Comparison radios & Clocks

— Radio receiver. In this case, we mean classic receivers designed to listen to music through an external speaker. Such devices can be of different shapes — from stationary to pocket. A characteristic feature of most receivers is a telescopic antenna. But the functions may differ from model to model.

— Pocket receiver. Small size self-powered receivers. Such devices, due to their size, have a small built-in speaker power and are often equipped with a headphone output. Portable solutions of this form factor are more intended for individual use, and not for mass listening. The list of functions of the respective models is limited to the basic capabilities.

— Radio clock. As the name suggests, they are actually electronic watches with a built-in tuner. Without fail, they are equipped with displays and an alarm clock function, they can also have a variety of additional features. Clock radios are usually designed for home use within cities, close to transmitting stations, and are poorly suited as portable devices — although they are often quite small, only a few models are equipped with autonomous power supply. The capabilities of their acoustics are also quite modest: the clock radio speakers, compared to conventional receivers, have low power and low sound quality.

— Table clock. The essence of a t...able clock is to show the time. They also serve as a decorative element of interior decoration, often have a built-in calendar, alarm clock and room temperature measurements. Desktop form factor clocks are available in both electronic and pointer dial versions, and hourglasses fall into the same category.

A type of tuner used in radio receivers.

- Analogue. Tuning to the desired frequency in such tuners is carried out using the wheel. This scheme is considered more convenient than digital trim (see below), but the accuracy of analogue regulators is lower. This can make it difficult to use the receiver with numerous stations in a small frequency range (especially for FM broadcasts in large cities). In addition, the analogue tuner "does not know how" to memorize stations.

- Digital. The direct tuning of the tuner in such receivers is performed by an electronic circuit; the user only sets the desired frequency using the increase / decrease buttons or, in advanced models, from the numeric keypad. These tuners are somewhat less convenient for manual tuning, but they do a good job of fine tuning. Also, many receivers with digital tuners have the function of storing stations (see "Station Memory"), automatically searching for all available stations, etc.

— FM. The most popular broadcasting range among radio listeners today is primarily due to the fact that the vast majority of music stations broadcast in it. This is due to its features: FM uses frequency modulation, which makes it possible to broadcast sound with a fairly high sound quality, and even in stereo format. In the frequency band, the term "FM" usually refers to the 87.5 MHz to 108 MHz portion of the VHF band, although the range of individual receivers may vary. The disadvantage of FM is the limited range — within the line of sight (up to several tens of kilometers), which has secured the reputation of "urban" stations for FM stations.

— AM. Formally, this designation is not a range, but a type of modulation: "amplitude modulation" — amplitude modulation. In consumer radios, AM most often means the medium wave range of about 520-1610 kHz. Such waves have a propagation range of hundreds of kilometers, but the sound quality in this case is somewhat worse than that of FM, and therefore the AM band is mainly used by radio stations of the “conversational” genre (for example, news or journalistic).

— SW. Broadcasting on short waves (short wave) in the general range from 2.5 MHz to 26.1 MHz, divided into a number of separate sub-bands. Sound quality is average. Short waves are able to reach the opposite side of the Earth, but immediately outside the line of sight of the transmitter, a “dead zone” is formed, sever...al tens of kilometers wide. As a consequence, SW is commonly used for overseas broadcasts.

— DAB. Abbreviation for Digital Audio Broadcasting, i.e. "digital broadcasting". This term describes the key difference between this range and those described above: broadcasting in it is carried out not in analogue, but in digital format, the MP2 codec is used for transmission. This gives a number of advantages over traditional transmitters — in particular, a greater range with less power and high quality of the broadcast sound. In addition, this sound is practically not subject to distortion: weak interference does not affect its quality, and when the transmitter power is critically reduced, the signal is not distorted, but disappears entirely. The latter, however, can be written down as disadvantages; but the really significant drawback of this option is perhaps its low prevalence (so far) in the CIS countries. Technically, such broadcasting can be carried out in any band above 30 MHz, but in fact several options are used (depending on the country) related to the VHF band.

— DAB+. An updated and improved version of the DAB standard described above. It has all the characteristic features of digital broadcasting, and differs from its predecessor in higher sound quality at the same bit rates — both due to the use of a different codec (HE-AAC v2), and due to the use of more advanced noise correction algorithms. DAB+ broadcasts cannot be received on DAB receivers: at best, this will require a firmware update, and at worst, you will have to change the receiver itself.

