Roberts solarDAB 2 User manual

DAB / DAB+ / FM RDS digital solar radio
Please read this manual before use
ROBERTS

Controls .......................................................................2-3
Battery operation using rechargeable batteries..............4
Battery operation using alkaline batteries.......................5
Using the AC adaptor .....................................................6
Using solar power...........................................................7
Operating your radio - DAB ............................................8
Selecting a station - DAB................................................9
Display options - DAB...................................................10
Finding new stations - DAB .......................................... 11
Secondary services - DAB............................................ 11
Manual tuning - DAB ....................................................12
Signal strength display - DAB.......................................12
Dynamic range control (DRC) settings - DAB ..............13
Prune stations - DAB....................................................14
Operating your radio - Search tuning - FM...................15
Manual tuning - FM.......................................................16
Display options - FM.....................................................17
Favourite button............................................................18
Recalling your favourite station ....................................18
Preset stations - DAB and FM......................................19
Contents
Scan sensitivity - FM ....................................................20
Stereo / mono setting - FM (Headphones only)............21
Software version...........................................................21
System reset.................................................................22
Headphone socket........................................................23
Auxiliary input socket....................................................23
A few words about batteries ....................................24-25
Display backlight...........................................................26
General.........................................................................27
Specifications ...............................................................28
Circuit features .............................................................28
Notes ............................................................................29
Guarantee.....................................................................30
1

2
Controls
1. Tuning control
2. Preset button
3. Favourite button
4. On / Off button
(Front)
1
2
3
78910
4
12
5. Telescopic aerial
6. Solar indicator
7. Charge / Low battery indicator
8. LCD display
9. Auto Tune button
10. DAB / FM button
11. Info button
12. Speaker
6
5
11

3
Controls
13. Volume control
14. Headphone socket
15. USB socket (for software upgrades)
16. Auxiliary input socket
17. DC input socket
18. Battery compartment
13
14
15
16
17
18

4
Battery operation using rechargeable
batteries - included (also see page 24)
1. Remove the battery cover on the back of the unit by pushing the
battery door in slightly and then downwards in the direction of the
arrows in the diagram.
2. Slide the switch inside the battery compartment to the NiMH/NiCad
position.
3. Insert three Rechargeable LR6 (AA size) batteries into the spaces
in the compartment. Take care to ensure all batteries are inserted
with the correct polarity as shown on the back of the radio. The radio
is designed to be used with Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) or Nickel
Cadmium (NiCad) rechargeable batteries.
4. Plug the mains adaptor into your radio and then plug the adaptor into
the mains.
5. The Charge light will flash green indicating batteries are charging.
Batteries will be fully charged in around 7 hours. The battery light
shows a steady green light when the battery charging is complete.
• Important: when using rechargeable batteries the battery switch
must be placed in the NiMH/NiCad position. Batteries will only
be charged when the radio is switched off and connected to the
AC adaptor.
• When the batteries are exhausted, the battery light will show red for a
short while. The radio will then switch itself off. It may not be possible
to switch the radio back on until the batteries are recharged, or until
the radio is connected to the mains adaptor.
• If the radio is not to be used for any extended period of time it is
recommended that the batteries are removed from the radio.
IMPORTANT: The batteries should not be exposed to excessive heat
such as sunshine, fire or the like.After use, disposable batteries should
if possible be taken to a suitable recycling centre. On no account
should batteries be disposed of by incineration.
2
1

5
Battery operation using alkaline batteries
(also see page 24)
1. Remove the battery cover on the back of the unit by pushing the
battery door in slightly and then downwards in the direction of the
arrows in the diagram.
2. Slide the switch inside the battery compartment to the Alkaline
position.
3. Insert three LR6 (AA size) alkaline batteries into the spaces in the
compartment. Take care to ensure all batteries are inserted with the
correct polarity as shown on the back of the radio. Then replace the
battery cover.
• Important: when using alkaline batteries the battery switch must
be placed in the alkaline position. Failure to do so could result
in serious damage to the batteries or radio.
• When the batteries are exhausted, the battery light will show red for a
short while. The radio will then switch itself off. It may not be possible
to switch the radio back on until the batteries are replaced, or until the
radio is connected to the mains adaptor.
• If the radio is not to be used for any extended period of time it is
recommended that the batteries are removed from the radio.
• We would recommend for economy that the solarDAB 2 is used via the
AC adaptor whenever possible with battery operation for occasional or
stand-by use only. If extended listening using batteries is anticipated,
then the use of rechargeable batteries is recommended.
1
2

