FM, any listeners left?

[Blumlein 88]

My favorite Denon tuner was ruined by a friend's cat. Other than the built in tuner on the Marantz 7701, all I have in the house is a Fisher 50B which I need to hook up again, and a Tivoli FM radio in the kitchen. I've had lots of good to great tuners, but FM has just sort of fallen out of use in my house. Still use it in the car most of the time.

 

[egellings]

I listen to NPR via FM radio. I avoid commercial FM stations entirely. They're as bad as the AM ones with the excessive advertising.

 

[bt3]

I listen to NPR via FM radio. I avoid commercial FM stations entirely. They're as bad as the AM ones with the excessive advertising.

I listened to NPR in five states and supported NPR affiliates
for many years, but no longer. NPR these days to many content breaks and sponsor schilling is over the top. NPR and their affiliates will take almost any entity that pays them. I have listened to NPR affiliates who aired sponsor ads for smoke/cigar shops, firearm sellers and less than stellar investment concerns. A conflict of interest exists. It comes down to “pay us and we’ll create a sponsor ad for you with tag line motto.” Yes NPR is member-sponsored and they schill during fund drives, that’s part of the deal. The final straw for me was when Fisher Investments was added as a sponsor with NPR ad enabling Fisher Investments as a fiduciary that always puts clients interests first. People need to realize that a fiduciary is not all it’s cracked up to be in reality in many instances. That was a bridge to far for me. NPR has some very good content, but increase in sponsor ads really irritate, and show segments are repeated often twice a day and on weekends likewise.

 

[Astrozombie]

I always wanted to try a proper Tuner, I have the suspicion that the sound quality might be better than your typical AVR. Lately I asked some of my relatives if they had any old cassette tapes, I was wondering what it would be like to listen to some of those on my current hi-fi. The players can be had for about $100 on ebay.

Thing is radio plays a lot of the same songs over and over so it gets kinda boring after a while. Scrolling through it is also a pain on the AVR, I don't figure tuners have remotes? So you would have to do it by hand, might be good for a garage or something.

 

[600_OHM]

Hello fellow FM'ers! (I don't live in the dark ages, I stream too)

Couple of things to look into - you may want to see if your area has any LPFM stations. Being *licensed* non-commercial entities, you wont' get any advertising (or very very limited promo from supporters - very very tight rules on this because they aren't allowed to "compete")

Not being beholden (and restricted) from commercial support, they can run any genre they want, and most importantly, they are not influenced by marketing to "tweak their sound" for a marketing demographic. You want a good college-station sound run by those who care how their companders are set? High(er) quality source material and so forth?

It is possible. If you aren't in the local reception area, they may possibly stream too.

An example of this is one in my area which I listen to ota, rather than stream (pop/rock by day, r&b blues at night)

KHUG 97.5 FM Blues Rock Streaming Commercial Free Radio

KHUG streams commercial free Blues Rock radio from Southern California

www.khug.rocks

One way to find these stations (and cross fingers that they actually CARE about their source and transmission gear (including streaming) might be found here:

The Official LPFM Station Directory | Powered by REC Networks

www.lpfm.us

And I don't need my vintage tuner and yagi. I'm fortunate enough to have a good signal, but for times when I don't, ok I'll stream it.

Believe it or not, while I long for my old Sansui tuner, these days I run tuners based on Silicon Labs 47xxxx chips. Like they put into modern vehicles. It's an all-on one chip based solution, SDR supporting the analog transmission. (no lpfm'ers do hd-radio, heh they don't need to because they have the capability of doing it right. Or wrong - their choice)

An example - and don't laugh although you are going to - is the SiLabs tuner chip inside a modern CCrane "Skywave" portable radio. Headphone out to your amp. Don't let your audiophile friends see it - put a towel over it!

There are more professional tuners that use the SDR chips - even if just supporting analog - are quite nice. So sorry Sansui - back in the closet you go.

The main point being that modern receivers that are using SDR chips have unbelievable specs as compared to your vintage fm-tuner. Total nerds will be blown away by the lack of group-delay and all that.

But please, don't let anyone here know that I'm into this stuff. I love OTA fm analog when the sources and transmission gear is done right. You might have a chance with your own local LPFM'er too.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

When we were in south Florida for over 30 years, I listened to WLRN, too. We moved to Portland and our jazz station here, KMHD has a playlist that leans toward an awful lot of dissonant stuff, and a few of their hosts just plain talk too much, so it’s a mixed bag. Our local classical station, KQAC is excellent and I have a Sangean HDT-20 AM/FM HD Radio tuner, but I seldom use it. I stream instead. I have an Apple Music account and I love the Swiss Radio Jazz service that Apple carries. (There are a number of ways you can stream it, not just via Apple Music.) Another good jazz radio station to stream is WBGO In Newark, NJ.

 

[Apesbrain]

WCRB every day via internet.

 

[Mosfet]

FM Radio, yes.

Audiolab 8000T AM / FM analog tuner
Sangean HDT-20 (HD Radio) AM / FM digital tuner

Love them both.

 

[bt3]

College FM music programming an excellent alternative to the garbage pile of commercial radio.
While Canada has a couple of my favorite radio stations, WREK 91.1 FM out of Atlanta is in my top three US FM stations for breadth of music programming. College FM programming provides so many new sounds and intelligent commentary from the younger demographic that old dogs like me really value.

