Radio

Radio is still one of the most used media worldwide. It provides entertainment in the office or runs casually on the construction site. But even at home, the radio is an integral part of our everyday lives. In addition to the classic portable radios with CD players and clock radios, you can get them here in the eibabo® online shop:

robust construction site radios that can withstand dirt and impact
elegant and discreet flush-mounted radio components for your smart home installation
portable radio recorders for children's rooms, teenagers' rooms or hobby rooms
DAB+ digital radios and clock radios for the kitchen and bathroom

Source: eibabo®, Makita DMR301 battery construction site radio Image: Makita DMR301 battery construction site radio

What are construction site radios?

Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to sit in a quiet office and listen to the radio. Many of us are on construction sites every day - road construction and civil engineering, building houses or other locations. But that doesn't mean you have to give up music. Because with entertaining rhythms, time flies by and work is easier to do. But a shell of a house, a metal workshop or the cab of an excavator are harsh environments for a radio. Dust, moisture, paint, glowing chips or impacts can quickly destroy the sensitive technology or damage the housing. But there are construction site radios for such locations. These are designed to be particularly robust and withstand the usual conditions that can occur during transport, in a workshop or on a construction site. Construction site radios are either operated with normal mains power, with standard batteries or in some cases even with compatible battery packs for cordless power tools. This makes the devices very flexible, so that they can also work outdoors on a remote construction site. Depending on the model, there are construction site radios with interfaces for connecting or with the option of wirelessly connecting external devices.

A construction site radio differs from a standard radio in its robust construction. These feature protective reinforcements ranging from simple edge protectors to armor-like casings to full exoskeleton-like structures. All of this provides the protection you need should the radio fall down or bang around in the cargo area of the van.

High weight

Due to their construction, construction site radios are often comparatively heavy. Larger models can weigh over 10 kilograms.

To facilitate portability, construction site radios usually have sturdy carrying handles. Typically, construction site radios offer separate buttons for on/off, function selection, radio setting and time display. The buttons and knobs are often rubberized and large so that they can be operated comfortably even with gloves. Some models have a dedicated mute button that allows you to quickly turn off the sound. This is very useful when the phone rings, for example.

In addition to tuning in to your favorite radio broadcasts, many construction site radios can be fed via the appropriate interfaces from an additional device such as an MP3 player, smartphone, tablet or CD player. Sometimes even a docking station for the smartphone is integrated. The slots for SD memory cards or USB sticks can usually be closed with rubber covers. Of course, the connection is often also possible wirelessly via Bluetooth. In order to accommodate and protect the additional devices mentioned, many construction site radios offer built-in compartments including interfaces for connection. This is particularly useful when the radio is connected to the mains and you want to use it to charge your mobile phone.

What are flush-mounted radios for Smart Home?

The modern Smart Home building automation stands for the interaction of entertainment electronics, lighting technology and air conditioning technology as well as security systems. Their use can:

save energy
Significantly increase the protection of a residential building, commercial or storage area
improve living comfort and conditions at work

In the field of consumer electronics, the eibabo® shop offers you discreet, digital flush-mounted radios that can be easily integrated into your system, controlled centrally or decentrally and connected to the Internet via interfaces. This means that every family member has the opportunity to listen to their favorite tunes, radio plays, podcasts or foreign language courses according to their individual taste. Alternatively, the same music plays throughout the house.

What is special about the flush-mounted radios is their size and shape. The devices, like the corresponding loudspeakers, are integrated into switch boxes. As a result, they fit almost invisibly into the house installation and offer networked home entertainment at the highest level. Of course, connectivity is also a key aspect here. External devices can be connected to the radios via Bluetooth.

What does digital radio and DAB+ mean?

Enjoy your favorite music at home anytime or stay informed by news and podcasts. But what is digital radio anyway and how does it differ from classic analogue radio?

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is a technology that broadcasts digital radio programs. The idea of digital radio came at the end of the 1980s when there were no longer enough free slots for all stations in the regular VHF band. DAB was developed as a digital standard in which more stations can be placed through more efficient coding. DAB has therefore been around for a very long time. The first DAB station was launched in 1995 and the first DAB+ station started broadcasting in 2007. DAB technology is currently used mainly in Europe and differs from analog FM radio in that it can be received anywhere.

There are of course technical differences between DAB+ and the usual FM. With VHF, each transmitter transmits independently via radio waves, the range of which is limited. The reception is therefore dependent on the location and the set reception frequency. No radio waves are sent with DAB+. The transmitted digital signals are combined into so-called data frames. Various frequency channels are provided so that different countries can select those which are free from other services. It is thus comparable to the television program, where you can switch between the channels without having to first tune to a specific wavelength. In the past, the transmitters themselves received a license for one frequency for analogue broadcasting. Nowadays, the license is given to a data frame operator and they lease the channels to the radio stations. That is why DAB also has a disadvantage for the listener. The rental of a channel depends on the bit rate of the transmission. So it is cheaper to send with a low transmission rate than with a high one. Thus, as a rule, the optimal or best possible quality is not broadcast.

Who Invented the Radio?

Finally, a small digression into the history of radio. Heinrich Hertz's proof of the existence of electromagnetic waves formed the basis for the later development of radio. But before the technology was used for entertainment, it was used for the wireless transmission of radio telegrams in the form of Morse code signals.

Already knew

In 1899, a radio signal was used for the first time to save people from death. It was a group of fishermen floating on an ice floe near the island of Gotland.

The invention of the radio is thus a continuous further development of radio technology, on which Heinrich Hertz, Nicola Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi, Oliver Lodge and Alexander Popov researched separately and independently between 1890 and 1905. So there is no forefather of radio. Each of these scientists contributed to it.

We deliver construction site radios, smart home flush-mounted radios, travel radios, clock radios, world receivers and kitchen radios to you worldwide. Choose from high quality goods from manufacturers such as Beko, Busch Jaeger, Grundig, Lenco, Jung, Makita, Sony, Panasonic and many more.