Using the AC adaptor
1. Insert the adaptor plug into the DC in socket on the right hand side of
your radio.
2. Plug the adaptor into a standard 13A mains socket outlet. Whenever
the adaptor is plugged in to the radio and switched on at the mains the
batteries are automatically disconnected. If the adaptor is plugged in to
the radio but not switched on then the radio will run from the batteries
if fitted.
The AC adaptor should be disconnected from the mains supply and
the radio when not in use.
• IMPORTANT: The mains adaptor is used as the means of connecting
the radio to the mains supply. The mains socket used
for the radio must remain accessible during normal use. In order
to disconnect the radio from the mains completely, the mains
adaptor should be removed from the mains socket outlet
completely.
6

Using solar power
Important - The radio does not need to be switched on in order
for the solar panel to operate.
1. In order to recharge your solarDAB radio's batteries using solar power,
position the radio so that its integral solar panel receives direct sunlight.
The more sunlight that falls on the solar panel - the more electricity it
can generate to power the radio.
2. The solar indicator should be used as a positioning aid to achieve the
greatest output from the solar panel.
3. The brightness of the solar indicator shows the level of solar energy
reaching the solar panel.
4. Adjust the position of the radio so as to achieve maximum brightness
of the solar indicator.
NOTE: Best performance of the solar panel will be achieved when the sun
is directly overhead, and the sunlight is unobstructed by clouds, foliage,
curtains, and the like. In certain situations and poorer light conditions,
the solar panel may not be effective and should not be relied upon as the
primary energy source for standard usage. The solar panel is designed
as a supplementary energy source which under suitable light conditions
is able to contribute up to 100% of the radio's energy requirement.
The solar panel will only deliver power to the radio, or charge the batteries
under natural sunlight. It will not deliver charge in artificial light.
Do NOT attempt to charge the batteries by placing the solar panel directly
under any kind of sun-lamp. This will cause irreversible damage to the
radio and may damage the casing.
7

2
8
Operating your radio - DAB
1. Carefully extend the telescopic aerial.
2. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio. The display will show
'Welcome to DAB'.
3. If this is the first time the radio is used a scan of the Band III DAB
channels will be carried out. If the radio has been used before the last
used station will be selected.
4. During the scanning process, the lower line of the display shows a
bar-graph indicating progress of the scan.
5. When the scanning is completed the first station (in numeric-alpha
order 0...9...A....Z) will be selected.
6. If the station list is still empty after the scan your radio will display 'No
DAB station'.
7. If no signals are found it may be necessary to relocate your radio to
a position giving better reception. Then, either switch your radio off
and on again, or press the Auto Tune button to repeat the scan.
Note: Radio station name and frequency displays shown in this user guide
may differ from those that you see on your radio. Broadcasters may change
radio station names that are transmitted, and the frequencies used for
DAB and FM radio stations may not be the same in all parts of the country.
AbsR60s
Now tuning...
DAB
Welcome to DAB
AbsR60s
Home of the Beat
DAB

9
2,3
4
Selecting a station - DAB
1. The top line of the display shows the name of the station currently
selected.
2. Rotate the Tuning control to scroll through the list of available stations
on the lower line of the display. Stop rotating the Tuning control when
you find the station that you wish to hear.
3. Press and release the Tuning control to select the station. The display
may show 'Now tuning...' while your radio finds the new station.
4. Adjust the Volume control to the required setting.
Note: If after selecting a station the display shows 'No DAB station' it may
be necessary to relocate your radio to a position giving better reception.
The use of radio station presets for selecting your preferred radio stations
is described on page 19.
AbsR60s
Home of the Beat
DAB
AbsR60s DAB
BBC R4
BBC R4
Now tuning...
DAB

10
1
Display options - DAB
Your radio has a range of display options when in DAB mode.
1. Press and release the Info button to cycle through the various options.
a. Scrolling text Displays scrolling text messages such as
artist/track name, phone in number etc.
b. Program Type Displays the type of station being listened
to e.g. Pop, Classic, News etc.
c. Multiplex Name Displays the name of DAB multiplex to
which the current station belongs.
d. Time and date Displays the current time and date.
e. Frequency Displays the frequency of the DAB
multiplex for the station listened to.
f. Bit rate & audio type Displays the digital bit rate & audio type
for the station being listened to.
g. Signal Strength Displays thesignal strengthfor the currently
tuned DAB station. The open block in the
signal strength graph shows the minimum
signal strength needed for good DAB
reception. The signal blocks will go up or
down showing the changing signal strength
as you adjust the telescopic aerial or the
radio position.
a
b
c
d
f
e
g
BBC R4
Now playing in t
DAB
BBC R4
Talk
DAB
BBC R4
BBC National DAB
DAB
BBC R4
14:00 19-02-2013
DAB
BBC R4
12B 225.648MHz
DAB
BBC R4
128kbps / DAB
DAB
BBC R4 DAB

