Digital Impudicus

Remember when FM was new, and we were promised crisp, clear sound, without all the AM interference? And the reality - a different quality of hissing noise.

I live on the border between two sets of BBC transmitters - my car radio auto tuning will often flip-flop between Radio 4 transmitters while I'm backing out of the drive, and always does so on the drive to work. If I'm listening to Radio 2 on the same journey, I have to manually retune around the half-way mark.

So, having been bombarded with ads for BBC digital radio all year, I got myself a DAB receiver at the weekend. And found no BBC stations. Checking their website, I find I live at the ragged edge of their digital coverage, with the warning that if I don't get good FM reception, I'm not likely to get any digital reception from them.

Geez - get a clue folks. Lousy FM reception is why I got the DAB system in the first place. As it is, I find that I am exactly in the demographic being targetted by Planet Rock...

[Now playing - Steve Reich - Six Pianos]