And that level of exclusive programming is very rare in this streaming world. If I want to listen to CBS Sports Radio, I can do so on their app - Fighting to listen to 1230 while in the boroughs of NYC is not necessary.
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Are we still romanticizing this fairy tale? As I recall AM stations in Texas kept broadcasting their syndicated rightwing talk shows during the recent weather disaster where people lost power, internet and phones and literally froze to death.
However, this isn't Texas; this is the New York metropolitan area, where we have two all-news AM radio stations without analog FM transmitters. WCBS and WINS have served us well during crises over the years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Before you bring up the Audacy app, I need to point out that there are many households in the area that do not have access to Wi-Fi. That is in addition to not having access to an HD radio receiver.
You lost me. Are you actually trying to compare WFAS, a long-forgotten, dead suburban flea-powered AM, with WCBS or WINS?
All I'm saying is that the entire AM band should not be dismissed because of stations like WFAS that have long outlived their usefulness.
The excessive number of stations the FCC has licensed has caused many to have literally no staff and no local news department. Naturally, during any kind of emergency, they can not create special programming because they have no qualified people.
I'd bet $5 that the number of people who have access to WiFi or cellular data is larger than the number who have an AM receiver in their home. Even in New York, where there are still several AM stations with significant listenership.
It's not really any better in an emergency than FM.
The big advantage of AM over FM is coverage. If a whole city is "silenced", nearby city FM's can't be heard but AMs from "over mountains" and across fairly big distances in the daytime can be heard. At night, AMs from hundreds of miles away can be easily heard.
What is the "power ratio" that digital AM has to be reduce versus analog? I can see where an accountant could be interested, if you have a big power bill AM station programing a translator.
What is the "patent cost" to the receiver manufacturer for AM digital? The cost of developing the technology has already been spent. One would think something under 50 cents per receiver might work. Is there a royalty fee to manufacture FM HD receivers?
A few years ago, Cumulus had asked the operator of the translator that was mounted on the WFAS AM tower to remove it. It used to rebroadcast an a/c format "FAS-FM" from an HD subschannel, on 94.3. A new site is still being sought for it.
Would it make sense to bring the translator back to the tower, this time to rebroadcast WFAS AM? That would not only extend its range, but make it receivable on conventional radios.
Would it make sense to bring the translator back to the tower, this time to rebroadcast WFAS AM? That would not only extend its range, but make it receivable on conventional radios.
Bridgelight already has an app filed to move 94.3 down to the Bronx (from the top of the apartments that straddle the Cross Bronx Expressway just east of the GWB. Not sure if they actually plan to build there, or if there are other plans afoot. I believe the idea of 94.3 coming back to Secor Road is dead and buried.
I doubt anyone would approve it considering WNSH 94.7 is eventually moving closer to NYC.
BTW, did WNSH ever consider using a translator to boost its signal in Manhattan instead of moving the main transmitter?
J
Joylovepulse967
Guest
Do you have a video of it
WFAS AM is now transmitting only on HD. They are still broadcasting CBS Sports Radio. As one may expect, on a conventional AM radio, only hash is being heard.
As this is ahead of the expected date (5/24), perhaps this is a test.
I'm not sure whether they have been notifying their listeners of the switch to HD a month in advance, as required.
As this is ahead of the expected date (5/24), perhaps this is a test.
I'm not sure whether they have been notifying their listeners of the switch to HD a month in advance, as required.
Here in central NJ I used to hear about a 50/50 mix on 1230 kHz between WFAS and WEEX (Fox Sports from Easton, PA). Today I heard mostly hash noise with a little bit of WEEX peeking through. My car radio is HD Radio equipped, but it never gave any indication of an HD signal being present on the frequency, even though it is usually very good at being able to light up the HD logo on signals that are far too weak to decode in digital.
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