The TiVo for the Radio! Record live broadcasts and upload them to your computer!
Written: Jul 13 '03 (Updated Jul 13 '03)
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Pros: It records Live Radio instantly or schedule it to record automatically for you!
Cons: You'll have to buy additional memory and an AC Adapter for optimal use.
The Bottom Line: A fun way to save my favorite radio shows--and functional too as a voice recorder, MP3 player, and radio with 10 presets.
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| briandalsmom's Full Review: Pogo Radio YourWay MP3 Player |
I love the radio show LoveLine with Dr. Drew and Adam Carola—weird, huh. Especially since I’m 42 years old! I’m also addicted to NPR— particularly the nights when they play radio classics or read stories. Unfortunately, most of the shows are on when I'm doing other things (like sleeping!).
I missed listening to the shows so much, that I bought myself the silliest thing recently—I bought something that records the radio. I know, I could have used the tape recorder hooked to my stereo, but I’d have to listen to it on a tape player—I wanted better quality than tapes and I wanted portability and I didn’t want to have to remember to set anything up for recording—this little machine is like a TiVO recorder for the radio.
It records instantly as well—hear something you like, hit the record button, and as long as you have enough memory, it starts recording instantly. How cool would that be when they premier new music on the radio? Or, back when I could listen to Mark & Brian in the morning (I miss those guys!), they’d have in-studio sessions—the music was amazing and never available again (unless you bought the Christmas CD). Just recently, Evanescence did a live set on the End 107.7 in Seattle—I LOVED the acoustic versions of their songs and would have loved to be able to replay them.
WHAT IT CAN DO
Beyond recoding radio shows, it’s a full-function MP3 or WMA player, and voice recorder. Once recorded, you can download the information to your PC via the USB cable or listen through the earbuds which are included.
You can schedule up to 10 events to be recorded—it’s as easy as setting your VCR. Really! Make sure your unit knows the right time, press record, preset the time and station you want to record, the hours to record, and then place your unit in a place where you’ll get great reception, and make sure it has power (purchase the adapter and plug it in—you won’t be disappointed by finding out you missed out because your batteries went dead). You can schedule individual events or have it record every day at the same time for the entire week.
Manual recording is as easy as pushing a REC button. Stopping it is done manually—either but hitting Stop or when the batteries run out, which ever comes first (this happened to me once when I hit the REC button on accident).
BASICS
With the included memory you can record up to 4 hours—if this isn’t sufficient, you can purchase additional memory to expand it almost to 40 accepts by adding a SD/MMC card (it can handle cards up to 256 MB) which is in addition to the 32 MB already onboard. Adding cards is easy and the slot is on the bottom near the USB connection.
Of course, you can use it as a regular MP3 player or radio. There are 10 preset for the radio (I love that!) and all the expected functions for an MP3 player. You can also use it to record from your stereo or CD player.
DESIGN & FUNCTION
Designed in a manner similar to a VCR remote—very user friendly. The bottom portion is dedicated to the recording functions with the expected buttons—Pause/Rewind/Fast Forward/Play/Stop and Record. The mid-section is where the Function buttons are housed. The upper section is the LED screen which confirms your choices and lets you know the status of the player.
The unit weighs practically nothing (.8 pounds) and feels great in my hand. The most used buttons are accessed by my thumb and everything feels like it’s in the right place. No weird contortionist combinations—all logical and easy to figure out without reading the massive manual (most of it is about MP3s which I don’t do).
BEYOND THE BASICS
As a unit, it’s fully functional and you don’t need anything else for a great experience. However, you can do so much more! Load the included software (called the RYW-Explorer), hook up the player to your computer with the included USB cable, and you can transfer what you’ve recorded to your computer. Helpful? Yep! I use it to record instructions from my Director, upload it, type it up, and then archive it. Works beautifully! We’ve both become dependant on it to keep all our random thoughts together—we’re building an entire department from scratch so there are many details that might have gotten lost in the shuffle.
You’ll need to be sure your computer is compatible first-- System Requirements for RYW-Explorer are: a Pentium 200MHz or faster with at least 128MB RAM and 600MB free hard driver space. A SVGA graphics adapter 256 colors or better. Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP( NT not supported) and available USB port, CD-ROM Drive, sound card, and speaker or headphone.
The software is user-friendly and I didn’t need any assistance getting it set up and running (took about 5 minutes because of the necessary restart). This program allows you to upload and download MP3, RVF, and other data files and will also play MP3, WAV and RVF files and play lists (I have RealAudio for that so I don’t use this feature).
QUALITY—DOES IT WORK?
As with any player, the recording is as good as the original. If the radio signal is strong, the recording is great. In my case, the recording was as good as listening and maybe slightly better to it on my regular radio (during the live broadcast) with no loss of quality. The earphone plays the role of the antenna in the FM Radio so a long wire means the receiving sensitivity is improved—I’m guessing that’s why the quality is a bit better.
Battery use is within the stated ranges—the AAA batteries last for about 12 hours of playback. The built-in speaker is about the same as any small portable (pretty lousy), but I’ve always listened with earbuds so as not to disturb anyone else in the office so I’m used to the higher-quality listening they provide.
SPECS
• Power Feature: powers off after 3 minutes of inactivity
• Size: 0.71” long x 2.17” wide x 3.88” tall
• Weight: .8 pounds
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
STEREO EARPHONE/EXTERNAL ANTENNA, INSTALL CD, LINE/IN CABLE, USB CABLE, TWO AAA BATTERIES, NECK STRAP , MANUAL
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE
Currently available: Telephone adapter (to record calls—illegal in my state), external microphone (small clip-on mic which can be concealed), AC adapter, cassette adapter (allows you to listen to your player through any tape deck), and carrying case.
WARNINGS/CARE
• Don’t drop it—it’s rugged enough for a minor bobble or two, but it’s made of plastic so a drop to the floor could do it in.
• Keep it out of the direct sun and away from moisture.
• Keep credit cards and any other magnetized items away from it—the player could erroneously erase the information from your card.
• As with any LCD screen, take care not to scratch or puncture it.
WARRANTY
1-year parts and labor
FINAL THOUGHTS
Is it for everyone? Probably not, but for me it’s an amazing toy that didn’t cost too terribly much when you consider all of the functions it has. I’m sure it does more than I even have it set up for—I’m finding new things everyday.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 146.00
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briandalsmom
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Member: Mom
Location: USA
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