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FCC Approves Digital AM

R

rbc

The FCC approved today the adoption of a rulemaking allowing AM stations to transition to all-digital operation.

Hubbard Radio’s “The Gamut” 820 WWFD Frederick MD has been operating in all digital mode since July 16, 2018 in collaboration with HD Radio owner Xperi. The new rulemaking will allow AM stations to go all-digital and establish operating parameters for doing so.
[...]

See the full article: FCC Approves Digital AM
 
rbc said:
The FCC approved today the adoption of a rulemaking allowing AM stations to transition to all-digital operation.

Hubbard Radio’s “The Gamut” 820 WWFD Frederick MD has been operating in all digital mode since July 16, 2018 in collaboration with HD Radio owner Xperi. The new rulemaking will allow AM stations to go all-digital and establish operating parameters for doing so.
[...]

See the full article: FCC Approves Digital AM
Click to expand...

This is announcing an NPRM Notice of Proposed Rule Making, not a new rule. It includes a comment period for old curmudgeons to make written forward-thinking comments like: AM radio is fine the way it is! , "I-BUZZ", or other well informed metaphors.
 
Kelly A said:
This is announcing an NPRM Notice of Proposed Rule Making, not a new rule. It includes a comment period for old curmudgeons to make written forward-thinking comments like: AM radio is fine the way it is! , "I-BUZZ", or other well informed metaphors.
Click to expand...

Sure, but I think it's a move that will allow the AM band to grow again. I think Dave Kolesar's remarks about the Nielson ratings shows signs of that. I'm sure the audiophiles will never be satisfied with digital AM at its present level of technology, but when you're driving your car down the road with the related road noise, most listeners won't notice.
 
rbc said:
Sure, but I think it's a move that will allow the AM band to grow again. I think Dave Kolesar's remarks about the Nielson ratings shows signs of that. I'm sure the audiophiles will never be satisfied with digital AM at its present level of technology, but when you're driving your car down the road with the related road noise, most listeners won't notice.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying anything negative about allowing AM stations to go full-digital. Quite the opposite. What I was pointing out that unlike the thread title, the FCC has not approved anything yet. This is a Proposed Rulemaking. Public comments are still forthcoming, many of which will be from old timers who think anything digital is bunk, and that AM is fine the way it is.
 
rbc said:
I think it's a move that will allow the AM band to grow again.
Click to expand...

Only if people throw away their phones and computers. That might happen, since the politicians want to break up big tech companies.

The biggest issue will be to get manufacturers to make and market radios that can receive it.
 
TheBigA said:
Only if people throw away their phones and computers. That might happen, since the politicians want to break up big tech companies.

The biggest issue will be to get manufacturers to make and market radios that can receive it.
Click to expand...

I agree. The lack of radios (and a standard) helped kill of AM Stereo years ago. (I still have one though!)
Perhaps if enough stations go all-digital that might prompt manufacturers to do that, but it would have to be quite a few in order for that needle to move.

And I will reiterate: I am in favor of allowing stations to make this change if they want to. I hope the FCC winds up adopting the rule.
 
TheBigA said:
Only if people throw away their phones and computers. That might happen, since the politicians want to break up big tech companies.

The biggest issue will be to get manufacturers to make and market radios that can receive it.
Click to expand...

They already make them. But, as with most standalone radios, someone has to be into radio to get them or know where to find them.

I got mine at a local box store that features electronics, computers, and appliances.
 
boombox4 said:
I got mine at a local box store that features electronics, computers, and appliances.
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How many choices were available at that store? How much marketing was done for the radio?

I assume you're talking about Best Buy, and at one time they made an Insignia FM/HD radio.
 
TheBigA said:
How many choices were available at that store? How much marketing was done for the radio?

I assume you're talking about Best Buy, and at one time they made an Insignia FM/HD radio.
Click to expand...

And they had an agreement with the HD Alliance to stock the radios in exchange for being tagged on the Alliance HD promos all member groups had to run.

The HD Alliance was a Cluster Farce from the beginning.

I insisted our group (HBC) drop out as the marketing and the concepts were wrong for our target audience and we could see no benefit for the industry overall.

As proof of that, Best Buy did not renew the deal because the radios did not sell.
 
boombox4 said:
They already make them. But, as with most standalone radios, someone has to be into radio to get them or know where to find them.

