102.9 translator has HD

[mgpt6]

Noticed this afternoon at work that 102.9FM translator in Lawrence has HD. HD-1 is AM800 and HD-2 is 1110AM. Caught on an Insignia portable HD in the parking lot.

 

[aaronread]

According to the CDBS, they were granted an STA two weeks ago for running IBOC at -10dBc injection, too.

Oddly enough, I don't see any Digital Notification filings in the CDBS. (shrug)

I wonder if this is the first FM translator that's running IBOC via its own Exporter? It's not the first IBOC translator, period...that belongs to a prototype running on a translator in Utah for KUER, IIRC. The first non-prototype was W212BA in Geneva, NY. But both of those used Larcan frequency-shifting technology so that a separate Exporter (and thus, a separate license fee to iBiquity) was not necessary. By definition, W275BH can't do that since they're relaying an AM...not an FM...and AM IBOC (which I believe WNNW is still running...?) cannot multicast.

Should be interesting to see how well it provides a digital service. Even at -10dBc injection, that's not much digital wattage (25 watts). But I recall the drive test I did on W212BA with 50 watts analog and -20dBc injection (i.e. 0.5 watts digital) and the digital signal covered pretty solidly (in the car) for a good 2 miles or so. Up to 4 or 5 in some directions with good LOS.

 

[raccoonradio]

I'd mentioned this on Jan 10, in a thread about "WNNW shut off times"

>>By the way WCCM (and yes, those call letters made sense when they were on the 800--Roman numerals for 800) is apparently ID-ing that they are also on "102.9 FM-HD2"....
The WCCM website doesn't mention the HD 2 simulcast but I did hear it as part of a legal ID.
http://www.1110wccmam.com/default.asp?pid=12409

REVISED: Note logo on link above
--1110am
102.9fmHD2

 

[aerie]

What does the HD2 do when the AM station goes off the air at sunset (or thereabouts ;D)? Is there programming?

 

[haverhill01835]

It stays on with sat talk.

Marc

What does the HD2 do when the AM station goes off the air at sunset (or thereabouts ;D)? Is there programming?

 

[Laurence Glavin]

It stays on with sat talk.

Marc

What does the HD2 do when the AM station goes off the air at sunset (or thereabouts ;D)? Is there programming?

In the summer months, WCCM-AM 1110 carries satellite-delivered right-wing talk until 8:30 pm, maybe later.

 

[nd2023]

So translators can now have HD. This should mean that translators that translate HD2 stations should be forced to translate them in HD and not in analog.

 

[aaronread]

So translators can now have HD. This should mean that translators that translate HD2 stations should be forced to translate them in HD and not in analog.

Translators have ALWAYS been allowed to broadcast in HD. It's just that almost nobody did because it's not easy to justify the ROI of an iBiquity license fee (which drives up the cost of the necessary Exporter well into five figures...close to six) on a signal as small as all translators - by definition - must have. Heck, it's hard to justify it on a Class B!

For example, we NEVER would have put HD on WEOS's W212BA unless two things happened:

A: We had a CPB grant that defrayed a lot of the cost.
B: It was a frequency-shifting design so no iBiquity license fee.

Of course, frequency-shifting means you can't be independent programming on the translator, either. Which is what you're proposing. And while I understand the sentiment, it removes a major reason for stations to adopt HD Radio broadcasting technology. And it'd remove a better-than-most-other-reasons (albeit not necessary a "good" reason) for listeners to get an HD Radio, too. (the reason being "you can hear this great programming on the little translator, but get an HD receiver and you can hear it over this much larger area!")

 

[nd2023]

So translators can now have HD. This should mean that translators that translate HD2 stations should be forced to translate them in HD and not in analog.

Translators have ALWAYS been allowed to broadcast in HD. It's just that almost nobody did because it's not easy to justify the ROI of an iBiquity license fee (which drives up the cost of the necessary Exporter well into five figures...close to six) on a signal as small as all translators - by definition - must have. Heck, it's hard to justify it on a Class B!

For example, we NEVER would have put HD on WEOS's W212BA unless two things happened:

A: We had a CPB grant that defrayed a lot of the cost.
B: It was a frequency-shifting design so no iBiquity license fee.

Of course, frequency-shifting means you can't be independent programming on the translator, either. Which is what you're proposing. And while I understand the sentiment, it removes a major reason for stations to adopt HD Radio broadcasting technology. And it'd remove a better-than-most-other-reasons (albeit not necessary a "good" reason) for listeners to get an HD Radio, too. (the reason being "you can hear this great programming on the little translator, but get an HD receiver and you can hear it over this much larger area!")

Sometimes, an analog translator might have a better coverage than the parent HD2. 97.5's 250 watts in Baltimore can be heard in analog further than WWMX-HD2. But in Minneapolis, the 102.5 translator's 41 watts can't be heard as well as the station it translates, KDWB-HD2 which is a 100000 watt class C.