Questions

Questions and Answers – April 2021

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This month we have questions about DAB+, upgrading tuners and using Bluetooth headphones.

We are currently receiving more questions than normal. Please bear with us as we answer them as quickly as possible and check back to see if yours has been answered.

Thanks to everyone who has sent a question recently.

Is Gold broadcast as DAB+ or DAB?

Is Gold radio broadcast as DAB+ as my DRX701ES Pure tuner cannot receive it. Says station unavailable!

Yes, Gold UK is broadcast across the UK as a DAB+ radio station. In some parts of the UK, such as Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, you may be able to receive Gold as a DAB radio station.

Unfortunately the Pure tuner cannot be upgraded to receive the new DAB+ stations. The Pure (or Videologic) tuners were released before the DAB+ standard was introduced. Some Pure tuners will now be around 20 years old as we show in our recent video about the Pure EVOKE-1 radio.

The range of DAB digital radio hi-fi tuners on sale is now quite small. Sony, Pure, Denon and Yamaha no longer offer a DAB tuner separate, although Rotel do with the T11 and T14 models.

Can an Acoustic Solutions tuner be upgraded for DAB+?

Can the Acoustic Solutions SP111 be upgraded to receive DAB+ stations?

The Acoustic Solutions SP111 was a popular digital radio tuner but is now around 15 years old. Unfortunately we are unable to find a current website for Acoustic Solutions.

It is possible to update some Pure DAB radios so that they can receive DAB+ radio stations. This is because the radios have a USB socket and a built-in facility for a software update. Pure also provides the software utility for PCs and Macs to apply the update.

Unfortunately as Acoustic Solutions haven’t made an update available for the SP111 it won’t be possible to upgrade it for DAB+ reception.

Can the Roberts SportsDAB5 be used with Bluetooth earphones?

Can the Roberts SportsDAB5 be used with Bluetooth earphones?

The Roberts SportsDAB5 is a personal DAB digital radio which uses the earphone cable as the antenna. As the radio doesn’t have a telescopic aerial it will rely on the earphone cable for reception of radio stations.

The radio doesn’t have Bluetooth built in so an adapter would be required. A Bluetooth adapter with a 3.5mm jack would have a short cable and this wouldn’t be vertically extended like a headphone cable. It’s therefore unlikely that Bluetooth headphones could be used with the Roberts radio.

If you have a smartphone with a suitable data allowance you could look at the Radioplayer app. This offers many of the same UK radio stations that are available on DAB and FM.

Upgrading a Pure radio without the serial number

I want to upgrade my Pure One Classic DAB radio to receive DAB+. To do that I need the serial number, but the sticker with the serial number has worn away. How can I get the serial number, or is there a way of downloading DAB+ without out the serial number?
– Alan

The serial number is required as part of the process of upgrading a Pure digital radio.

It may be on the box if you still have this, but we have been unable to find another way of obtaining the serial number. While it is possible to see some information about the radio through the menu of our One Mi Series 2 we couldn’t find the serial number.

We would suggest contacting Pure who may be able to advise further.