I got mine at a local box store that features electronics, computers, and appliances.
Click to expand...

Amazon sells a dozen or so HD radios, mostly from Sangean. I own two of them (both HDR-16s), and they work great. HD on Ancient Modulation is a disaster, but on FM, it does give me stations and formats I couldn't otherwise get, including a couple of AM sports stations (KGME, KDUS) that don't have translators. It's also the only way to hear jazz 24/7 in Phoenix, via KJZZ-HD2.
 
tested said:
I agree. The lack of radios (and a standard) helped kill of AM Stereo years ago.
Click to expand...

Actually, there was finally a chosen standard: Motorola CQUAM. What killed AM Stereo was:

1. The FCC making the standard selection a "Marketplace" decision. Problem was; there was no market for AM Stereo.
2. Leonard Kahn, who filed numerous lawsuits after losing to the Motorola system.
3. Music jumping ship from AM to FM
4. AM, as a band.

tested said:
Perhaps if enough stations go all-digital that might prompt manufacturers to do that, but it would have to be quite a few in order for that needle to move.
Click to expand...

The existing HD Radios will decode MA3, all digital AM. No modifications needed
 
Kelly A said:
Actually, there was finally a chosen standard: Motorola CQUAM. What killed AM Stereo was:

1. The FCC making the standard selection a "Marketplace" decision. Problem was; there was no market for AM Stereo.
2. Leonard Kahn, who filed numerous lawsuits after losing to the Motorola system.
3. Music jumping ship from AM to FM
4. AM, as a band.



The existing HD Radios will decode MA3, all digital AM. No modifications needed
Click to expand...
That's true. C-QUAM was chosen as the industry standard in 1993, long after virtually everyone had abandoned AM stereo and music was mostly absent on AM. If they'd stuck with Magnavox in 1980, it might have made a difference. Who knows?
 
semoochie said:
That's true. C-QUAM was chosen as the industry standard in 1993, long after virtually everyone had abandoned AM stereo and music was mostly absent on AM. If they'd stuck with Magnavox in 1980, it might have made a difference. Who knows?
Click to expand...

When the Magnavox system was first chosen by the Commission in the early 80's, Kahn and Motorola started filing lawsuits immediately. Following the dust-up, the Commission, in an effort to just make this matter go away, decided to let the marketplace decide. As mentioned; the marketplace really didn't care about AM for music anymore, so several more years went by with no standard. The clock finally ran out and the Commission decided on the manufacturer with the most AM stereo stations in service at the time, Motorola. (Still only a handful) True to form, Leonard started filing more lawsuits at everyone. Magnavox had moved on with bigger problems with their business and could care less about defending the FCC's original decision.
 
Kelly A said:
When the Magnavox system was first chosen by the Commission in the early 80's, Kahn and Motorola started filing lawsuits immediately.
Click to expand...

And the fact is, as mentioned earlier, by the time this happened, it was already too late. Music had already moved to FM, and the public was satisfied with that.
 
KeithE4 said:
Amazon sells a dozen or so HD radios, mostly from Sangean. I own two of them (both HDR-16s), and they work great. HD on Ancient Modulation is a disaster, but on FM, it does give me stations and formats I couldn't otherwise get, including a couple of AM sports stations (KGME, KDUS) that don't have translators. It's also the only way to hear jazz 24/7 in Phoenix, via KJZZ-HD2.
Click to expand...

I know Fry's, an electronics retailer with stores all over the western US, sells Sangean HDR-16's. But yeah, Amazon has several, and Amazon may not be a box store, but they are a major retailer.
 
The one thing I'll say that makes the whole "All-digital" AM different from AM Stereo is the availability of receivers. Lots of cars have HD radios. You can buy them in a lot of places. When AM Stereo came out and the 5 systems were competing for stations, there were very few receivers available because manufacturers didn't want to put money behind a system that didn't win. After AM had largely lost all music, you could find C-Quam receivers, but there really wasn't any reason to get one at that point.

I don't know what will happen if the FCC adopts this rule, but I'm okay with it. I'll mostly be interested to see how many stations flip to all-digital and in what markets that happens. It's hard to imagine that some big market popular AM station would do it, but there are plenty of good signals in big markets with low or no ratings that might.
 
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