I have a digital radio from Aldi which receives 36 stations. My new Bush DAB radio only receives 23 stations. Even in the same location there is a difference in the number of stations received. Why is this?
— James
Some digital radios do appear to be more sensitive than others and are able to find and receive more stations.
Digital radio coverage varies in your location of West Dunbartonshire. According to a postcode checker, around the centre of Dumbarton you should receive 22 stations in total: the BBC’s national radio stations and local DAB stations from Glasgow, including Clyde 1 and BBC Radio Scotland.
Around the centre of Clydebank you may receive more national stations, such as the group including TalkSport 2 and Virgin Radio, or Absolute Radio and Classic FM.
In a similar situation we have observed two radios which find different stations during a rescan in the same place. One radio reliably finds all the available stations, but another must be retuned outside or in the shed to find the same number. When the latter radio is brought back indoors it continues to receive those stations.
Therefore it may be worth relocating the radio to a few different places and trying another rescan.
When rescanning the radio you can try taking it as high as possible (e.g. upstairs) and extend the aerial as long as possible. It should be completely vertical for the best reception. As you also mentioned, different components and antennas in various radios can affect how well they pick up stations.
As manufacturers develop their designs radios do tend to become more sensitive and efficient. Unlike an analogue radio, which might receive a weaker signal with hiss and crackle, digital stations can either be received or are not available at all. The difference between your two radios may be highlighted by how well they receive a weaker signal.
If you continue to find the Bush radio doesn’t find as many stations as the Envivo it could be faulty and you could investigate returning it. You can use the postcode checker to see which stations you should be receiving.
If you do return the radio and/or look at a different model it’s worth making sure it receives DAB+ (DAB plus) as well as DAB stations. This means it will receive new DAB+ stations which go on air in the future. Such radios have the green digital radio tick. All the models in our list of digital radios are all DAB+ compatible.