AM Going away?

[jras20]

When I left for work today my boss said he heard on NPR that the FCC is going to do away with AM. Is this true? I couldn't find any info about this. I wasn't sure where to post this question but figured someone may know something.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

There are already two or three threads on that topic active here at this time. Here is the "Readers Digest" version: One loose-canon member of the FCC is "running some ideas up the flagpole to see anyone will salute." At this point, it is a question, a thought thrown out for discussion to see if there any traction.

My favorite response (I think was posted by TheBigA) said: This FCC guy sits in the Republican Seat. He is crying "the Sky is Falling" as in the fable by Chicken Little. He actually wants to protect AM from being wiped out.... so that Talk Radio will still have a limb to roost on. (Or should that be a LIMBaugh to roost on? )

I wouldn't burn my AM receivers just yet.

Find one of the other threads and you will find a link to a newspaper article on the subject.

 

[bturner]

Not going to happen in the near future. There are thousands of AM stations that have to go somewhere. Expanding FM would be a multi-year roll-out and nobody on AM would accept anything that puts them more at a disadvantage and if that should happen you could expect of years of fierce fighting over those available frequencies with each camp claiming the FCC is ignoring them. An angry group could effectively get their way or a favorable compromise with the FCC by using the FCC's finite resources and budget through taking them to court.

There is an FCC Commissioner that is trying to vitalize AM but is rather vague in how that might happen. It is true that the FCC has looked at eventually, years from now, dropping the AM band due to the noise level, etc. I saw nothing about a timeframe.

Generally speaking the top billing radio stations in the country have been on the AM dial but that is misleading. Most AM stations are not that economically viable but WFAN AM in New York City is sometimes the highest billing station in the country and if not, in the top 5 at least. So, with numerous high billing stations and the incredible coverage of AMs, especially the 50,000 waters, at night, it is almost a matter of national security to keep AM alive. The top of the Emergency Alert System food chain is an elite group of AM stations around the country.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The latest chatter involves throwing away any co-channel interference concerns and allowing AM stations to crank up the power, ditch or loosen up directional arrays, and essentially blanket the local market while drowning out everything else. Of course, it would be a colossal mess past a certain distance--sort of like the "graveyard" channels on steroids.

I still think the FM band should be expanded down to 76 MHz and some procedure put in place to allow the migration of current AM stations there. Wouldn't necessarily mean the end of AM, but it would put existing stations on an even playing field while perhaps allowing signal upgrades for those that remain on AM.

The expansion down to 76 MHz would mean 60 new channels, assuming the current 200 kHz spacing is retained. Too bad it couldn't be taken down to 66 MHz, but there is the odd 4 meter band (72-76 MHz) in the way (although I supposed modern digital tuners could simply skip over that, going directly from 71.9 to 76.1 when scanning upwards.)

 

[radiobop]

The collective cost, time and effort to migrate AM stations to an expanded FM band given the present state of broadcast radio in the US would be the biggest boondoggle of all time in the arena of broadcasting (exceeded only, perhaps, by the advent of HD!)...virtually all existing home and car radios would be incapable of picking up the new signals and stations would have to put in new towers and transmitters probably simulcasting on their current AM facilities and on and on and on---and for what? The general economics of the business for individual stations in small-to-medium markets are not favorable and the younger generation no longer listens to radio (not to mention reads books, magazines or newspapers or visits a library or watches TV for the news)...let's face it, the world has changed... AM was and that's life...

 

[jras20]

Would the sound on FM still be the same if it went down to 76mhz?

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

The "fidelity" of the sound should be the same. What might be different: interference because of tunnelling, distortion due to multipath, etc. BUT.... 76 mHZ might be BETTER than 108 for all we know.

 

[Mediafrog+]

The collective cost, time and effort to migrate AM stations to an expanded FM band given the present state of broadcast radio in the US would be the biggest boondoggle of all time in the arena of broadcasting (exceeded only, perhaps, by the advent of HD!)...virtually all existing home and car radios would be incapable of picking up the new signals and stations would have to put in new towers and transmitters probably simulcasting on their current AM facilities and on and on and on---and for what?

