Radio for workshop

[AndyMc]

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-n...ow-alexa-was-recording-every-word-she-n877286

AKA - "Person tells Alexa to record everything she says and send it to someone, and Alexa does it."

Amazon are perfectly welcome to listen in to my workshop. The only thing they'll discover is some horrifyingly creative swearing which might come in handy for the next season of Invincible.

 

[Lard]

I have Alexa in the shed and, apart from listening to Spotify and radio, 'she' controls my dust extractor and TS vacuum.

There's a flash sale on at the mo and you can get a normally £25 flex for £5......no brainer

https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazon-echo-flex-plug-in-smart-speaker-with-alexa/dp/B07PDJ9JFF

 

[HamsterJam]

Alexa will play BBC R4 live as well as catch-up programming however the speaker in the cheap Alexas isn’t that good but might be OK for speech programs.
If you listen to music you’ll likely want the Alexa with a better quality speaker.
You can of course connect Alexa to external speakers.

I went a slightly different route and bought a stereo receiver (amplifier and tuner in one box) cheaply of a popular social media marketplace and connected it to a couple spare speaker's I had lying around. As well as the built in radio tuner I have an old smartphone connected to the Aux inputs for Spotify, BBC Sounds, internet radio, etc, etc.

 

[quintain]

WOW...you good, extremely knowledgeable and helpful folks have serviced me wonderfully !!!!
I understand some/most of what you have told me AND I THANK YOU ALL.
I am now in the mode of "lets buy the most cost effective (i.e. cheapest) Alexa or a related product; so...
1. is Alexa the best to buy
2. is there any v v low pricing at present
3, Ebay offers me Alexa ver3 for about £30.00; reconditioned with 6 month guarantee
4. Is ver3 good enough for my simple needs. I.E. Alexa play Radio 4
5. will alexa suffer from my mildly dusty workshop
6. will alexa use up to much of my table top BT router allowance

Finally; can I buy another alexa and use this new one in our garden room which has electrics & good android phone service but no router reception.

 

[JKM]

Out of interest? What's wrong with an analogue radio?
I have a Tivoli Audio model one that I may move on, the sound is sooo much better than a any of the tinny speakers on Alexa etc, especially for programs that are more words than music.

Alas I find I simply don't listen to as much radio as I used to, and I am already too concious of noise in the workshop (integral garage in a terrace) to add any extra noise.

 

[quintain]

Out of interest? What's wrong with an analogue radio?
I have a Tivoli Audio model one that I may move on, the sound is sooo much better than a any of the tinny speakers on Alexa etc, especially for programs that are more words than music.

Alas I find I simply don't listen to as much radio as I used to, and I am already too concious of noise in the workshop (integral garage in a terrace) to add any extra noise.

An excellent question....."What's wrong with an analogue radio"
Absolutely nothing wrong with a radio.
However; I am ignorant of Alexa and her ??siblings at this time.
Accordingly this is a good time for me to start at the bottom of a learning curve and try to put alexa to use on a simple task.
My limited research tells me I need to spend £30++ on a 1/2 decent radio and about the same for Alexa ver3 at Ebay.

My thoughts are "why not find out if Alexa would work for me and if so probably put her to use".

Via this wonderful, informative forum (BTW that is not BS) Alexa would readily carry out the task of "play radio 4".
In my simple mind buying Alexa combines and satisfies two tasks I.E play radio 4 AND educates me as the tech dumbo.

You can see I asked a simple question about Alexa and Radio 4, I now know there is the ability to turn on my dust extractor etc etc, obviously more info is needed but the extractor can be turned on by voice command.

I have been (partially electronically) educated as others will have been.

Again all questions are relevant and instructive.

My very best regards to all.

 

[eribaMotters]

I have an old Sony radio tuned in to R4 on FM as I cannot get DAB where we live in Devon. If I want to listen to something specific I have an MP3 player loaded with about 250 "albums" I play through a pair of small but surprisingly nice old computer speakers.
If starting from scratch I'd go for a decent DAB radio so I could ditch the old speakers.
I've had a few Pure radios in the past and whilst they sound good all have suffered from the rubber surface finish that has gone sticky and they are now in land fill.
I have two of the cheap John Lewis DAB radios, one in the caravan. They look and sound great. I'm not sure if they have been discontinued but worth a look as some had internet facility.

Colin

 

[akdaka]

If you are looking at a DAB radio ensure it is DAB+ as stations seem to be moving over to this and are then not available on standard DAB. I suppose some sort of obsolescence?

 

[HamsterJam]

If you are looking at a DAB radio ensure it is DAB+ as stations seem to be moving over to this and are then not available on standard DAB. I suppose some sort of obsolescence?

100% agree.
Not so sure about obsolescence, rather it’s becoming popular because it allows a larger number of programmes to be carried over the same channel than standard DAB.
It is likely BBC R1,2,3&4 will move to DAB+ eventually but not until most receivers are DAB+ capable.

