buying a digital radio OS

[sammm]

as i will be in shanghai, is it worth me buying a digital radio or digital camera or even a laptop in china? or will it be too difficult. as the systems will be different to australia?

 

[samh004]

Ignoring the issues with where you buy (street vendor, unscrupulous shop, mall), warranties (most are world wide) and credit card fraud, generally the major difference will be a different plug on devices*, so you’ll need to get an Australian plug when getting back, as an adaptor for the rest of the products life isn’t going to be great.

i’m not sure about a digital radio, but there’s nothing wrong with buying a laptop or camera over there, just price everything up in Australia before you go, make sure you compare the same models and specs when you’re over there, and if it’s more expensive, come back home and buy it here… as is occasionally the case.

*In some countries there’s a different voltage for devices, but I think most major companies now offer rechargers and such that can switch seamlessly between 110V and 240V. Australia runs on 240V, if the product you want only accepts 110V then you’re going to have issues.

 

[tuppaware]

I found that the price difference between Australia and China wasnt that great when I was in Beijing in 2008 - no different then I found on ebay.

 

[markis10]

Standard analog AM uses different channel spacing, here its 9KHz where a lot of parts of the world use 10KHz, this has caused issues in the past for people buying overseas, I am not across DRM receivers but this may be a conderation, I suspect if it is most suppliers will have catered for the difference but it could be worth checking.

 

[nlagalle]

If you are looking at digital radio, Australia uses DAB+ which is different to DAB found in most countries. And they are not compatible, so you need to check this carefully.

 

[sammm]

Standard analog AM uses different channel spacing, here its 9KHz where a lot of parts of the world use 10KHz, this has caused issues in the past for people buying overseas, I am not across DRM receivers but this may be a conderation, I suspect if it is most suppliers will have catered for the difference but it could be worth checking.

now i know why my little AM radio that i bought in hongkong did not work.

does that mean i should not be an AM radio over there? or will digital cover it?

as well, why only two FM stations could be tuned in?

 

[markis10]

now i know why my little AM radio that i bought in hongkong did not work.

does that mean i should not be an AM radio over there? or will digital cover it?

as well, why only two FM stations could be tuned in?

As I said different countries use different standards, (heck we cannot even get the power plugs standard), "World Receivers" have a switch at the back to change the setting, with digital standards being different according to nlagalle (and I have no reason to doubt it) its likely any overseas purchase will have issues.

FM Band also vary, so unless its a "World Receiver" it may have issues!

 

[2muchplastic]

Just to confirm - there are several different Digital Radio standards, each seemingly varying degrees of (in)compatibility. And as nlagalle has already mentioned, Australia uses DAB+. (Which I was unaware of, until I brought my DAB radio/alarm across from the UK only to find that picks up absolutely bugger all).

As for prices in Shanghai, I was wandering around the shops here in Pudong earlier this afternoon, and I wouldn't say that anything I saw grabbed me as enough of a bargain to make me want to buy it. Prices are more comparable now that the exchange rate has gone back above 6RMB/1$AU, but the last few trips had me bringing stuff in from Australia for my Chinese colleagues :mrgreen:

 

[metalworker]

Standard analog AM uses different channel spacing, here its 9KHz where a lot of parts of the world use 10KHz, this has caused issues in the past for people buying overseas, I am not across DRM receivers but this may be a conderation, I suspect if it is most suppliers will have catered for the difference but it could be worth checking.

Dont let the channel spacing put you off , I travel everywhere with one of my two Tecsun shortwave portable radios. Tecsun is a brilliant little all band chinese built analogue radio, you can choose either 9 kHz or 10 kHz for MW/AM and it comes with FM , SW as well. I have'nt tried DRM o/seas as there are a few different standards of transmission

 

[markis10]

Dont let the channel spacing put you off , I travel everywhere with one of my two Tecsun shortwave portable radios. Tecsun is a brilliant little all band chinese built analogue radio, you can choose either 9 kHz or 10 kHz for MW/AM and it comes with FM , SW as well. I have'nt tried DRM o/seas as there are a few different standards of transmission

You have a world receiver which takes into account the channelisation issues, a lot of AM radios dont, hence:

As I said different countries use different standards, (heck we cannot even get the power plugs standard), "World Receivers" have a switch at the back to change the setting, with digital standards being different according to nlagalle (and I have no reason to doubt it) its likely any overseas purchase will have issues.

 

[metalworker]

You have a world receiver which takes into account the channelisation issues, a lot of AM radios dont, hence:

For analogue HK is 9kHz spacing on MW/AM, same as here so "channelisation issues" are not an issue - simple as that. The poster who bought the radio in HK bought a dud. Buy a Tecsun brand radio and you wont have any dramas. 10 Khz spacing is used in the USA.