[IRCA] The Sony SRF-59 - it's an HD receiver too!

[satya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi all:

If you?re like me, the vast, bewildering array of switches, dials and
controls on the Sony SRF-59 can be quite daunting, and the pages and pages
of the manual are just too much to digest.  However, I think I discovered
by accident the purpose behind a couple of the controls: HD digital radio!

I hadn?t noticed before, but there are two switches on the side of the
unit, one marked ?BAND - AM/FM? and one marked ?FM SENS - DX/Local?.  I
have been so busy listening to distant amplitude modulation stations, I
haven?t had time to figure out what these labels mean or what the switches
actually do.  Last night I accidentally flipped the ?AM/FM? switch to
?FM?, and was surprised with what I heard ? another station!  I waited and
got the ID as ?KJR Seattle Channel 95.7?.  They even have their own Web
page ? check out http://www.gmimedia.com/lyrics_and_tracks/Superhits.pdf

What I believe this switch does is unlock those ?hidden HD stations? that
I have read about in recent advertising, and what I heard was the seventh
?hidden? channel for KJR-950.  It appears that they lop off the last
number of the amplitude modulation frequency (in the case of 950-KJR, it
results in ?95?) and put a decimal before the hidden channel number, which
makes sense. Therefore, I think ?BAND? has something to do with the band
or range of available hidden channels, ?AM? must mean ?Accept Main? (i.e.,
listen to the main channel) and ?FM? means ?Find More? hidden channels.  I
haven?t been able to locate hidden channels 1 through 6 (i.e., 95.1, 95.2,
etc.) yet, although I think the next switch may be the key?

The mysterious ?FM SENS - DX/Local? switch seems to have no effect when
listening to amplitude modulation stations.  However, when the BAND switch
is in ?Find More? mode (see above), this ?FM SENS - DX/Local? switch is
activated.  In my experiment last night, when put in the ?Local? position,
it made the seventh hidden channel almost disappear, and so ?Local? must
be short for ?Localize?, as in find another hidden channel!  Alas, I only
heard a fainter hidden channel 7, but it seemed like moving the cord for
my headphone around changed things, and I need to experiment more with
that to see if I can?t tune in channels 95.1, 95.2, etc.  I have some
frequency modulation receivers that I occasionally use, and when moving
the headphone cord with these units, the xenon tuning LED often goes on
and off, so swishing the headphone cord around must have something to do
with a xenon thingy inside the SRF-59 (too bad they didn?t put it where we
can see it?). It?s a weird way to change hidden channels, but then there
are so many mysteries with this fine receiver!  At any rate, the purpose
of this switch is now known: ?FM SENS? means ?Find More Sensational Hidden
Stations?, ?DX? must mean ?Disengage Xenon? in order to hear the first
hidden channel, and ?Local? is for localizing another hidden channel by
engaging the xenon thingy and moving the headphone cord around.

As some of you have reported, attempts to find an HD Radio receiver at
local electronics retailers have been fruitless.  Sony must have quietly
broken the ice and introduced an HD radio!  So, if you still need an
excuse to buy an SRF-59, now that we know it is in fact one of the HD
receivers we?ve heard so much about, plop down your $15.00 for one of
these marvels and listen to those hidden stations!!!

73 ? Kevin S.
Bainbridge Island, WA



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