KRBE HD down

[Mrtejano]

Nope - last one was the old Radio Disney. They shut HD off years ago. There is a hold out in Bryan / College Station on 1620.

Well they're rebroadcasting on HD 2. But yeah that's not the same as being in HD.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Well they're rebroadcasting on HD 2. But yeah that's not the same as being in HD.

I didn't know Radio Disney was on HD-2. I just had to re-program my car HD radio after having to replace a battery. It was time to de-program 99.1 HD-2, change 96.5 HD-2 to HD-3, no more need for 89.3 HD-2 or the 99.5 translator in Sugarland. But I didn't hear Radio Disney anywhere. Maybe I didn't look enough. Programming 104.1 HD-2 was impossible because it is still off the air - UGH!!!!

There are a couple of interesting classic rock stations on 103.9 and 104.3, coverage is poor to spotty.

 

[ContinuousWave]

Well they're rebroadcasting on HD 2. But yeah that's not the same as being in HD.

There is NO HD-2 on AM....and NO Radio Disney (the original format) on any AM except KDIS in LA....there is some RD on HD-2 and -3s across the country on FMs...and they just announced Radio Disney COUNTRY to be on (tada!) AMs and FMs soon!!

 

[ContinuousWave]

I didn't know Radio Disney was on HD-2. I just had to re-program my car HD radio after having to replace a battery. It was time to de-program 99.1 HD-2, change 96.5 HD-2 to HD-3, no more need for 89.3 HD-2 or the 99.5 translator in Sugarland. But I didn't hear Radio Disney anywhere. Maybe I didn't look enough. Programming 104.1 HD-2 was impossible because it is still off the air - UGH!!!!

There are a couple of interesting classic rock stations on 103.9 and 104.3, coverage is poor to spotty.

Radio Disney is NOT on any signal (HD or otherwise) in the Houston market AFAIK....(I used to work there remember?).

As to 104.1 HD-2, it will be back soon enough Bruce....you're about the only one who complains/notices.....(I dont even have a HD radio so I dont listen to it...I COULD via the stream...or just find anyone with Westwood 1s True Oldies Channel....thats all it is)

 

[rbrucecarter5]

As to 104.1 HD-2, it will be back soon enough Bruce....you're about the only one who complains/notices.....(I dont even have a HD radio so I dont listen to it...I COULD via the stream...or just find anyone with Westwood 1s True Oldies Channel....thats all it is)

So - am I the only listener to HD radio in the entire city of Houston? Or the only one that cares about it?

 

[davideduardo]

There is NO HD-2 on AM....and NO Radio Disney (the original format) on any AM except KDIS in LA....there is some RD on HD-2 and -3s across the country on FMs...and they just announced Radio Disney COUNTRY to be on (tada!) AMs and FMs soon!!

The LA Disney actually flipped a few weeks back to the country format, abandoning the pop version. At the same time, they "lit up" a translator without authorization, causing iHeart to run screaming to the FCC over interference to one of its nearby FM operations.

 

[AnyHuman]

LOL, "run screaming to the FCC".

 

[BamaTX]

So - am I the only listener to HD radio in the entire city of Houston? Or the only one that cares about it?

You're not the only one, but I'm willing to bet you're part of a minority.

My old SUV used to have factory installed HD radio. I traded it in and the new truck doesn't have HD...can't say I miss it. I'm almost exclusively using Bluetooth media now. HD radio just never took off.

 

[stan]

I used to listen to HD when in Houston and locally in the Triangle until iHurt put crap on all their HD-2 channels and KVLU dropped their HD altogether. I'd like to see an AM station use HD. I've heard it elsewhere and it sounds better than the standard broadcast AM and unlike CQUAM there is a standard that new radios can decode.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I used to listen to HD when in Houston and locally in the Triangle until iHurt put crap on all their HD-2 channels and KVLU dropped their HD altogether. I'd like to see an AM station use HD. I've heard it elsewhere and it sounds better than the standard broadcast AM and unlike CQUAM there is a standard that new radios can decode.

