Does the imminent arrival of digital radio fill you with airwave apprehension? Fear not. With Jim Carroll'sguide to digital radio, you can be a DAB hand at the new technology "Digital radio sets have a screen which carries information on the song, show or station"

Radio's digital age has reached Ireland. The launch of a number of Irish digital radio channels in recent weeks and the appearance of sleek Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radio sets in various shops are signs that digital radio in this country is finally a tangible reality.

Even though digital TV has been accepted for quite some time in Ireland, radio broadcasters have been slower to dip their toes in the digi-water. While you can attribute this hesitancy to costs and technology, there's little doubt that many creatives in the radio sector have been impatiently waiting for the jump.

For broadcasters, digital radio is a no-brainer in terms of keeping ears tuned to their medium. It's a technology which has the potential to offer more channels and choice for listeners. It also has the potential to deliver a much better-quality listening experience than FM.

And, depending on the type of set or device you're using, it provides a series of add-ons and extras which digital TV users have long enjoyed.

The question now, though, is whether you and I, the radio audience, will embrace digital radio and its lack of hiss. After all, if no one buys the new DAB sets or bothers to tune in to the new stations, it will turn out to be a waste of time, money and resources, a situation all broadcasters who've signed up to the digital programme want to avoid.

For those considering splashing out on a new DAB radio, here's a bluffer's guide to help you make up your mind.

You've already mentioned DAB a few times. Is this the same as digital radio?

OK, this is one which needs to be clarified. Digital radio is a generic term which takes in all the different means of digital radio listening, while DAB is a new technology designed to transmit audio which requires a special DAB radio set or player to hear.

How much will one of those DAB radio yokes cost me? And where can I get one?

It depends on how much you want to spend and how much bang you want for your buck because there are dozens of options. You can spend very little (€40 will get you a nice retro-looking DAB set similar to the radio that might well be sitting in your kitchen) or you can spend a couple of hundred euro on a state-of-the-art machine which will allow you to avail of DAB's many features (see below). DAB sets are available from a large number of hi-fi, home furnishings, hardware and even those few remaining main-street music retailers.

So if I buy one of these DAB radio yokes this weekend, what will I be able to hear?

Provided that you live in or near Dublin and the north-east coast, the area where trials are currently running, you'll be able to pick up a number of digital-only RTÉ stations (including 2XM, RTÉ Junior, RTÉ Gold, RTÉ Digital Radio News and RTÉ Choice) as well as digital transmissions from such familiar names as 98FM, FM104, Newstalk, Phantom FM, Q102, Today FM, RTÉ Radio 1 and 2FM. Most DAB radio sets will also pick up conventional FM stations.

Those RTÉ stations sound interesting because I've a pain in my ear listening to Gerry Ryan and Derek Mooney

Well, say hello to 2XM which is a DJ-free station playing the best in indie and alternative hits. RTÉ's digital music co-ordinator Mark McCabe recently called it "a music source which will be constantly updated". The last time we listened, we heard Field Music, Editors, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, The Frames, Muse and CSS within an hour.

RTÉ Junior has a diet of pop from big-hitters such as Shakira and Gwen Stefani, along with storytelling and nursery rhymes, and is aimed at the kids (we didn't hear anything from Balamoryor Bob the Builder, though). RTÉ Gold is the classic hits stream with all the Sammy Davis Jr, Police, Madonna, Elvis and Tina Turner your ears will ever require.

RTÉ Digital Radio News and RTÉ Choice, meanwhile, are relaying news reports and documentaries and features which have run on RTÉ Radio One. There's also a dedicated sports channel, Service 10, which was naturally going large on Padraig Harrington this week.

You said earlier that some DAB radios have additional "features". Like what?

It's a bit like the red button on your TV remote control if you have digital TV. Digital radio sets have a screen which carries information on the song, show or station, but the more advanced ones will also allow you to pause or record programmes. Currently, UK trials are under way to allow you to buy music downloads from your radio set at the press of a button.

I assume that all of this Flash Gordon stuff means an end for my old radio?

You mean the great analogue switch-off you may have read about? Just as there is a lot of talk but no firm date about a move to digital-only TV, no one is quite clear about if or when all radio transmissions will go digital. Ireland's DAB Digital Radio Group points out confidently that "DAB and analogue radio will sit side by side for the foreseeable future", so your old radio will still rock.

What's the story with digital radio in Britain? Are they also just entering the race?

Actually, they're at a far more advanced stage when it comes to digital radio. There, it's estimated that more than half the population listens to radio digitally some of the time, with 30 per cent of the population doing so on DAB radio sets.

Of course, the size of this audience owes a lot to ongoing publicity campaigns, the amounts of cash spent on digital radio there (at least £20 million a year invested by the commercial radio sector and much more from the BBC) and the huge number of stations on offer.

Hey, does that mean that I can get those BBC stations on my swanky DAB set you have just persuaded me to buy?

Well, if you live in or near Northern Ireland, you should be able to get those BBC stations as the broadcaster recently doubled their number of NI transmitters. But, as DAB digital radio uses land-based transmitters, you'll experience reception problems the further away you are from these.

It sounds as if I'll have to move to the east coast or Northern Ireland to get my DAB on

The intention is to roll out digital radio nationally, although there are no firm dates for this as yet. We'd recommend holding off on the move for now.

Can I listen to local stations on a DAB radio and will the service from them be any different?

As most DAB radio sets also pick up FM, you'll be able to hear your favourite local station if they're not yet conducting digital trials.

However, all stations at present, with the exception of the special RTÉ channels, are just transmitting their usual programmes.

In time, of course, this may well change, especially as digital radio is rolled out nationally and the bigger radio players in the country invest in digital content.

Before I buy one of those DAB radios (and you'd make a good salesman by the way), can I actually listen to these new RTÉ digital radio stations online and try them out for size?

Listening to the likes of 2XM and RTE Junior online via the RTE website is not possible at present due to copyright limitations. The broadcaster is in negotiations with the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) to get the various issues resolved so it can then stream these channels online.

However, we did come across the British-based Radio Feeds site (www.radiofeeds.co.uk/irish.asp), which is currently streaming all of the Irish digital stations. When asked about this, RTÉ told us that they knew nothing about the site.