Affordable DRM receiver to be made in India

 

From the DRM Consortium website: 

Solar Grove Solutions a leading innovator in consumer electronics based in Florida, USA, known for making accessible devices, has just announced the commencement of manufacturing its All-Band (MW, SW, VHF – FM) Analog and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) receiver model N88 in India. This is a significant step towards delivering cutting-edge technology at accessible prices to a global audience.

The N88 is developed in close collaboration with CML Microcircuits (UK) Ltd, renowned for their expertise in mixed-signal integrated circuits, and Alongside Tech, LLC (USA) that is providing design and application development. Douglas Gregson from Alongside Tech, a recent member of the DRM consortium, says that “this revolutionary radio boasts four key, game-changing differentiating features. They are: small size, low power consumption, as N88 it extends the 3x AA battery life, low cost and seamless integration with a dedicated Android app opening the way to data applications and additional features.

“We are incredibly excited to bring this innovative DRM radio to market, manufactured right here in India,” said Mr. Templeton, CEO of Solar Grove Solutions. “This project is a testament to the power of international collaboration, combining the expertise of CML Microcircuits and Alongside Tech with Solar Grove Solutions’ commitment to delivering exceptional products at accessible prices. Our partnership with Shemish Grove Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., our affiliated company in India, has been instrumental in making this vision a reality.”

For the DRM chairman N88 is “the kind of product made in India for Indians. It is thus fulfilling the DRM Consortium vision of offering a new kind of digital radio services at affordable prices, in line with the policy, ambition and tastes of each individual country adopting DRM.”

National coverage using DRM

Interesting discussion of Nationwide broadcasting using DRM. Many European countries could easily shift to DRM for their broadcasting needs now that the CML DRM1000 chip is available for receivers. In North America, national broadcasting services such as NPR could shift to DRM for signal delivery - if only DRM was permitted on AM/MW and FM.

CML Micro & Cambridge Consultants DRM1000 chip

The newest press release here (the older press release is here). This is the chip Gospell is using in its new portable, the GR-221 (available soon). This looks to be a real game-changer due to it being an all-in-one solution,  having low power consumption (30+ hours on 3 AA batteries, including the possibility of a solar powered and cranked models) and its affordable cost (<$20 USD). It should yield a whole new crop of receivers that will be ideal for the burgeoning Asian DRM markets of China, India and Pakistan. Now all we need to do is to convince the North American shortwave broadcasters that the time has come for regular DRM broadcasting. Mouser plans to stock the chip soon. This novel DRM solution debuted at BES in February of this year.