11
1
1,2
Secondary services - DAB
1. Certain radio stations have one or more secondary services associated
with them. If a radio station has a secondary service associated with it
the display will show ">>" next to the station name on the station list.
The secondary service will then appear immediately after the primary
service as you rotate the tuning control clockwise.
2. Press and release the Tuning control to select the station.
3. When the secondary service shuts down, your radio will automatically
switch back to the main radio station (or primary service) if it is available.
Finding new radio stations - DAB
As time passes new stations may become available. To find new stations
proceed as follows:-
1. Press and release the Auto Tune button. The display will show
'Scanning...' and your radio will perform a scan of the Band III DAB
channels. As new radio stations are found the station counter on the
right-hand side of the display will increase and the radio stations will
be added to the list stored in the radio.
Scanning... 28
BBC R5L
BBC R4 DAB
BBC R5SX
BBC R4 DAB

12
1
1
2-5
Manual tuning - DAB
Manual tuning allows you to tune directly to the various DAB Band III channels.
UK DAB stations located in the range 11B to 12D.
1. Press and hold the Info button until the Advanced DAB menu shows on the
display and then release the button.
2. Rotate the Tuning control until the display shows 'Manual tune'. Press and
release the Tuning control.
3. Rotate the Tuning control to select the required DAB channel.
4. Press and release the Tuning control. The clear unfilled rectangle indicates
minimum signal level required for satisfactory reception. When a DAB signal
is found, the display will show the name of the DAB multiplex. Any new radio
stations found will be added to the list stored in the radio. The Signal blocks
will go up and down showing the changing signal strength as you adjust the
telescopic aerial or the radio position.
5. Press and release the Tuning control to return to normal tuning after a few
seconds.
Signal strength display - DAB
1. Repeatedly press and release the Info button until the lower line of the
display shows signal strength.
2. Position your radio and try moving the aerial so as to give maximum number
of black rectangles on signal strength display. Normally, the best reception
will be found with the aerial vertical and fully extended.
3. The clear unfilled rectangle indicates minimum signal level required for
satisfactory reception.
Manual tune
DAB
12B 225.648MHz
Manual tune
BBC National DAB
BBC R1
Now tuning...
DAB
BBC R4 DAB

13
1
2
3-6
Dynamic Range Control settings - DAB
Dynamic Range Control (also known as DRC) can make quieter sounds
easier to hear when your radio is used in a noisy environment.
1. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio.
2. Press and hold the Info button until the Advanced DAB menu shows
on the display and then release the button.
3. Rotate the Tuning control until the display shows 'DRC'.
4. Press and release the Tuning control to enter the adjustment mode.
5. Rotate the Tuning control to select the required DRC setting (the
default is 0). The current DRC setting will be marked with an asterisk.
DRC 0 - DRC is switched off, Broadcast DRC will be ignored.
DRC 1/2 - DRC level is set to 1/2 that sent by broadcaster.
DRC 1 - DRC level is used as sent by broadcaster.
6. Press and release the Tuning control to confirm the setting. The
display will return to normal tuning mode.
Note: Not all DAB broadcasts are able to use the DRC function. If the
broadcast does not support DRC, then the DRC setting in the radio will
have no effect.
DRC
DAB
DRC 0
DRC *
DRC 1/2
DRC
DRC 1
DRC

14
Prune stations - DAB
Over time, some DAB services may stop broadcasting, or may change
location and then not be able to receive a station. In order to remove such
stations from the DAB station list, the Prune stations function will delete
the DAB stations from your station list that can no longer be received.
Stations which cannot be found or which have not been received for a very
long time are shown in the station list with a question mark.
1. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio.
2. Press and release the DAB/FM button until the DAB mode is selected.
3. Press and hold the Info button until the Advanced DAB menu shows
on the display and then release the button.
4. Rotate the Tuning control until 'Prune' appears on the display. Press
and release the Tuning control.
5. Rotate the Tuning control to highlight 'Yes'. Press and release the
Tuning control to cause the stations list to be pruned, eliminating
unavailable stations.
6. If you do not wish to prune stations highlight 'No' in step 5 and then
press and release the Tuning control. The display will revert back to
the previous display.
Note: If you have moved to a different part of the country you should
also carry out a search for new stations (please see the section 'Finding
new stations' on page 11).
Prune
DAB
Prune?
No <Yes>
Prune?
<No> Yes
1
3
4-6
2