Yes, it would be a big task to move all those AM stations to FM, but the television digital transition is sort of a precedent. Also don't forget the expansion of the AM band in the 1990's. In both cases receivers were quickly available to cover the change. And there would be a number of overlap years.

But I see your point: Most of those stations might be doomed regardless of any move to FM. Changing technology and listener preferences might be the dagger in the heart for a lot of radio station owners, as the Internet becomes more ubiquitous. Sort of like OTA subscription television in the early 1980's, which was overtaken by the rapid expansion of cable TV--simply too late to the party to save itself.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Would the sound on FM still be the same if it went down to 76mhz?

Wouldn't make any difference, same transmission format and not that much of a change in wavelength. Japan's FM band runs from 76 to 90 MHz. And there are a number of countries that still use the "other" FM band that runs from 66 to 74 MHz (if you search "OIRT FM band" on YouTube you'll find some bandscans of that lower FM band in Moscow and other cities.)

 

[N1WVQ]

I would still rather see an expanded F.M. band be opened up to non-commercial broadcasting. Some of these A.M. stations once had F.M.s but sold them at some point in their histories. My reasoning comes from 2 places: 1. the chance to see more stations for colleges & high schools (now, running them properly is another thing entirely) and 2. the downward prices of A.M.s would allow them to eventually come into the hands of more people who could run them on a small budget. I would welcome such an opportunity, personally. So long as the current DMCA stands, I am uninterested in webcasting. Pressing PLAY on a computer or CD player does NOT constitute a "performance" by a musician!

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

2. the downward prices of A.M.s would allow them to eventually come into the hands of more people who could run them on a small budget. I would welcome such an opportunity, personally.

Something would have to change for this part of your "wants" to actually bear fruit. The dream is if the entry-price gets low enough, people with good intentions (whatever that may mean) would enter the business and displace the mess caused by "the fast buck artists" who have trafficked in low priced stations. That would require that regulators (the FCC) be mandated to adopt some of the mentality that hovered over them in the 1940s and 1950s.

There is a second roadblock to your dream. (Maybe it is OUR dream... I can on occasion hold a rather altruistic view of broadcasting in American life.) There was a time that the entry-level capital needs were the killer. If you could just get your hands on the license in the first place, blood-sweat-and-tears melted away the cost-of-operations issues. I don't think that is true today. Whether it is your personal life and budget, or your business venture budget, the "cost of gitt'n by" has mushroomed compared to the capital requirements.

As much as I would like to see small-man-bravado entrepreneur-ism blossom in radio broadcasting, I have grown pessimistic that it can happen... at least in a form that we who remember the past would recognize. Even the smallest broadcast operations today need an understanding of what the MBA crowd has brought to the American business scene.

 

[KeithE4]

The latest chatter involves throwing away any co-channel interference concerns and allowing AM stations to crank up the power, ditch or loosen up directional arrays, and essentially blanket the local market while drowning out everything else. Of course, it would be a colossal mess past a certain distance--sort of like the "graveyard" channels on steroids.

As long as each station covers its entire market with no interference from other stations, the interference in areas outside of those areas won't matter.

I still think the FM band should be expanded down to 76 MHz and some procedure put in place to allow the migration of current AM stations there. Wouldn't necessarily mean the end of AM, but it would put existing stations on an even playing field while perhaps allowing signal upgrades for those that remain on AM.

The expansion down to 76 MHz would mean 60 new channels, assuming the current 200 kHz spacing is retained. Too bad it couldn't be taken down to 66 MHz, but there is the odd 4 meter band (72-76 MHz) in the way (although I supposed modern digital tuners could simply skip over that, going directly from 71.9 to 76.1 when scanning upwards.)

Can we finally put this to rest? The FCC has made it clear that Channels 2 thru 6 will remain television channels.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

When I left for work today my boss said he heard on NPR that the FCC is going to do away with AM. Is this true? I couldn't find any info about this. I wasn't sure where to post this question but figured someone may know something.

