wrote:
Hello - I have a Sony XDR-S3HD radio that works pretty well but I
would like to find a way to switch off the "HD" feature of the radio.
The constant switching between analog and "HD" is very annoying and
the "HD" feature really isn't all that good anyway.

Is there a way to switch off the "HD" feature? I've looked in the
manual but it doesn't say much. I've talked to the store I purchased
it from and they said that they have had several complaints about "HD"
radio but didn't know how to switch it off. He also said that they
were no longer stocking this type of radio because they don't sell
very well. I paid $49 for it and would like to get my moneys worth.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have the XDR-F1HD which is a tuner only, and assuming
they're similar, you can't switch it off. There's a
discussion on adding a defeat switch to the F1HD
at http://www.ham-radio.com/k6sti/xdr-f1hd.htm
but assuming that doesn't apply you can just find some way of reducing
the antenna gain, either by moving the antenna or inserting a pad
where it connects to the radio. Once the signal strength drops below a
certain level, the radio will no longer switch into HD. In my area
the one station that would be of interest to me (WNYC) is right on
the edge, so I just use a pair of rabbit ears and angle them to
reduce the gain when I need to.

Regards,
Larry