— Bluetooth. Wireless technology for transmitting sound from mobile phones, tablets, etc. Allows you to connect a device wirelessly at a short distance from the signal source. The quality and overall capabilities of Bluetooth vary depending on the version:

— Bluetooth 4. Each version brings improvements relative to the previous one. So in version 4.0, three standards were actually combined: traditional Bluetooth, a high-speed channel and an energy-saving mode for small amounts of data. This allowed us to optimize channel usage and battery consumption. In version 4.1. Noise immunity has been enhanced when working next to 4G LTE modules. And version 4.2 introduced mainly general improvements in speed and security.

- Bluetooth 5.0. One of the most important innovations of the Bluetooth 5.0 standard is the expansion of the capabilities of the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) mode: if necessary, the device can increase the range by reducing the speed, or speed up transmission by reducing the range. In addition, a number of improvements have been introduced regarding simultaneous work with multiple connected devices.

- Bluetooth 5.1. A significant upgrade in version 5.1 was the ability to accurately position the signal transmitter (receiver). If previous versions could only determine distance, then version 5.1 can also determine direction. Thus, navigation began to function better and more accurately, which improved...work with the smart home system, searching for connected devices, etc. In addition to this, the improvements again concerned saving energy consumption and simultaneous work with several connected devices.

- Bluetooth 5.2. The next update, after 5.1, is Bluetooth 5th generation. The main innovations in this version are a number of security improvements, additional optimization of power consumption in LE mode and a new audio signal format for synchronizing parallel playback on multiple devices.

- Bluetooth 5.3. The Bluetooth v 5.3 wireless protocol was introduced at the dawn of 2022. Among the innovations in it, they accelerated the process of negotiating a communication channel between the controller and the device, implemented the function of quickly switching between the operating state in a low duty cycle and a high-speed mode, and improved the throughput and stability of the connection by reducing susceptibility to interference. When unexpected interference occurs in Low Energy mode, the procedure for selecting a communication channel to switch from now on has been accelerated. There are no fundamental innovations in protocol 5.3, but a number of qualitative improvements are evident in it.

- Bluetooth 5.4. The version was presented at the beginning of 2023, the range and data exchange speed were increased. Also in Bluetooth v 5.4, the energy-saving BLE mode has been improved. This protocol uses new security features to protect data from unauthorized access, has increased connection reliability by selecting the best channel for communication, and prevents connection losses due to interference.

— USB port. The presence of a USB connector allows you to connect a flash drive, mobile phones, MP3 players and other similar peripherals. Accordingly, such models have a built-in player and allow you to use connected gadgets exclusively as a drive.

- Card reader. Like the USB described above, this item implies the presence of a built-in player. And the card reader allows you to use memory cards as a drive on which songs will be recorded.

— Line input. Input for transmitting audio in analog format. Through this input, you can connect an external signal source to the radio - for example, an MP3 player - and listen to music through the receiver's speakers. Despite the development of digital standards, line input is still one of the most popular connection interfaces.

Power supply methods provided in the design of radio receivers and table clocks.

- Batteries. Powered by standard replaceable batteries ( AA, AAA, type C, LR44, PP3, etc.). There are two main advantages to this diet. Firstly, a shrunken element can be quickly replaced; for this, of course, you need to have fresh batteries in stock, but it’s easy to take care of this in advance. Secondly, consumer devices are independent of outlets; this allows you to install them on almost any suitable surface, easily move from place to place, without worrying about the length and placement of the mains cable. Batteries, of course, need to be purchased separately, which slightly increases spending. However, many replacement batteries are also available as rechargeable batteries. Thanks to all this, battery-powered models are very popular today.

- Network. Powered by a standard 230 V network. On the one hand, this option eliminates the hassle of batteries, and on the other hand, connecting to the network is associated with a number of inconveniences: the power cord limits the ability to install a radio or clock in places where there are sockets nearby, moreover the device may interfere or simply not fit into the ove...rall environment. Mains power in watches is quite rare in its pure form - much more often it is used as a fallback option for battery-powered models: if the situation allows, you can plug the watch into an outlet and not waste the charge.

- Battery. Powered by an original battery that is not related to standard sizes. Like the batteries described above, this option provides the device with autonomy. However, the key difference is that the battery, as a rule, does not provide for quick replacement: a non-standard format makes it difficult to purchase a spare battery, and more often than not, it is generally made non-removable. Therefore, the main, if not the only, option for discharging is charging, which requires a connection to the network and takes quite a long time. As a result, rechargeable batteries are considered a less suitable power option than replacement batteries and are rarely used.