Wireless charging vs listening to the radio

Redgie · 15 Oct 2014 at 12:34

So one of the things I was most excited for with my Nexus 7 (2013) when I got it a while back was the ability to charge wirelessly. I bought a QI Wireless Charging Pad thing and hey presto, it works pretty well.

Unfortunately however, it will not work anywhere near my FM radio / alarm clock. This means that the convenience of being able to plonk my tablet on the bedside table before going to sleep, knowing that it will be charged when I wake up, is outweighed by the fact that instead of the radio waking me up, a very bad batch of FM interference will do so instead.

Will wireless charging have the same effect on a digital radio? Will I need to put the charger elsewhere? The quality and positioning of cable to the pad does help, but the sad fact is that if they are close to each other, it's one or the other

Any thoughts?

Orcvader · 15 Oct 2014 at 14:22

Perhaps consider using the tablet as a replacement for your FM radio/alarm? Not ideal but I'm sure there are some apps which can do this.

Only other suggestion I have is probably either go back to wired charging or just charge the tablet elsewhere.

Redgie · 15 Oct 2014 at 15:28

Yeah I could use the FM radio on my tablet I guess. But then I might as well throw away the radio alarm clock...

GeX · 15 Oct 2014 at 20:05

I'll try and test my digital next to a wireless charger if you want.

Redgie · 16 Oct 2014 at 08:32

GeX said:
I'll try and test my digital next to a wireless charger if you want.

That would be excellent, thank you

Redgie · 21 Oct 2014 at 14:32

Looking at new phones and the wireless charging option almost seems like it's made to mock me now

Anybody got any thoughts / experiences?

GeX · 21 Oct 2014 at 22:05

Redgie said:
That would be excellent, thank you

No worries, sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

OK, so we have two radios.

Pure Avanti Flow and Roberts Stream 83i and a Maxell Air Voltage Qi Charging Mat.

I tested both radios in different modes, with the Qi charger at various places on / around each radio. Tried it with nothing on the charger pad, with a Nexus 5 and with a Nexus 7.

I didn't get any interference at all, in any mode on either device.

Redgie · 22 Oct 2014 at 10:43

That's awesome news, guess I'll be switching to a digital radio then! Thanks so much GeX

GeX · 22 Oct 2014 at 17:52

You're welcome.
Worth adding that I didn't have any problems on FM either, so it just be that your alarm clock has poor shielding or your charger is noisy than mine.

Redgie · 27 Oct 2014 at 16:07

Hmm, well I've tried it on multiple FM radios and all have the same problem?

Orcvader · 27 Oct 2014 at 16:39

Which charging pad is it? Could be a very leaky one?

Redgie · 28 Oct 2014 at 11:34

Hmm didn't realise there was much of a difference. It's a "Koolpad"?

Orcvader · 28 Oct 2014 at 12:22

Might do, you never know. Reviews for the Koolpad seems pretty good though.

Could perhaps give the official Nexus qireless charger a try, it looks pretty nice.

Redgie · 29 Oct 2014 at 08:56

I'm attempting the cheap-mans approach by asking others

Alas, I'm either going to have to buy another pad or another radio it seems...

Redgie · 30 Jan 2015 at 17:17

Bumping this to say that bought another QI wireless charger and still have interference (slightly better but still awful) with my FM radio. Looks like I'll need to get a new radio