General Motors don’t own Opel anymore. They sold it off to the French conglomerate which owns Peugeot and Citroen.
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True but this model is still a GM/Opel Insignia. After this one who knows.
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Yes that’s absurd in a car at this price point. When DAB is standard on every i30 and Lancer. Wake up Holden.
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Another reason why Holden/GM should be rejected by Australian buyers. Long abandoned their core, trading on their laurels for decades.
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Interesting reading multiple comments of Sangean’s DPR 34 and 39. Poor build quality. Sounds like their whole range.
Most DAB+ radios I’ve bought, despite excellent care have all failed to last as a radio should.
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Off topic, but I read somewhere that future versions of the Commodore may be based on.a Buick.
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Yes, I have a Sangean whose AC adaptor has packed it in, but still works fine with batteries.
Tecsuns (thought mostly analogue radios) have questionable build quality.
I have three of them and the faults have been:
PL390 - number 3 button on keypad doesn’t work
PL390 - telescopic antenna has come loose inside the unit and flaps about
PL310ET - tuning wheel keeps coming off.
The PL880 doesn’t have any issues, but doesn’t get as much use as the others.
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From Radioinfo, regarding DAB+ in Canberra:
Elf Radio and Coles Radio have launched, with one in four people in Canberra listening to DAB+ each week.
The new stations launch ahead of trial services being switched to permanent services next year as the commercial radio industry rolls out digital radio to major regional areas.
Read more at: https://radioinfo.com.au/news/two-new-commercial-dab-stations-canberra
Coles Radio has been on air in Canberra since July.
When Canberra gets their permanent DAB+ services, it will be interesting to see which of the SCA & ARN DAB+ stations will become available there. 
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On the DAB scrolling ID for 4KQ I’ve noticed them using “AM” in the title, which is a bit strange. It reads "Good times and great classic hits 4KQ AM"
I find it slightly odd as they’ve never used AM as an identifier in the past, and it’s on the digital stream. Maybe if they included the AM frequency as well it might make more sense?
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ABC and SBS announced today that digital radio services would now be introduced to Canberra and Darwin, with listeners in both cities getting the same range of stations as in the other six capital cities.
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ABC and SBS launch digital radio (DAB+) services in Canberra and Darwin
ABC and SBS today announced that audiences in Canberra and Darwin will now have access to a range of new radio stations with the launch of digital radio (DAB+) services.
The introduction of DAB+ services in Darwin and Canberra will be on a par with the digital services offered to audiences in the other five state capitals.
Additional to ABC and SBS’s national radio programs, listeners can also tune in to the digital-only stations including Double J, ABC Jazz, ABC Country, ABC Extra, ABC Grandstand Unearthed, SBS PopAsia, SBS PopDesi and SBS Chill.
In the Canberra market, certain ABC and SBS services are currently provided on a trial basis and audiences will need to retune their DAB+ receivers on 8 January 2018 to ensure they enjoy the available new range of ABC and SBS Radio services.
Director of ABC Radio, Michael Mason said: “It’s wonderful to see audiences in Darwin and Canberra being able to now access the ABC’s great range of digital stations - from jazz to sport to special events - that are enjoyed by so many of our listeners in other capital cities. And with the summer sporting season upon us, fans will be able to listen to sports coverage 24 hours a day on ABC Grandstand – including of course full coverage of the Ashes."
SBS (Acting) Director of Audio and Language Content, Pip Spilsbury said, “We are thrilled to be launching permanent digital services in Darwin and Canberra and extending SBS’s reach to more audiences. During the trial phase, listeners could previously tune in to limited services provided by SBS Radio.
With the permanent installation and higher power transmissions, our audiences can now enjoy the complete range provided by SBS Radio services including – SBS Radio 1, SBS Radio 2, SBS Arabic24, and music stations – SBS Chill, SBS PopDesi and SBS PopAsia.”
According to the release:
The benefits of DAB+ services include:
Tuning by station name
Pause, rewind and record options
Exceptional sound quality compared to AM/FM analogue services
Additional text information on songs and artists as well as news and weather updates
There are more than 230 DAB+ digital receivers available in the market in all shapes and sizes with an array of functions. Some receivers are DAB+ only and some have FM services included.
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It’s been on for a couple of weeks. ABC and SBS need to switch off their services on the trial NOW, not wait until 8 January. Having double ups for some stations is annoying.
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Presumably Canberra and Darwin will still have access to commercial radio stations on DAB+ once the trial wraps up and the permanent services begin?
And will any community radio broadcasters in those two markets be allowed on DAB+ like how city-wide community broadcasters are allowed access to the spectrum in the five main metro markets?
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I drove down to the southern suburbs of Canberra to within about 100 metres from the TV and FM transmitter poles on Tuggeranong Hill, switched on my digital radio and had zero reception of the permanent ABC/SBS broadcasts and the trial. So the conclusion I’ve made is that the ABC/SBS DAB+ Tuggeranong transmitter has not been switched on.
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I took my Sangean PDR 35 to Stradbroke Island to check the DAB reception there and performance of the unit. It was the 5 full bars all the way on the water to Dunwich. I could still get reception with no bars at Pt Lookout which was surprising at almost 60 km from Mt Coot-tha and blocked by the bulk of the island - TV antenna were on tall masts.
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WHY do they have different station names on the display?
And this is whilst they were playing “Another Day In Paradise” by Phil Collins. No song info of course 
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No idea, maybe because “Talking Lifestyle 954” takes up too many characters.
Incidentally, the other text on the station is “Join The Conversation 13 12 83” and slideshow images have made a very long awaited return (the last I saw this channel transmitting pics was probably before 2UE relaunched as “Talking Lifestyle” in September 2016!):
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I’ve seen this ad in the Sydney Daily Telegraph lately a few times.
I’m a bit surprised that they are advertising a model that isn’t new and not on sale (just the RRP).
For the final survey of the year, the DAB+ ratings have been released just 2 days after the main survey: http://www.radioalive.com.au/RA/media/General/Documents/Surveys%20for%20DAB/GfK_DAB-Only-Summary-Report-National_Survey-8-2017.pdf?ext=.pdf
Key points:
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In Sydney, MMM Greatest Hits is more popular than MMM Classic Rock, whilst the latter is more popular in Melbourne & Brisbane (the other two cities where both are available on DAB+). It is the 3rd most popular DAB+ station in the city (behind ABC Jazz & The Edge), with MMM Classic Rock at 5th (behind Double J). The 90s is more popular than The 80s, whilst MMM Modern Digital is far more popular in Sydney than in other cities.
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In Melbourne, Coles Radio is #1, having a higher cume than Talking Lifestyle. This is followed by Double J, Aussie, The 80s & OldSkool Hits.
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In Brisbane, Coles Radio is #1, followed closely by Double J, Smooth & MMM Classic Rock.
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In Adelaide, OldSkool Hits is #1, followed by Buddha Hits, and a 3-way tie between Double J, ABC Jazz & The 90s for 3rd place.
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In Perth, Smooth & Buddha Hits tied for the top spot, followed by OldSkool Hits, Double J & The 80s.
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“Zed Radio” on in Sydney on DAB.
Another christian station playing Christmas music.
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