15
3
4-7
9
2
Operating your radio - Search tuning - FM
1. Carefully extend the telescopic aerial fully.
2. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio.
3. Press and release the DAB/FM button until the FM mode is selected.
4. Press and immediately release the Auto tune button, your radio will
scan in an upwards direction (low frequency to high frequency) and
stop automatically when it finds a station of sufficient strength.
5. After a few seconds the display will update. The display will show the
frequency of the signal found. If the signal is strong enough and there
is RDS data present then the radio will display the station name.
6. To find other stations, press and release the Auto tune button as
before.
7. To scan the FM band in a downwards direction (high frequency to low
frequency) press and hold down the Auto tune button for 2 seconds
and then release.
8. When the waveband end is reached your radio will recommence tuning
from the opposite waveband end.
9. Adjust the Volume control to the required setting.
The use of radio station presets for selecting your preferred radio stations
is described on page 19.
89.30MHz FM
Searching...>
Searching...<
Note:
If you find that FM reception is poor, try repositioning the telescopic aerial.
Fully extend and position vertically for optimum reception.
If you find that an FM broadcast has a lot of background hiss, this may
often be reduced by setting the radio into Mono reception mode for the
current FM station. Please refer to the section 'Stereo / Mono setting - FM'
on page 21 for further details.

3
6
4
16
2,7
Manual tuning - FM
1. Carefully extend the telescopic aerial fully.
2. Press the On/Off button to switch on your radio.
3. Press and release the DAB/FM button until the FM mode is selected.
4. Rotate the Tuning control to tune to a station. With each click of the
control the frequency will change up or down by 50 kHz.
5. When the waveband end is reached the radio will recommence tuning
from the opposite waveband end.
6. Set the Volume control to the desired setting.
7. To switch off your radio press the On/Off button.
89.30MHz FM
89.35MHz
Note:
If you find that FM reception is poor, try repositioning the telescopic aerial.
Fully extend and position vertically for optimum reception.
If you find that an FM broadcast has a lot of background hiss, this may
often be reduced by setting the radio into Mono reception mode for the
current FM station. Please refer to the section 'Stereo / Mono setting - FM'
on page 21 for further details.

17
1
Display options - FM
Your radio has a range of display options when in FM mode.
1. Press and release the Info button to cycle through each of the options.
a. Scrolling text Displays scrolling text messages such
as artist/track name, phone in number
etc.
b. Program type Displays type of station being listened to
e.g. Pop, Classic, News, etc.
c. Time and date Displays the current time and date.
d. Frequency Displays frequency of the station being
listened to.
e. Audio type Display shows the audio type for the
currently tuned FM station.
Note: Your radio will display 'NO Radio Text' on the lower line of the
display if there is no scrolling text available and 'NO PTY' if there is no
programme type information.
a
b
c
d
e
BBC R4
Now playing in t
FM
BBC R4
Pop Music
FM
BBC R4
11:51 19-02-2013
FM
BBC R4
89.30MHz
FM
BBC R4
Mono
FM

3
2
18
Favourite button
Your radio is fitted with a button which when pressed will automatically
select the required waveband and tune to your Favourite radio station.
With this button you can store one favourite station from either the DAB
or FM wavebands.
To set up your favourite station, follow these steps:
1. Carefully extend the telescopic aerial and switch on your radio.
2. Select the desired waveband (DAB or FM) and tune into the required
radio station as described on the preceding pages.
3. Press and hold down the Favourite button (for 5 seconds) until the
display shows 'My Fav. Saved'.
Recalling your favourite station
1. Carefully extend the telescopic aerial and switch on your radio.
If your radio is in Auxiliary Input mode, press and release the
DAB/FM button to select normal radio operation.
2. Momentarily press the Favourite button, your radio will automatically
select the DAB or FM waveband as needed and then tune to the radio
station stored in the favourite memory.
BBC R4
My Fav. Saved
DAB
BBC R4
Now playing in t
DAB

19
2,4
6
5
Preset stations - DAB and FM
To make it easier for you to tune your radio to the stations that you prefer,
you may store selected radio stations as presets. Your radio holds presets
separately for DAB and FM radio modes.
You may set as many or as few presets as you like in each mode.
You can easily switch between displaying all DAB stations (or all FM
frequencies) and displaying only those that you have set as presets.
Any station or frequency which has been marked as a preset can easily
have the mark cancelled should your preferences or needs change.
Presets are retained when your radio is switched off.
1. To setup your preset stations, tune into the required station.
2. Press and hold down the Preset button until the displays shows a tick
symbol next to the radio station name or frequency. This indicates that
the radio station is marked as a preset. To cancel the preset mark,
press and hold the Preset button again.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as needed for any other stations that you want
as presets.
4. To view only the preset stations for the currently selected waveband
when tuning, press and release the Preset button so that the heart
symbol shows in the display.
5. To listen to one of the preset radio stations, rotate the Tuning control
until the required radio station is displayed. Press and release the
Tuning control to select and tune to that station.
6. To cancel the preset stations view, press and release the Preset button
so that the heart symbol disappears from the display. Your radio will
then be able to access the full station list using the Tuning control.
BBC R4
Talk
DAB
BBC R4
Talk
DAB