I was in a position to compare an AM music station before, when they were C-Quam, and after, when they converted to HD. Before any troll chimes in and accuses me of having a bad radio - it was a local station, the radios were getting plenty of signal, they were in good condition, etc. Mandatory "troll away" statement done. The station changed virtually overnight, so the playlist pre the C-Quam / HD switch was the same as after. Here are (admittedly subjective) results. A number of the songs contained a fair amount of high frequency content, triangles, cymbals, etc. When the station was C-Quam, the high frequency content was crisp and clear ( I was listening on a TM-152 which definitely was NOT bandwidth limited). The same songs, when the station transitioned to HD, sounded completely different. Highs were muddied, distorted, and it sounded like time shifted with respect to the lower frequency content. A triangle, which appeared in high kHz when the station was broadcasting C-Quam, was curiously shifted way down in frequency - as were most of the other percussion instruments. It made for a very surreal sounding experience! Digital artifacts were very apparent, and it was fatiguing to listen to the station for extended periods of time. I found myself lamenting the decision of the station to go HD, because the sound was very inferior. Maybe HD is acceptable to new talk formats where there is no high frequency content in speech, but it is definitely not living up to its promise to "make AM sound like FM". In case you think it was an isolated incident, bad HD encoder or something - there was another AM music station in the city, which was in C-Quam and changed to HD. The results were similar. Personally, I'd like to see AM HD discontinued in favor of wideband mono, or preferably C-Quam.

 

[Mrtejano]

I didn't know Radio Disney was on HD-2. I just had to re-program my car HD radio after having to replace a battery. It was time to de-program 99.1 HD-2, change 96.5 HD-2 to HD-3, no more need for 89.3 HD-2 or the 99.5 translator in Sugarland. But I didn't hear Radio Disney anywhere. Maybe I didn't look enough. Programming 104.1 HD-2 was impossible because it is still off the air - UGH!!!!

There are a couple of interesting classic rock stations on 103.9 and 104.3, coverage is poor to spotty.

I meant AM STATIONS.

 

[stan]

I was in a position to compare an AM music station before, when they were C-Quam, and after, when they converted to HD. Before any troll chimes in and accuses me of having a bad radio - it was a local station, the radios were getting plenty of signal, they were in good condition, etc. Mandatory "troll away" statement done. The station changed virtually overnight, so the playlist pre the C-Quam / HD switch was the same as after. Here are (admittedly subjective) results. A number of the songs contained a fair amount of high frequency content, triangles, cymbals, etc. When the station was C-Quam, the high frequency content was crisp and clear ( I was listening on a TM-152 which definitely was NOT bandwidth limited). The same songs, when the station transitioned to HD, sounded completely different. Highs were muddied, distorted, and it sounded like time shifted with respect to the lower frequency content. A triangle, which appeared in high kHz when the station was broadcasting C-Quam, was curiously shifted way down in frequency - as were most of the other percussion instruments. It made for a very surreal sounding experience! Digital artifacts were very apparent, and it was fatiguing to listen to the station for extended periods of time. I found myself lamenting the decision of the station to go HD, because the sound was very inferior. Maybe HD is acceptable to new talk formats where there is no high frequency content in speech, but it is definitely not living up to its promise to "make AM sound like FM". In case you think it was an isolated incident, bad HD encoder or something - there was another AM music station in the city, which was in C-Quam and changed to HD. The results were similar. Personally, I'd like to see AM HD discontinued in favor of wideband mono, or preferably C-Quam.

And yet, CQUAM is dead except for you and CW that have 30 year old radios to decode it. This is the problem that exists today for AM. If HD can't provide comparable quality to a 30 year old discontinued technology, then AM radio doesn't have much future for music.

 

[ContinuousWave]

KRBEs HDs returned to the air last night after all the feedline work and testing was wrapped up at Senior Rd....(yes that includes the HD-2! which I do have a table top INSIGNIA listening to here at the office)...

 

[ContinuousWave]

. Personally, I'd like to see AM HD discontinued in favor of wideband mono, or preferably C-Quam.

If only we could get the manufacturers to do it..or (good luck!) get the FCC to mandate better receivers....MOST AMs already transmit wideband (up to10Khz)....I wish CQUAM/AMAX with Noise Blanking was mandated in ANY radio with FM stereo....AM would have a chance then.....I still love the medium and feel it can still serve...

 

[frankberry]

AM sounded even better before the 10kHz brick wall was mandated.