 

[mc281]

WOW...you good, extremely knowledgeable and helpful folks have serviced me wonderfully !!!!
I understand some/most of what you have told me AND I THANK YOU ALL.
I am now in the mode of "lets buy the most cost effective (i.e. cheapest) Alexa or a related product; so...
1. is Alexa the best to buy
2. is there any v v low pricing at present
3, Ebay offers me Alexa ver3 for about £30.00; reconditioned with 6 month guarantee
4. Is ver3 good enough for my simple needs. I.E. Alexa play Radio 4
5. will alexa suffer from my mildly dusty workshop
6. will alexa use up to much of my table top BT router allowance

Finally; can I buy another alexa and use this new one in our garden room which has electrics & good android phone service but no router reception.

There's an offer on Amazon at the moment for Echo Flex at £4.99. Does all the playing of music and controls but the sound is not meant for entertainment, just for interaction. However plug an auxiliary cable into any other decent sound system and it's all done. The Flex doesn't have Thermometer or presence sensing but otherwise just plugs into any 240v socket. That's as cheap as it gets!

I would suggest you go for the Echo 5 though in reality it's the most effective and economical way to go and sounds good too!

 

[Graham Brazier]

I use a Bluetooth speaker connected to my phone and use an app named Radio UK

 

[artie]

I used to listen to the radio in my workshop every day.

About 8 or 9 years ago I just got fed up with it and when I moved I binned it and never looked back.

My head is full of enough nonsense already.

 

[Jason Wheeler]

Alexa smart speakers can provide radio with the right 'skills'. I use one in my shed and ran an ethernet cable from the house to a access point from which Alexa connects via wifi.

I find Alexa useful for calculating measurements, or checking my calculations. I also have my own Playlist, built up over a couple of years (about 250 songs to date from the 50s to the 90s). Or Alexa can play an album. You'd need Amazon music for those options.

I completely agree with using it for calculations asking “Alexa, what’s 1920 x 0.55” is easier than scrabbling for my phone or my very dusty calculator - and particularly good when I am mixing resin and wearing sticky gloves - plus it does a good job with music and the radio!

 

[trvlr]

Echo 4th generation is a better buy than the later models as it has a 3.5mm jack which can be either in or out as you may wish to use it. That disappeared in the 5th generation.... which is why I bought the 4th generation while they're still around.

Black Friday deals or similar often have it at mark down; and on the Warehouse site of the big river company often there are "used" - usually returned units - which are generally as good as new and come with a full warranty.

I have the 4th generations models and find the sound quality fine for general listening, including Classic FM etc.. If you want hifi then you pay a lot more and is it really essential for a workshop or in most home situations where it's frequently background listening?

The difference is sound quality for the average user between the 4th and 5th generation Echo isn't significant; and as above I think the 4th generation is a better buy.

The 5inch Echo Show is more a speech device and general info unit; while the 8inch does allagedely have better sound qulaity than the 5inch, but by no means matches either Echo 4th or 5th generation. The Echo Dot doesn't perform/sound anywhere near as good as the Echo series. The Echo Flex is more a communication box and has the sound quality of transistor radio of days gone by; and also is sometimes a little tempremental in responding. Incidentally you ghave no control ofn the Show over the images it cycles through; they just keep recycling. You can upload your own sequence though. And it can be made (told) to turn off the display if you need to; it will come on again when you speak to it...

The Echo and Echo Dot do have a mic mute button; and the Show series a camera blank button.

The weakness of all these devices is that if the internet in your house goes down - they don't work . But otherwise very useful when it comes to remote control of stuff via Echo and similar compliant similar smart plugs, and also many security cameras (one has to check carefully which are if buying such cameras...). Alexa can access god only knows how many radio stations when you apply the correct "skill" (as Amazon have called it...).

 

[Roland]

Voice activated devices are useful when you’ve got both hands busy. I currently use one for radio and music, and “ Alexa, what’s the time”. I look forward to the day when I can say “Alexa, dust on”, and hope I’ll never have to say “Alexa, call 999”.

 

[okeydokey]

One of my friends has been using a radio for some 40 years in his workshop might be valve never looked as its on a high shelf. He. Leaves it on one station, never changes the volume and switches it on off at the wall socket radio 4. pretty sure it might be on long wave now as medium wave has gone from his area.
Its probably out of guarantee by now

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Local Charity shop.

£5 will get you a decent Radio CD player. £15 may get you a DAB radio.

 

[flying haggis]

Possibly a bit late in the year but car boot sales usually have a selection of radio CD players etc.

My pure dab tuner came from a charity shop £10

and my listening/viewing in the workshop is via small radio/cd system a TV and a sky box for a bigger selection of stations

 

[TomB]

For all the masochists out there who want to listen to cricket and TMS - does DAB carry the LW transmission as well as the FM?

You can get TMS of Radio 5Live Sports Extra using DAB radio. It’s crystal clear though, so you might miss the old LW background whine.

 

[MikeJhn]

This will not be popular, but IMO radios or any other extraneous noise making thing has no place in a machine shop.