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Need help with Sangean HDT-20

kappclark

kappclark

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I recently purchased through the Amazon Warehouse a Sangean HDT-20, and might be experiencing some buyer's remorse...

Very strange, but the only stations which come in as stereo are the 2 HD Radio signals I receive...every other station comes in as mono -- I cannot get a stereo FM signal..

I have played with the Mono button on remote, as well as doing a factory reset twice -- cannot get this tuner to play garden-variety FM stereo ... (which comes in fine stereo on the vintage Fisher 400)..using the same outdoor FM antenna.

I will try setting up in another room (maybe some electrical interference ?? )..

Anyone ever experience this with the Sangean ??
 
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I have the older model, and there is a ‘force mono’ option. However, since you reset the tuner to factory defaults, that’s probably not it.

The manual states:

If the FM radio station being listened to has a weak signal, some hiss may be audible. It is possible to reduce this hiss by forcing the radio to play the station in mono rather than stereo.
1. Press the Mode button as needed to select FM radio mode and tune
to the required FM station as previously described.
2. Repeatedly pressing the Menu button until ‘Force Mono’ is shown on
the display.
3. Rotate the Tuning control knob to select Mono or Stereo and then
press the Tuning control knob to confirm your selection.
 
Thanks - I went back and tried this AM - same results, but then today the station WEQX in Manchester 30 miles away showed up as stereo (Their tower is on top of Stratton, I believe) ,,, 5 bars signal strength ..

getting it in stereo... checked with headphones...no drift etc... listening to it now ...but then nothing else comes in as stereo (except the HD stations, which show signal strength of 1-3 bars) ... this tuner is no DX machine like the Sony I had years ago (and which burned out ..) ..seems to need more signal for stereo ..

I am going to conclude that this is simply a matter of required signal strength to trigger the Stereo circuit.and is not as sensitive as I expected (previous tuner was Yamaha TX-750) ..we live in a fringe area for FM, but I am chagrined that the Fisher 400 picks out more stereo stations using the same antenna setup... I would never recommend this tuner, unless you live in a metro area, with more than 2 HD Radio stations ..
 
The Sangean really isn't a DX'r like that little Sony was, though it is disappointing you are seeing such a large difference between the Sangean and your vintage tuner. All I really use mine for is one HD2 station located 2 miles from me. FYI, the technology used for stereo for the analog stations is different than the Ibiquity "HD' system, so its not surprising that you get stereo with the HD stations while having trouble with the analog stations
 
They do have a nice sound over the air. That is the station located 2 miles away that I use my Sangean to listen to their HD2 signal.
 
kappclark said:
Thanks - I went back and tried this AM - same results, but then today the station WEQX in Manchester 30 miles away showed up as stereo (Their tower is on top of Stratton, I believe) ,,, 5 bars signal strength ..

getting it in stereo... checked with headphones...no drift etc... listening to it now ...but then nothing else comes in as stereo (except the HD stations, which show signal strength of 1-3 bars) ... this tuner is no DX machine like the Sony I had years ago (and which burned out ..) ..seems to need more signal for stereo ..

I am going to conclude that this is simply a matter of required signal strength to trigger the Stereo circuit.and is not as sensitive as I expected (previous tuner was Yamaha TX-750) ..we live in a fringe area for FM, but I am chagrined that the Fisher 400 picks out more stereo stations using the same antenna setup... I would never recommend this tuner, unless you live in a metro area, with more than 2 HD Radio stations ..
Click to expand...

The Fisher 400 does not have HD, it was made when there was 2 percent of the FM stations there are today on the air. It was built when quality was king, and people bought gear once, and repaired it as they needed to. And HiFi shops took trade ins. It was built to receive FM stations from as much as 120 miles away with a good antenna. It cost over $300 new in 1964.
 
I was on the phone to Sangean tech support with my problem. This tuner is really intended for HD only, analog stations are forced to mono WAY too soon. My best sounding station isn't local but I get it with full quieting and sounds great on other receivers. They say I should add gain or remove my splitter to add some. Since there's no adjustment for the forced mono function other than turning on mono, I think I'm screwed by their poor design. The whole point of IBOC digital FM was compatibility with analog FM. MY old Radiosophy HD100 died and I had to recycle it. That unit did weak analog stereo just fine.
 
All stumbled across this forum. I purchased a HDT-20 a month ago and have been overall pleased with it. I have it connected to my Echo-Link with the digital cable. I live in a condo in southern NH and have been using an attic mounted Wineguard-6010. Yesterday I added this to my roof as it was low profile and had decent reviews. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DHHOZBI?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

My build date is June 2023 and so far my only complaint is that after streaming for a few hours it just shuts down streaming over my Amazon devices for no apparent reason. The radio is still on and don't think its an Amazon setting.
 
kappclark said:
I recently purchased through the Amazon Warehouse a Sangean HDT-20, and might be experiencing some buyer's remorse...

Very strange, but the only stations which come in as stereo are the 2 HD Radio signals I receive...every other station comes in as mono -- I cannot get a stereo FM signal..

I have played with the Mono button on remote, as well as doing a factory reset twice -- cannot get this tuner to play garden-variety FM stereo ... (which comes in fine stereo on the vintage Fisher 400)..using the same outdoor FM antenna.

I will try setting up in another room (maybe some electrical interference ?? )..

Anyone ever experience this with the Sangean ??
Click to expand...
Their tech support says the signal strength point where the unit runs analog monophonic is not adjustable. I have a station at full quieting that is forced mono, another at similar strength that is stereo. The wussies that setup the programming for manufacturing think a tiny bit of noise shouldn't be heard - who are they to judge what we want! Stereo is nice to have when it's there in analog. I regret my purchase. My Radiosophy HD100 died, it was a lot better than this. They might not even have this set in software, probably preset in the circuit design.
 
I spent some time going through the frequencies one by one using the FM Fool report as a guide and very impressed on the adjacent channel rejection. For a device this unique why not include a ethernet or USB ports for firmware updates to address software concerns?
 
Anyone know how the older (2008?) Onkyo Multi Platform Tuner T-4555P / Integra Multi-Platform Tuner TUN-3.7 with AM/FM/HD/SAT card would compare to the Sangean HDT-20? I noticed a few "new old stock units" of the Integra Multi-Platform Tuner TUN-3.7 on the market. Also, is there a way/hack to keep the backlight on the HDT-20 on when it's powered up and locked on a station? I use the Channel Master FM Antenna – Multi-Directional Outdoor FM Antenna (horizontal dipole). I have it mounted vertically so it acts omni-directional.
 
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