 

[2Speakers]

If only we could get the manufacturers to do it..or (good luck!) get the FCC to mandate better receivers....MOST AMs already transmit wideband (up to10Khz)....I wish CQUAM/AMAX with Noise Blanking was mandated in ANY radio with FM stereo....AM would have a chance then.....I still love the medium and feel it can still serve...

Good luck. BMW has an electric car with no AM radio at all.

Apparently, the car's motors create so much interference, AM isn't practical in the car.

I see more manufacturers going this route before improving their AM tuners.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Good luck. BMW has an electric car with no AM radio at all.

Apparently, the car's motors create so much interference, AM isn't practical in the car.

I see more manufacturers going this route before improving their AM tuners.

I am seeing newer rental cars without HD on FM, without an AM band, or with the radio options so buried that it is hard to find them. They all seem to default to bluetooth ON. All have satellite channels on presets when you do find the radio, maybe with a token local or two. Pandora also seems to be featured. Unfortunately I have seen a lot of rental cars over the last FIVE MONTHS that it took to repair my daughter's vehicle. Fascinating study in rental cars from Enterprise that kept insisting we change out every couple of weeks, I bet I have seen a dozen different makes and models. HD was in maybe two out of the dozen 2016 / 2017 models we rented. She doesn't use or like HD-2, doesn't know the format / it blanks out too much. Less than 20 miles from Senior road towers. She liked the dance format, and one of the country HD-2 formats, but didn't know how to tune them / gave up the first couple of times they blanked out. VERY annoying while you are driving. I can tell you honestly - I think only DX'ers can make HD work, and only fanatics about a format are putting up with the blank outs. I guess I qualify on both fronts - but the ugly, disgusting, gauche trolls have told me over and over again I am an obsolete, strange, unvaluable person for DX'ing or liking oldies / smooth jazz / classical / modern rock / anything they can't monetize to the tasteless masses. Or for not knowing much about a foreign language artist with less top-40 hits than a English speaking artist with the same name.

 

[davideduardo]

Good luck. BMW has an electric car with no AM radio at all.

Apparently, the car's motors create so much interference, AM isn't practical in the car.

I see more manufacturers going this route before improving their AM tuners.

Keep in mind that BMW, after all, is from a European country. If we look at the status of AM on the Continent, we see a few government broadcasters maintain some remaining AMs on the air, but there are less and less every year. In some cases, such as France, it's been noticed that, as equipment reaches EOL, it is not replaced and the stations go silent.

So the logical attitude from European manufacturers would lean towards dropping AM. In the case of the $80,000 electric car, they must have said, "not worth the effort and money for something nobody uses". And in most US markets, that is increasingly true, too.

 

[davideduardo]

I think only DX'ers can make HD work, and only fanatics about a format are putting up with the blank outs.

In many metros, the ability to license a decent translator if you have an HD-2 or HD-3 to translate (woned or leased) makes HD very interesting to many broadcasters.

Because Over the Air broadcasters are much more interested in other platforms than in additions to the FM platform, there is not much focus on pure-play HD channels. But there is profit in the HD + Translator formula.

I guess I qualify on both fronts - but the ugly, disgusting, gauche trolls have told me over and over again I am an obsolete, strange, unvaluable person for DX'ing or liking oldies / smooth jazz / classical / modern rock / anything they can't monetize to the tasteless masses. Or for not knowing much about a foreign language artist with less top-40 hits than a English speaking artist with the same name.

"Ugly and disgusting" translates into "realists".

The formats you describe generally can not sustain the cost of operation of a station. Not "taste" but reality. What you are complaining about is no different than lamenting the decline in the number of pay phones in America.

Not knowing about a Tejano artist that had more hits in Houston than the "English speaking artist with the same name" just indicates that you are not aware of your local culture and environment and are missing great experiences.

P.S. Selena Quintanilla was primarily "English Speaking" and had to be tutored in Spanish to make her first recordings. Her family's Texas heritage is likely generations deeper than yours.

 

[Mrtejano]

Or for not knowing much about a foreign language artist with less top-40 hits than a English speaking artist with the same name.

Again She wasn't foreign she was American born in Texas. And there's no Foreign language in USA. No official language either.