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Old 23rd Feb 2004, 8:49 pm   #1
quantum
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Default 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

Recently my father's tuner-amp, a Sherwood item bought a few years ago from Richer Sounds, developed an intermittent fault which has made it necessary for me to take it away for further testing. In return I left him with a 80's Sony unit, nothing special but giving a reasonable performance (for a solid-state unit!), which I've connected up to his CD, cassette and record deck.

He is quite happy with it but it took him a while to get used to the controls again - manually tuning in a station and having to turn a knob to select radio, CD, cassette or deck! Of course he is used to a remote and push buttons, but it made me wonder about the exact opposite age group, young people who have never had to turn a control to tune in a station or turn knobs for volume, tone or whatever, everything done my push-buttons on remotes! In years to come will we have anybody left who knows how to switch on an old set and get it to operate (assuming there will be anything left on the AM/FM bands to listen to)!
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Old 24th Feb 2004, 11:29 am   #2
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

As a youngster (20) I prefer the tuning knobs, volume knobs, and suchlike. It is an oddity of mine, I supose, but I dont really like the pushbutton tuning, where the set scrolls up in 0.5 kHz/MHz steps. I can never get it to stop on the correct station. Or those volume knobs which look like they turn, but just twist very slightly. Or the tone controls on Hi Fi (Lo Fi!!??) equipment which just has settings like Rock, of Jazz, or somthing else. All these things just seem to add complication to the design of the set. I like the simple, uncluttered layout of the Quad FM1 I have (just the tuning dial), and the Cambridge Audio A4 (Volume, trebble, bass, and input seleclector knobs, and an on/off button). And I only use the TV remote, becase I broke the buttons on the portable in my room!

Rant over now!
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Old 24th Feb 2004, 2:55 pm   #3
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

Hi all.

Good points raised here. I was testing a new Hi Fi system here at work the other day (Hi Fi used in the loosest possible sense) and it used a push-button volume control. You could hear the volume increasing in 'lumps'......absolute rubbish! Same with the 'tone' controls. Give me a decent pot to twiddle any day!!


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Old 25th Feb 2004, 8:22 pm   #4
Paul Stenning
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

I still think the best car stereos are the ones that have a large knob either side and five nice mechanical preset station buttons (that really feel like they are dong something, because they are). It's simple and works well - and doesn't go searching the whole band whenever you drive under a bridge. And what's with these displays that have scrolling text or flashy graphics - you aren't meant to be looking at them when driving anyway!

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Old 25th Feb 2004, 8:27 pm   #5
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

I hate my digitally tuned car radio - it is incapable of finding Radio 2 in the Basingstoke area, and difficult to tune manually, I'd much rather have a " proper " radio!

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Old 25th Feb 2004, 9:04 pm   #6
quantum
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

Same here - I get particularly annoyed with the remote buttons the car has on the steering column, so when I turn a corner my hands inadvertently brush against the buttons and the radio changes station, and it takes me a few seconds to work out what has happened!

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Old 4th Mar 2004, 2:41 am   #7
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

I agree with everone manual tuning is great for domestic or portable radios but not for cars. Older car radios with knobs were ok on the AM bands but disastrous and dangerous for FM tuning.
On our 4 year old Ford Escort I can only sing the praises of the Ford 4000 RDS system. Tune it to Radio 2 and it will stick to it from one end of the country to the other with no breaks at all. You cannot tell when it changes transmitter there are no gaps to be heard. You can watch the freq display alongside the normal RDS display which is often the only way that you can tell it is working.
So if you want a decent car RDS radio you will just have to buy a decent car, a Ford of course.
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Old 4th Mar 2004, 12:33 pm   #8
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

I disagree. You dont need a better radio, you just need a passenger to tune the radio in for you!

This car radio thing is all rather academic for me, as I ride a motorbike. No radios there, although....!
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Old 4th Mar 2004, 3:11 pm   #9
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

Academic for me too. I have a radio fitted in my 1973 Landrover and once you get to 50mph, you can't hear it anyway!

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Old 5th Mar 2004, 2:02 am   #10
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

Yes I to have had cars like that, the last being an old Metro. Anything past 50mph or on a hill you could not hear yourself think over that loud gearbox whine.
On my last car (Fiesta) it had the none RDS version Ford stereo. So as you plan a journey I would look up all the frequencies for Radio 2 and other local stations and plum them into all the presets before setting out.
Getting back to subject I definatly prefer the rotary controls on radios at home. Also both my communication receiver and the long distance tv tuner box are all knobs and switches. It makes there use much more straightforward.
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Old 5th Mar 2004, 4:00 pm   #11
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Default Re: 'We'll soon forget how to tune them in...'

Well, getting back to my original posting, the Sherwood still won't develop the fault no matter how much I try to force it, but my father, now that he is used to the controls on the Sony, is quite happy to keep it and is in no hurry to get his old equipment back!
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