 

[BDWoody]

College FM music programming an excellent alternative to the garbage pile of commercial radio.
While Canada has a couple of my favorite radio stations, WREK 91.1 FM out of Atlanta is in my top three US FM stations for breadth of music programming. College FM programming provides so many new sounds and intelligent commentary from the younger demographic that old dogs like me really value.

WTMD is a local college station I listen to quite often. Very well put together programming.

Recent Songs - WTMD

 

[DavidMcRoy]

An independent station WJAZ
With jazz and conversation
From the foot of Mt. Belzoni

AM/FM The good old radio athmosphere.

I was an FM air personality in my original hometown (Mobile, Alabama) in the 70s and 80s. That album cover reminds me: there was a TON of smoking in the studios (and everywhere) back then. (I never smoked.) One station there, WLPR-FM had an RCA 77DX ribbon microphone. The station owner would send it out to get rebuilt every few years because nicotine gunk would collect on the nearly massless ribbon. We’d give all the equipment racks a good wipe down with Windex once in a while and the paper towels would turn yellow/orange.

Later, I worked at NPR-affiliate WHIL-FM there, where smoking is the studios was prohibited, thank God.

 

[Snarfie]

I was an FM air personality in my original hometown (Mobile, Alabama) in the 70s and 80s. That album cover reminds me: there was a TON of smoking in the studios (and everywhere) back then. (I never smoked.) One station there, WLPR-FM had an RCA 77DX ribbon microphone. The station owner would send it out to get rebuilt every few years because nicotine gunk would collect on the nearly massless ribbon. We’d give all the equipment racks a good wipe down with Windex once in a while and the paper towels would turn yellow/orange.

Later, I worked at NPR-affiliate WHIL-FM there, where smoking is the studios was prohibited, thank God.

Are you still in the Radio (ore these days internet streaming) business any specific genre you play/played?

 

[DavidMcRoy]

Are you still in the Radio (ore these days internet streaming) business any specific genre you play/played?

I went into broadcast TV production in 1985 and retired in 2016. In commercial radio I played easy listening and adult contemporary. In public radio, I was news director and played classical and jazz.

 

[izeek]

not unless i have to.
ive been sickntired of radio since the early 90s. formats suck
for one. i dont even listen to oldies anything anymore. sick of them, too.
radio plays the sos ad nauseam 24/7.
thank goodness for streaming and spotify.

 

[NormB]

Magnum Dynalab FT 101 tuner, B&K Pro 10 MC pre headphone output, HE 400i phones.
91.3 WLRN Miami Evening Jazz program. 14 LP's and 22 CD's source tonight.
Sonic bliss! Musical heaven!
I try and try but I can't find this honey in the ears from streaming.
Am I the last dinosaur???

I’m old-fashioned.

I spent many an hour in my teens listening to WUSF radio out of Tampa Florida (lived in south St. Pete), the Underground Railroad midnight radio program (and, later, the riverfront festivals) were the “high” point of my youth.

I still listen to FM talk radio and (I’m somewhat ashamed to admit) to National People’s Radio (WAMU.org) programs Hot Jazz Saturday Night and Sunday’s The Big Broadcast but not as regularly as when I used to work late on weekends.

I’m using an ADCOM GFT-555 (II?) I repaired (trimmer cap and varacter diode) and aligned with an aluminum FM loop antenna hanging by paperclips from our basement suspended ceiling.

I also listen to some local rock stations and occasionally CSPAN, couple of christian music stations and to WTMD radio out of Towson, MD north of Baltimore where my son went to college. Typical college station like WUSF, or UCSD’s student radio station, diverse programming, world music, DJ’s who work the commercial stations like 101.1 FM and come in on the weekends to do a few hours of more focused musical programming.

Yeah, I can stream a lot of that, but old habits, you know?

 

[Daverz]

I only listen to the radio in the car, which means I haven't listened to it for a couple years. The only local station I can stand is the Jazz station (KSDS 88.3). I can't even stand NPR (AKA Nice Polite Republicans) anymore.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

FTM, I had a giant ChannelMaster or Winegard yagi, don’t remember which, on the roof in Florida. We’re renting for the moment in Washington (state) so I‘ve been using these FM antennas indoors. The Magnum Dynalab Silver Ribbon is a very good indoor antenna, and the (long discontinued) BIC Beam Box works extremely well tuning out multipath in a suburban setting with the very strong signals from the mountaintop towers in Portland, Oregon. (Some are so close I can see the tower strobes at night.) I bought the Beam Box at an antique store for $40 to own as an oddity and had little expectation that it would work as well as it does. It’s a passive device and an ingenious design.

 

[Vacceo]

I listen to FM talk radio daily. Typically, on very cheap and convenient old Aiwa radios, but on an AVR from the Pleistocene when I am working on the PC.

We have upgraded the TV sound with a pair of LS50 wireless II and tune in sounds awesome on them. It is a notable upgrade.

 

[Somafunk]

This review of the Raddy RF760 popped up in my feed, looks like a nice wee radio

Raddy RF760 here $100

 

[mhardy6647]

This review of the Raddy RF760 popped up in my feed, looks like a nice wee radio

Raddy RF760 here $100

That's adorable, and the selling company's in Newark, DE?! Heh, we just drove "through" (well, close to) Newark, DE just last Sunday.
It's a nice combination of bands & features for the $, no doubt.

I am now drawn in by the siren song of SDR, I must confess... I would take the plunge if I knew a little more on the topic and the products available.
That said...
I am still kinda old school when it comes to 'general coverage communications radios'



Nah, it's nothin' special (although it does have a product detector for SSB and CW, which is nice) but it's cute and it works reasonably well.