Why bother when you have internet FM?

I like the idea of messing around with both but there will always be a place for live broadcast-no fee/ties am/fm radio for me. What if there is Russia collusion to take down our internet!:rolleyes:
 
I find that I only listen to two stations on my Sansui tuner these days. Most of my listening is strictly on the internet. The Sansui sounds infinitely better but it is still two local stations.
 
A tiny piece of trivia from someone who grew up in Chicago in "Zenith country." Every Zenith FM radio from the 60's and (I think) the 70's had a tiny dot on the dial at 99.5. This was the location of WEFM, the station owned by Zenith in Chicago since the dawn of FM.

Also, my R3000 was the very first version and did NOT have AC capabilities. I just had to keep buying 8 D cells (the old silver Eveready zinc-carbon versions). A few years ago I refurbished a really nice R2000 I got off ebay as a 50th anniv. gift for an older cousin and cousin-in-law who bought one new in the late 50's. (not the original radio, that one rusted away). I was about 12 at the time they got it in the late 50's and I was mesmerized looking at it, like a Ferrari. The unit I worked on turned out absolutely beautiful and their son now uses it. Unfortunately, like the R3000, it does not have an AC plug. 8 D cells for that one as well. My cousin told me that at the time they bought it the FM dial in Chicago was really empty with many "part time" stations, but WFMT was there.

8 cells should be 12VDC... Will it run on something like an Astron power supply? (usually 13.7V) alternately I bought some adapters off the internet that hold three AAs and fit a D cell slot, I use NiMH AAs in them for e.g. old Simpson meters so I don't have to worry about the alkalines leaking.
 
What is internet FM ?....lol
I prefer good old-fashioned Radio-Wave Transmission Broadcast Sound with my giant external Antenna system on a quality FM Receiver , there's just a certain
Warmth produced that is not there with the internet.
And besides FM Airwaves are FREE !.... We stopped having any internet / satellite TV years ago and never had cable they are just rip offs and "Bleeder's" or "Vampires" on your monthly budget!
Our internet experience has become a part of our cell phone experience with a pay-as-you-go track phones .... And that's enough of a vampire on its own at $45 a month....
So I'll stick with good old fashioned old timey FM radio....
I am just an anachronism anyway, old Mr. Wordsworth they call me.......

And P.S......
With cable television the whole point and appeal of it in its beginning was COMMERCIAL FREE / WITHOUT INTERRUPTION Programming!..... And now even the internet has "POP-UPS" commercials that waste your Data !!
 
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If we had any decent OTA stations, I would hook up a tuner again. Not worth it for one or two that I might tune into. So I'm pretty much having to grab a station via Internet if I want anything other than our weak local programming.
 
What is internet FM ?....lol
I prefer good old-fashioned Radio-Wave Transmission Broadcast Sound with my giant external Antenna system on a quality FM Receiver , there's just a certain
Warmth produced that is not there with the internet.
And besides FM Airwaves are FREE !.... We stopped having any internet / satellite TV years ago and never had cable they are just rip offs and "Bleeder's" or "Vampires" on your monthly budget!
Our internet experience has become a part of our cell phone experience with a pay-as-you-go track phones .... And that's enough of a vampire on its own at $45 a month....
So I'll stick with good old fashioned old timey FM radio....
I am just an anachronism anyway, old Mr. Wordsworth they call me.......

And P.S......
With cable television the whole point and appeal of it in its beginning was COMMERCIAL FREE / WITHOUT INTERRUPTION Programming!..... And now even the internet has "POP-UPS" commercials that waste your Data !!


I don't like cable TV, I've been researching antenna performance, I like the idea much better. I have two homes and plan to move into the smaller one out in the boonies and sell the one here in the city limits. Monthly fees, fees, fees, that's where they get you. Getting free from all that is kind of like the feeling you have when you have your home paid for:angel::lurk::thumbsup::smoke::rflmao::jump::rockon::bigok::biggrin::beerchug::cool::banana: :music:.
 
I listen to internet radio and find it best for talk and news shows. SQ is somewhere betwixt AM radio and ordinary FM. The main benefit is being able to find programming no longer available on FM channels AND getting the radio from my old home town. I'm doing it now with my laptop and my tablet for my old internet receiver died a quick death and I've yet to replace it.
 
I'm fortunate to live near DC where we have WAMU and "The Big Broadcast." It is a Sunday evening show featuring 4 hrs of old radio shows like Johnny Dollar, Gunsmoke, and Dragnet. (it's available online also) I receive it on a KLH Model Twenty-One radio (1960's), feed the signal through a Heathkit AA-32 integrated amp (also 1960's), and listen to it through the speaker of a Philco 42-380 console radio (1940's). A complicated signal path to be sure, but it sounds good. Besides the fact that the recordings are now digitized, I believe these shows sound just like they did back then through this system.
 
Lights, buttons, switches, knobs.
Lights, buttons, switches, knobs.
Lights, buttons, switches, knobs.
Lights, buttons, switches, knobs.
Lights, buttons, switches, knobs.
 
The main benefit is being able to find programming no longer available on FM channels AND getting the radio from my old home town.
:thumbsup:

I have a couple of pals who are in radio. At least with one of them, I can listen in on his drive time broadcast (out of Philly). For the other, unfortunately his broadcast group does not yet offer streaming. With the Interwebs, at least I have the option of listening to the remote stations.
 
