Hepburn Mk2 DAB Radio

The Hepburn MKII (also written Hepburn 2, and VQ Hepburn MK2) is a DAB/DAB+, FM, and Bluetooth Speaker radio designed by the British View Quest Corporation, and manufactured in China. This radio can receive DAB transmissions and also ordinary FM broadcasts. You can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker for your Smartphone. It is a portable radio that uses a rechargeable battery pack. The replacement battery pack is the VQ Hepburn MKII rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack which has 6600 mAh charge capacity, and provides approximately 25-hours of operation (depending upon volume level). It can also operate with a mains adapter that produces 9 V DC (2000 mA) and has a barrel plug termination. At the back, it also has a USB socket capable of charging other 5 V USB based devices such as phones.

Review

This is a lovely radio design with a modern twist that I liked very much. It has some very useful functions such as dual alarms so you can wake up to a radio station or a buzzer. There is also a countdown timer with 99-minutes range, which is useful in the kitchen when cooking. It has a nice set of easy-reach buttons at the top, including alarm and snooze. Amazingly, there is also an equalizer function with seven equalization settings. This is useful if you are in different types of environments where the acoustics are different. One very useful function is that it can set the date and time automatically through the DAB radio signal. This is extremely useful as I hate fiddling with clock functions and having to set them regularly. The display is very clear and bright due to the backlight, and it has high, medium, and low brightness settings. When I saw the picture, my impression was that the carry handle must be plastic; however it is metal with white paint finish. The dimensions are 285 mm × 75 mm × 155 mm.

When I first saw this radio, my impression was that it was mono with one speaker, but actually it is stereo. For some reason, the manual or sales literature does not mention this, or perhaps I missed it. I realised it was stereo when I opened it and saw two speakers! However there is also a menu option in the Audio Settings for Forced Mono or Stereo. However, all stereo stations are reproduced in stereo.

One very strong point going for this radio is the sound quality because it is excellent to say the least. When I opened mine for repair I found two full-range 8-watt 4 Ω speaker drivers with ultra-wide shallow-angled cones. This was something very new that I was very keen to see and experience for myself, and I was impressed. Inside the radio case, there is an acoustically sealed compartment that houses the speakers. There is also a baffle tube which produces a wonderful smooth base usually associated with large speakers.

Technology and electronics wise, it looks good too. The digital radio module is DAB and DAB+ compliant hence you get the best of both worlds. The FM reception is also very good. The Bluetooth module is also a very good one and I did not have any problems with connecting to my Smartphone. The Hepburn is of course targeted for the female persuasion, and would make a great present, however, I’d like to see a version for the guys as well. Perhaps in army camouflage and called Rambo MK2...

Cost/eBay

Brand new, these stereo DAB radios would be worth around one hundred pounds and are very desirable. I managed to snag this pre-used one on the eBay auction for ten pounds. It was in the spares and repairs section and in a right state with a snapped-off aerial, damage to the soft outer skin, and paint coming off the buttons and knobs. Unfortunately, there was no rechargeable battery inside either so I had to power it with a makeshift adapter. The main problem was that it was not switching ON. As it turned out, the power button was stuck IN. Although the fix was simple, I had to literally dismantle it to gain access to the buttons. But even so, I like it! I managed to replace the broken aerial and hopefully should be able to find a rechargeable battery for it as well. In the following pages of this article you can see the inside engineering and repair.

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