Back in March 2026, I reviewed the various radio receivers I used from childhood through the early 2000s. I documented my failed attempt to revive my 2003 Cambridge Soundworks 730 clock radio, and how I eventually created automations for our Google Home devices to stream Tulsa’s KWGS NPR station or Bartlesville’s KWON.

I’ve been retired for six weeks, and I will confess that I have yet to use either of those automations. However, I do listen to KWGS in the car. My 2014.5 Toyota Camry has HD Radio, so by default it can pick up the station’s three digital radio transmissions along with the regular FM analog signal. However, the KWGS HD digital signals are so weak that they frequently cut out in my car as it goes up and down the hills of Bartlesville. When 89.5-1 cuts out, the radio switches to analog 89.5, switching back to 89.5-1 when it regains signal strength. The repeated switching creates hiccups since the two are not in audio sync.

Recently, when the radio hiccuped, I would go into Options to disable HD Radio. Having to muck around with it reminded me that KWGS also broadcasts Jazz 89.5-2 and BBC World Service 89.5-3. I tuned in the jazz station, and I liked it. Too bad for me, though, since it also kept cutting out as I drove up and down in hilly Bartlesville, and there is no analog fallback for it.

I decided to give up on HD Radio entirely in the car. I didn’t want to fuss with turning it off every time I listen to the radio, so I went into our garage, put the key into the rotary ignition switch (yes, my car is old enough to still have that), turned it to the accessories position, turned on the radio, and turned off the HD Radio option. That made the setting “stick”.

I’ll be fine without HD Radio in the car, and I could always pay to restore the car’s SiriusXM satellite radio service if I wanted more options. However, I realized that I would enjoy listening to Jazz 89.5-2 at home when Wendy is away at work.

I watch Techmoan on YouTube, and in a recent post for his Patreon supporters, Mat showed his efforts to upgrade his garden shed workshop building’s external antenna to improve his reception of DAB/DAB+ and his search for a good DAB+ receiver for his component audio setup.

That got me to thinking about convenient ways to listen to Jazz 89.5-2 at home. I could buy a nice HD Radio like the Sangean HDR-19. However, it costs $200 and when I’m at home alone I would prefer the background music to be playing in my office, the living room, and the kitchen.

So I created a “Manor” speaker group in Google Home for the Google Nest Hubs in the office and the kitchen and the Google Home Mini in the living room. I discovered I could say, “Hey Google, play Tulsa Jazz radio on Manor” and it would play Jazz 89.5 HD2 on the various speakers via TuneIn. To shut it off, I can just say to any of the devices, “Hey Google, stop.”

However, the audio quality was unimpressive in my office. The Nest Hub is 13′ from my desk, and it has a 1.7″ speaker. I had an original Google Home speaker from 2018 stashed away, and it has a 2″ high excursion speaker with dual 2″ passive radiators that readily outperforms a Nest Hub. So I pulled it out, plugged it in at my office desk, reset it by holding down its mute button for 15 seconds, and then added it back into our Google Home using the app on my iPhone.

That provided much richer bass, and I can now happily stream Jazz 89.5 HD2 across our home. It’s a good life.