I'm fortunate to live near DC where we have WAMU and "The Big Broadcast." It is a Sunday evening show featuring 4 hrs of old radio shows like Johnny Dollar, Gunsmoke, and Dragnet. (it's available online also) I receive it on a KLH Model Twenty-One radio (1960's), feed the signal through a Heathkit AA-32 integrated amp (also 1960's), and listen to it through the speaker of a Philco 42-380 console radio (1940's). A complicated signal path to be sure, but it sounds good. Besides the fact that the recordings are now digitized, I believe these shows sound just like they did back then through this system.

I've heard(and it makes sense even if you don't hear it from somebody else) that listening to shows like that is good for your imagination, you workout your visuals on your own instead of letting somebody else do it through a TV. There was a station in my area that broadcast shows like that but I guess there wasn't a big demand for it because they don't do it anymore. It took me 2 or 3 times to get into it, I had to force myself to listen and focus but after that I looked forward to it.
 
I'm fortunate to live near DC where we have WAMU and "The Big Broadcast." It is a Sunday evening show featuring 4 hrs of old radio shows like Johnny Dollar, Gunsmoke, and Dragnet. (it's available online also) I receive it on a KLH Model Twenty-One radio (1960's), feed the signal through a Heathkit AA-32 integrated amp (also 1960's), and listen to it through the speaker of a Philco 42-380 console radio (1940's). A complicated signal path to be sure, but it sounds good. Besides the fact that the recordings are now digitized, I believe these shows sound just like they did back then through this system.

I've heard(and it makes sense even if you don't hear it from somebody else) that listening to shows like that is good for your imagination, you workout your visuals on your own instead of letting somebody else do it through a TV. There was a station in my area that broadcast shows like that but I guess thereI pa wasn't a big demand for it because they don't do it anymore. It took me 2 or 3 times to get into it, I had to force myself to listen and focus but after that I looked forward to it.

For those that are interested in this and that includes me, Shoutcast is an easy source. Just type OLD TIME into the search bar and you will find more shows than you can shake a seedy private detective or super hero at.

I particularly like the Sci-Fi Old Time Radio channel. In addition to old time shows, they have radio versions of the StarTrek series, Fringe, and others including the Twilight Zone.

The audio quality is variable and the selection is random, and that makes it kind of fun for me.
 
For those that are interested in this and that includes me, Shoutcast is an easy source. Just type OLD TIME into the search bar and you will find more shows than you can shake a seedy private detective or super hero at.

I particularly like the Sci-Fi Old Time Radio channel. In addition to old time shows, they have radio versions of the StarTrek series, Fringe, and others including the Twilight Zone.

The audio quality is variable and the selection is random, and that makes it kind of fun for me.
Pretty well back to the 1930's
 
Well, my Meridian 104 tuner just arrived along with the rest of the set from the UK. I have a set of original 120v transformers for all but the tuner. Bummer. I suppose I could have one made. Very nice kit in fabulous condition. Like taking a step back in time. I now have two pairs of 105 monos I want to bridge-parallel. Will make an awsome set up.

Forgot to mention the tuner only goes to 104mhz Bummer again! Is it possible to easily extend the bandwidth? Anybody?
 
As a single man, I often have ladies over in the evening to cook and share dinner.

I text a dedication to the DJ of "Dinner Jazz" which I have playing in the background.

When my date hears "This one goes out to Miss X from Joseph" her eyes light up and I usually get a big kiss.

Try that over the Internet!
 
another vote for old time radio shows via internet. I won't repeat stations others have mentioned, but I particularly enjoy Bygolly OTR, which plays the old Sherlock Holmes shows every weekend, starting sometime on Saturday and then goes all weekend. Fun stuff, IMO.
 
Fascinating thread.

I'm a heavy user of both - I run a Squeezebox/Raspberry Pi network and I have three tuners - a MD, the little Sony and a NAD - in rotation.

If you give me the same station on FM and over the internet, I gravitate to the FM. Why?

Several posters here say they just like the sound of FM better; it has more air or warmth. I agree, but I've wondered where that comes from.

Couple of thoughts: first, in absolute terms, an FM signal isn't bad. It's about half what a CD is, in terms of bits per second. Of course, as the linked article points out, there are several other factors in play that affect the ultimate quality of what you hear from an FM station, usually to the bad. But as a starting point, FM ain't shabby. Still, it doesn't explain why people would prefer an FM signal to something off the internet.

The big aha moment for me came earlier this year when I read Damien Krukowski's The New Analog. Krukowski argues, among other things, that what we've always regarded as "noise" is an essential part of the signal. I think that's exactly right: when we hear an absolute black noise floor, we hear an absence. Or conversely, our brains need at least at least a little noise in order to navigate the signal properly.

I'm the furthest thing from an expert in these matters, but as an explanation, this feels right to me, and explains why digital leaves many people feeling lost and cut off from the music.

s.
That's an interesting observation in that an Acoustat TNT120 ss amp I had in the relatively recent past that I had Roy Esposito fully rebuild was like that. I had never heard anything like it before. So silent and dead noise floor wise that it was unnerving to listen to. It sounded like information was missing. I've often thought about it and regret selling it. Could be the best amp I've ever heard and didn't recognize it. Odd.
 
As a single man, I often have ladies over in the evening to cook and share dinner.

I text a dedication to the DJ of "Dinner Jazz" which I have playing in the background.

When my date hears "This one goes out to Miss X from Joseph" her eyes light up and I usually get a big kiss.

Try that over the Internet!

You sly dog.
 
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