The Digital Switchover is UK government policy and will take place for Radio in 2015. The Digital Radio signal isn’t yet at full strength but still offers a range of additional featuresand a far superior level ofsound quality. Another benefit is the static signal which ensures you never need to retune wherever in the country you may be.

Around 99% of adults in the UK (over 43 million people) have at least one radio in their home. In 2006 researchers found that the average adult listened to 23.9 hours of radio a week.

Switching to Digital Radio will bring a range of improvements. These will include the following:

• All DAB Radios have an LCD screen which can display useful information about the station you’re listening to. It can detail the song you’re listening to, update you on breaking news or provide details on how to contact the station for talk show programmes.
• Some DAB Radios have a small internal Hard Drive allowing you to record programmes and listen to them at a later date.
• Some DAB Radios also have a small amount of RAM (RandomAccess-Memory) that allows you to pause and rewind the programme you’re listening should you miss something important.

Armagh Electrical.com and Dalzell’s of Markethill have been certified and tested for their knowledge by Digital UK for the digital switch over. Our Home Entertainment department sales staff are fully trained and happy to answer any questions you may have.

Things to Consider

DAB Radios can come with a wide range of features and therefore it is important to choose one that suits your lifestyle. An important consideration is how mobile your new DAB Radio needs to be. If you intend to listen to it in different rooms or outside we’d advise you choose one that will operate on both battery and mains power. There’are also splash-resistant and fully waterproof models to choose from for outdoor listening.

Some models are Ipod compatible; allowing you to play your favourite music and download your favourite Pod-cast.

Other models feature alarms or can form part of a full hi-fi system.

DAB Radio Coverage

The DAB Radio signal is not yet at full strength while Analogue is still in effect. There are however extra transmitters coming online all the time. For some guidance on what you’ll receive and where please check your postcode at the link below.

http://www.ukdigitalradio.com//coverage/postcodesearch/nireland.asp

It’s worth remembering that this is only a guide, if you live in a basement, steel-framed or reinforced concrete building this will affect the strength of your DAB signal and the postcode checker won’t account for this.

The DAB Radio Signal in Northern Ireland is relatively strong. We would be delighted to share our local knowledge with you online at Armagh Electrical.com or in store at Dalzell’s of Markethill.

Below we’ve listed a number of the stations which are freely available across most of Northern Ireland and a map showing the official areas with coverage to help you with your choice.

The Switchover

The Switchover may seem some time away in 2015 but leaving it to a last minute rush will leave many without a signal. This is especially true with Radio as the whole country will be acting together for a single national Switchover event. Switching over now means taking advantage of all the stations and services earlier. So don’t delay, visit our DAB Radio section now or visit our website Dalzell’s of Markethill.

* If you require further information on what is listed here you may wish to visit www.ukdigitalradio.com and www.getdigitalradio.com