NPR - now THERE is an intelligent source of unbiased truth (sarcastic sneer). I'll listen to them for music - but the talk has about as much truth as any other talk on the radio. Whether it is extremist left wing garbage, extremist right wing garbage, preaching style from the 1940's, slob sports - they talk, I walk.

AM isn't going anywhere - but to more and more brokered and paid infomercial. There will be so many brokered stations on AM, with so much cash to be made that AM will hang on for decades. Of course, it will be so irrelevant it will be more difficult to find an AM radio by then than it is to find an HD home radio now. When ratings or mass appeal don't matter, a whole lot of transmitters will be burning electricity for fewer and fewer niche audiences. But the band will still be packed with stations. All un-listened to, for the most part.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

NPR - now THERE is an intelligent source of unbiased truth (sarcastic sneer). I'll listen to them for music - but the talk has about as much truth as any other talk on the radio. Whether it is extremist left wing garbage, extremist right wing garbage, preaching style from the 1940's, slob sports - they talk, I walk.

Bruce- I wouldn't tackle some people head-on who post on this subject, but in your case, let me make an exception. In discussing various genres of Christian music in other threads, I know you are committed to a personal committment of sharing your faith.

May I suggest that because of that, you have some obligation to deal with NPR in a more charitable way.

I did Talk Radio a number of years ago in a very FUNDAMENTALIST setting. I have been a "commissioner" to the national gathering of a significantly LIBERAL church denomination.

When I read what you posted, I just wag my head back and forth and mutter: "It's obvious Bruce seldom or never listens to NPR long enough to make up his own mind what they do." In fact that was part of your post: You don't listen to anybody's talk. That being the case, what are your credentials to make a public announcement that NPR is a source of untruthful news. How would you know?

Sometime when you are in a good mood, figure out some way to work an hour or two of Morning Edition from NPR into your breakfast time or into your commute. Do that for a month or two and let's have this conversation all over again.

I read liberal stuff. I read conservative stuff. I read The News... whatever that consists of. I can sort out liberal from conservative from facts. Can you?

 

[johndavis]

As long as each station covers its entire market with no interference from other stations, the interference in areas outside of those areas won't matter.

Except the laws of physics get in the way. Crank up the power, loosen the directional array, and yes, you will cover your market and step on everyone else on your frequency after dark.

I go back to what happened when they told all the "local" frequencies like 1230 that they could run 1kw unlimited, non-D as long as they accepted whatever interference they got. If you kill the transmitter and listen to the air monitor, it sounds like you're in a crowded room with lots of people talking because there's so much garbage there from everyone else on the same frequency. Fire the transmitter back up and you rise above the noise until you drive into a part of town where someone else clobbers you. End result: you still don't cover the market, and neither will anybody else.

AM is a different beast than FM. The only way you could increase coverage for some stations is to sign off a bunch of others. Physics is a bee-yotch.

 

[DJboutit3]

AM will go away when the FM band is expanded and ch 5 & 6 are opened up for fm broadcasting I see this happening within 20 yrs

 

[KeithE4]

AM will go away when the FM band is expanded and ch 5 & 6 are opened up for fm broadcasting I see this happening within 20 yrs

Unless broadcast television is shut down completely, the FM band will not expand (it can't go above 108 MHz for any reason). The FCC has already said so.

 

[DJboutit3]

Unless broadcast television is shut down completely, the FM band will not expand (it can't go above 108 MHz for any reason). The FCC has already said so.

I am not talking about going above I am talking about opening 85.1 to 87.7 could even open 81.1 to 87.7 since the DTV switch

 

[KeithE4]

I am not talking about going above I am talking about opening 85.1 to 87.7 could even open 81.1 to 87.7 since the DTV switch

The FM band will not go below its current 88 MHz. The FCC has made that clear. 20 years from now, who knows? Everything may be online by then (unlikely, but not impossible). But unless OTA television goes away completely, the VHF TV channels will still be used for that service.

 

[purpledevil]

We're going to look back on the last sentence of John Davis's post in the future and wonder if he's somehow related to Nostradamus. On AM, only the strong (or deeply pocketed) will survive.