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2 stations drop HD, 1 add HD
- Thread starter ddsparxx
- Start date
Clouseau.....
You must not be old enough to remember what was the purpose of 50kw 1-A Clear Channel stations. There are many areas of the U.S. which are not served by "interference-free" AM signals at night. These 50kw 1-A Clear Channels provided radio service to such areas. IBOC has done a lot to destroy this service.
You must not be old enough to remember what was the purpose of 50kw 1-A Clear Channel stations. There are many areas of the U.S. which are not served by "interference-free" AM signals at night. These 50kw 1-A Clear Channels provided radio service to such areas. IBOC has done a lot to destroy this service.
Although I am just as unhappy about the general pollution of the AM band by IBOC hiss as many others on this board, the main issue I have with HD AM is the way that it has destroyed the sound quality of reception within the station's primary coverage area, where 99% of the potential listeners are trying to hear the station on analog radios. At the same time, those few who are listening on HD radios are unable to hear even 50 kW stations reliably, and the audio quality of so-called "High Definition" AM radio is not very good! HD AM causes noise and interference for everyone, in exchange for what benefit? Expecting HD AM to work is like expecting to be able to successfully transmit high fidelity AM out to 20 kHz, because they take up the same amount of bandwidth!
That said, I am the owner of a lake house in a rural area of Michigan where there is no usable night time radio service on AM from local stations. The only service is from distant stations, whether they be in Chicago, Denver, or Louisville. The pollution from HD AM has caused reception to be degraded to the point that there are only two AM stations that are listenable - 650 AM (WSM) and AM 740 (CFZM). I can't even listen to Chicago AM at night anymore, although I am less than 120 miles from that city.
Skywave may not matter to advertisers, but it provides the only night time AM radio service for many Americans living in smaller communities. Remember too that politics cannot change the laws of physics!
That said, I am the owner of a lake house in a rural area of Michigan where there is no usable night time radio service on AM from local stations. The only service is from distant stations, whether they be in Chicago, Denver, or Louisville. The pollution from HD AM has caused reception to be degraded to the point that there are only two AM stations that are listenable - 650 AM (WSM) and AM 740 (CFZM). I can't even listen to Chicago AM at night anymore, although I am less than 120 miles from that city.
Skywave may not matter to advertisers, but it provides the only night time AM radio service for many Americans living in smaller communities. Remember too that politics cannot change the laws of physics!
It might me simple in buying an external passive AM loop antenna. I have an Radiosophy HD 100 with an C. Crane Reflective FM Antenna and a Terk AM Loop Antenna. With the Loop antenna I have no problem picking up WSM AM and WGN AM nights.
Daytime AM coverage seems to improve as well with the AM loop antenna. I can pick up most 5KW stations in Ohio. Like WHIO in Dayton and WKRC in Cincinnati. WLW AM HD comes in clear. Plus simulcasting AM stations on the HD FM band would be better.
Daytime AM coverage seems to improve as well with the AM loop antenna. I can pick up most 5KW stations in Ohio. Like WHIO in Dayton and WKRC in Cincinnati. WLW AM HD comes in clear. Plus simulcasting AM stations on the HD FM band would be better.
M
Mike Walker
Guest
I've heard that the bandpass on Passive Loops (I have the Select A Tenna and the Terk AM Advantage) is so narrow that they're useless for AM HD. At any rate, AM HD is no doubt failing. It's hard to argue otherwise. FM, a different story!
Mike Walker said:
I have an amplified C crane twin Coil which works for AM HD (when the HD Gods are in a good mood) and it's pretty narrow band, unamplified loops won't work with AM HD unless you are VERY close to the transmitting antennas, the band pass on amplified loops is usually much sharper than on passive loops. AM HD itself is useless. FM HD is also pretty useless, drop outs lousy range and doesn't sound any different than analog. It has no pluses and many negatives unless of course you're selling the HD equipment, they're laughing all the way to the bank.
"I have an amplified C crane twin Coil which works for AM HD (when the HD Gods are in a good mood) and it's pretty narrow band, unamplified loops won't work with AM HD unless you are VERY close to the transmitting antennas, the band pass on amplified loops is usually much sharper than on passive loops."
For me, the key point here is not whether a setup like this would work, but whether an average consumer would bother to go to this much trouble in order to receive HD when their perfectly good analog radios work just fine...
For me, the key point here is not whether a setup like this would work, but whether an average consumer would bother to go to this much trouble in order to receive HD when their perfectly good analog radios work just fine...
KR4BD said:
And why is reception of talk and news from stations in Denver and Minneapolis so vital to the citizenry of Lexington? And why should KOA or WCCO care whether their signals are listenable in Kentucky? They're not charging their advertisers more for the Lexington metro area or even telling them the stations can be heard there, are they?
CTListener said:
As I pointed out once before, when the bride collapsed in Minneapolis, I tuned directly to WCCO. I would not expect a Chicago station
to have the full resources. A network's coverage will not be as compelling as the direct source.
The AM service designations were for the service of the public, the monetary and market ideas are radio biz.
The listeners ony know what they can and can't hear, and they expected a useful dial at night, with distinct choices from all over.
Sad the choices now are so many of the same things.
The FCC's job was to provide the most useful number of signals to the greatest number of people.
WGN is still clean.
Tom Wells said:
A standalone FM station not far from here has a great business philosophy posted next to the water cooler:
Listeners First
Advertisers Second
Team Members Third
Owners Last
In fact, this is included in the "sales kit" -- advertisers are told they are secondary to listeners. And it works; the station has grown and prospered for many years. They're still making money while the mega groups are going down the crapper.
Something to think about as we begin a new year.
Play Freebird said:
I'll bet it is one of the most successful independent's in the country.
Listeners Firstscanman1 said:
Advertisers Second
Team Members Third
Owners Last
How can we get congress or the FCC to put it in the communications rules?
M
Mike Walker
Guest
That philosophy used to be implied in station ownership. Prospective owners were required to prove they could operate for a period of time in the red. With a dozen (or dozens in larger markets) of owners, diversity of opinion and programming was the rule, not the exception. And stations actually competed over who could serve the community BEST, believing, with some justification, that the person who best represented the community would WIN! And this was on the MUSIC STATIONS, not just the all-news outlets!
Many here are old enough to have been given "the talk" that in times of crisis, be it weather, civil defense emergencies, whatever, our butts were expected to be BEHIND THE CONSOLE! That was a part of the gig!
I still feel that way. I know many here do as well, though I suspect it's mostly the older guys. Those 30 and under have never worked in this type of environment, and probably wonder "what's the big deal?" Personally, I would never have hired anyone who didn't get "what the big deal is". I used to tell my jocks that "music and other programming are just what we use as filler between times when the community REALLY NEEDS US".
Many here are old enough to have been given "the talk" that in times of crisis, be it weather, civil defense emergencies, whatever, our butts were expected to be BEHIND THE CONSOLE! That was a part of the gig!
I still feel that way. I know many here do as well, though I suspect it's mostly the older guys. Those 30 and under have never worked in this type of environment, and probably wonder "what's the big deal?" Personally, I would never have hired anyone who didn't get "what the big deal is". I used to tell my jocks that "music and other programming are just what we use as filler between times when the community REALLY NEEDS US".
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