't know about
internet radios, but I can thoroughly recommend an ordinary clock radio
with a very big display:
<https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8886415?clickSR=slp:term:clock%20radio:2:35:1>


Ours has 12/24H display, and has been working well for over 5 years. It
has even got a battery backup for the time, alarm, and settings
circuitry if the mains goes off. There's no display visible, but as soon
as the power returns it shows the correct time.

[JMB99]

Post by Jeff Layman
Well, if you can't find one why not go for separates? I don't know about
internet radios, but I can thoroughly recommend an ordinary clock radio
<https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8886415?clickSR=slp:term:clock%20radio:2:35:1>
Ours has 12/24H display, and has been working well for over 5 years. It
has even got a battery backup for the time, alarm, and settings
circuitry if the mains goes off. There's no display visible, but as soon
as the power returns it shows the correct time.

I have one of their 'Precision' radios (brand name).

The clock is radio controlled, not sure if MSF or DCF77 but most are
DCF77. Works well and readable at night with its illuminated display -
only illuminate on main but works off batteries as well.

They do not seem to have my model now but they have a range of them,
including one that projects the time on the ceiling.

[Roderick Stewart]

Post by Jeff Layman

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

Well, if you can't find one why not go for separates? I don't know about
internet radios, but I can thoroughly recommend an ordinary clock radio
<https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8886415?clickSR=slp:term:clock%20radio:2:35:1>
Ours has 12/24H display, and has been working well for over 5 years. It
has even got a battery backup for the time, alarm, and settings
circuitry if the mains goes off. There's no display visible, but as soon
as the power returns it shows the correct time.

I have a mains powered seven segment red LED alarm clock that has been
working flawlessly since 1982.

Mine doesn't have a backup battery, so if power is ever removed it
flashes from 12:00 like an old VHS machine the next time it's powered
up, so it functions as a power cut detector as well.

Rod.

[the dog from that film you saw]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

echo show?
i often ask mine what time it is when half asleep, don't have to open
your eyes either.

[Brian Gaff]

And with whisper mode it is not going to wake anyone up. There is also a dot
now with a clock, even cheaper.

Brian
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Post by the dog from that film you saw

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

echo show?
i often ask mine what time it is when half asleep, don't have to open your
eyes either.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Don't know if this is outside the scope of this group but I'd like an
Internet radio alarm clock with nice big numbers that I can read in the
night.
Any suggestions as to such a beast or a more appropriate place to ask?
Loads of Internet radios around but very few with big clocks!

Just so say thank you very much for the replies, lot of food for thought
and ended up with the following:

DAB+ radio in bedroom was erratic and sometimes had problems picking up
Mellow Magic which is supposed to see me off to sleep and wake me up in
the morning!

Working through your suggestions:

I had a good poke around in the manual for my Yamaha RX-S601D manual and
discovered it can stream Internet radio (I don't have an external DAB
aerial). Blooming nigh impossible to do it with the remote but, of course,
there's an app for that! So have discovered and am now using a function I
didn't realise existed.

That released the Roberts Stream 83i from the lounge so it goes to
bedroom. It has lots of functions including streaming radio and an alarm
but, when the alarm starts the radio, the display switches to a banner
telling you who is doing what at Magic rather than the time.

So dug out my big character digital clock, sadly not radio controlled but
fairly accurate.

Problem fixed at no cost, thanks again!

[JMB99]

Post by Jeff Gaines
DAB+ radio in bedroom was erratic and sometimes had problems picking up
Mellow Magic which is supposed to see me off to sleep and wake me up in
the morning!

When you set the Roberts to switch off after a time you set, it slowly
turns down the volume. This can be disconcerting when you are half
asleep and the radio gets quieter and quieter!

[Brian Gaff]

Can you not turn the feature off?. If faded at all it should be a more rapid
one a bit like when you fall asleep in front of the telly. Its there then
its some time later. A bit like when they put you out for an operation.

I have to say that I use the Amazon Echo dot with a line in from the
headphone socket to a decent amp and speakers. As long as it is solidly on
your wifi it seems fine.
I do have an old Dab, but now it cannot do DAB plus, it is all rather
pointless. I think when they invented a new standard, they should have
picked one that the old chips could manage, considering the penetration
already of DAB in the market. I took part in the original DAB trials, back
just in the last century, and when it worked it was fine. It just allowed
the errors to be sent to the output which gave that distinctive boiling mud
sound the worse it got. Maybe the system was not ready yt and they rushed it
out with power hungry hardware decoding chipsets, rather than waiting to get
the software controlled decoders they tend to use now which are much less
power hungry.
I still think it would be relatively easy to produce a speaking version.
Many TVs now have this for their menus, at scant cost to the product.
A lot of older people struggle with lcd menus on radios due to their sight
being not what it was.
Brian
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Post by JMB99

Post by Jeff Gaines
DAB+ radio in bedroom was erratic and sometimes had problems picking up
Mellow Magic which is supposed to see me off to sleep and wake me up in
the morning!

When you set the Roberts to switch off after a time you set, it slowly
turns down the volume. This can be disconcerting when you are half asleep
and the radio gets quieter and quieter!