AM Audio Processors

[WCWalker]

I am thinking about buying a AM processor for my Part 15 AM station. I have a Hamilton Rangemaster transmitter which offers excellent audio fidelity that is comparable to any small to medium sized market AM.

I have done some research and determined the following three units in the sub 3 grand category to be my best options. If there is another unit out there that is equal to or exceeds these in performance and lists at 3 grand or less then by all means chime in.

Omnia One AM

Vorsis VP-8

DSPXmini AM

I have a friend that is also a broadcast engineer in a large market and he believes the Omnia unit would be best for my station. But I'd also like to get the feedback of some other seasoned veterans before I make my decision.

Here is what I need from a processor:

1) Increase the range of the station. Let's face it. A tenth of a watt will only carry so far. Even if I can add a half mile to the broadcast radius that will be significant in terms of increasing the usable range of the signal.

2) Avoid listener fatigue.

3) Suitable for an AC Oldies format with a little news and talk mixed in. Music from the Easy Listening era of the 1960's to the early 1990's will be aired on the station.

4) Reliable. My own station engineer will be a few hours drive from my station and it won't be a simple case where I can call him in to fix it. I'll have to mail it to him to get it fixed once the warranty has expired.

5) Fairly easy for a novice like myself to install and set up for on air use. I have some basic knowledge of how electronics work and I can set up my own studio and audiophile stereo system. I noted that software presets are available for the Omnia One AM and I am guessing that I can find something suitable among the presets or tweak one to make it sound the way I need to.

6) Easy to read manual.


Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[frankberry]

Whichever processor you choose, you might want to consider limiting the low and high frequency content. Doing so will put more power into the audio passband that most AM receivers can "hear." Don't waste power in the very low frequencies or the very high frequencies. I'd go for a response from 80-100Hz to something like 6-8kHz.
Additionally, you might put a little emphasis in the 2-3kHz area to help make your signal sound a bit louder.
Whatever you do .... don't over-process your audio if you want to avoid listener fatigue. Consistent positive peaks of 125% should be your goal if your transmitter can pass them without too much distortion.
Have fun with your station. Keep it legal.

 

[WCWalker]

Frank. Thanks for the tips. Virtually every .wav file I've recorded is at 8 khz or a bit lower at the high end. I can probably use an equalizer after the console to set the low end to the spec's you suggest.

 

[wgliradio]

I have a VP-8 on a small AM out here on LI... sounds good. The DSP-Mini sounds very good as well, Goran did a great job with his input. I haven't tried the ONE on AM.

 

[WCWalker]

Wgilradio. Thanks for the suggestions.

BTW. Are you acquainted with Jerry Mehrab? He and I have been acquainted via the net for a years thanks to a Part 15 AM station with the WGLI call letters on LI. I have not been in touch with Jerry for a few years but if you do happen to know him, please tell him I send my best regards.

 

[wgliradio]

Acquainted???? Jerry is a second father to me. One of the best AM guys I have ever met. He designed the entire waveguide antenna system for the HBO uplink center in Hauppague LI. He is mentioned in the same breath as Herb Squire and Rodney Belizare as the best RF guys/designers I know.

I did Jerry's AM chain for his Part 15, which includes a Hnat A-Maze, Gentner Phoenix and an Inovonics 222. Rocks and Rolls.

 

[Tom Wells]

I'm using Breakaway Broadcast Processor on the same laptop running Zara automation, then feed that through an ART Pro VLA audio processor in a two-pass mode with the two channels "uncoupled". The BBP is set up for full 20-20000 and 150% peaks, and the tube based VLA adds the "wet" sound I love. This combo did add enough density to about double my range on a part 15 AM.
I'm a stickler for good sound, and you can't beat the price. In fall of 2008, I think the BBP was 200 dollars, and the ART, 1 year earlier was 300 dollars. I'm thinking about changing to the low-latency BBP version but haven't made the change yet.

I love the results. The BBP does most of the work, but is a tad "dry" to my ears, so I keep the ART there to keep things "moist".
The ART was NOT sufficient by itself, as it has no multiband eq compresssion/leveling. It did help with range, but was not worth writing home about. I would rather have a hardware-only solution, but I do accept what my ears tell me, and my wallet can afford.

 

[joshzz]

The cost to own a full power AM station has dropped dramatically. I know for certain that you can pick up full power stations for around 50k. For 100 k, you can find yourself in a decent sized community. You might have to relocate but it could be a dream come true.

 

[WCWalker]

I'm using Breakaway Broadcast Processor on the same laptop running Zara automation, then feed that through an ART Pro VLA audio processor in a two-pass mode with the two channels "uncoupled". The BBP is set up for full 20-20000 and 150% peaks, and the tube based VLA adds the "wet" sound I love. This combo did add enough density to about double my range on a part 15 AM.
I'm a stickler for good sound, and you can't beat the price. In fall of 2008, I think the BBP was 200 dollars, and the ART, 1 year earlier was 300 dollars. I'm thinking about changing to the low-latency BBP version but haven't made the change yet.

I love the results. The BBP does most of the work, but is a tad "dry" to my ears, so I keep the ART there to keep things "moist".
The ART was NOT sufficient by itself, as it has no multiband eq compresssion/leveling. It did help with range, but was not worth writing home about. I would rather have a hardware-only solution, but I do accept what my ears tell me, and my wallet can afford.

Tom. This is an intriguing concept. I went to the BBP website and they claim you should use a Server quality computer for the software. But apparently you can still get good results with a standard laptop based upon your experience. I fired off an e-mail to your address listed here in your profile. If you have time I would like to know a bit more about this concept.

Do you think this software along with the ART is going to yield the same kind of results in terms of range and audio quality as any of the stand alone processors that I mentioned? It sounds like you would prefer a box to the software. If I wanted to go this route, would I be able to feed the audio from my console into the computer with BBP and then into another processor like the ART? Are these ART Pro VLA's units still fairly easy to find or difficult?

Tube type equipment gives a nice warm sound compared to solid state. I can remember listening to tube type home stereo amplifiers and they were much nicer sounding than the later solid state units.

 

[WCWalker]

The cost to own a full power AM station has dropped dramatically. I know for certain that you can pick up full power stations for around 50k. For 100 k, you can find yourself in a decent sized community. You might have to relocate but it could be a dream come true.

Josh. I gave this some thought. But at this time it seems wise to play it safe. I've got experience in running a small business and can do that successfully but to date, I have not actually run a for profit radio station though I had the opportunity to interview for two GM positions at a couple of different radio stations.

I'd rather get my feet wet on a project that requires minimal investment and has very low overhead. If I can get this to succeed then I can certainly feel confident about finding a small AM in a market or rural area where I believe I can create a successful business and then perhaps purchase that station.

I am also concerned about the rising fees to play music on a station. A guy I know with a 5 kw AM in IL is paying something like 2 grand a month to play just a few hours of music each week. The station is mostly News/Talk but offers a little Classic Country each week and he's getting gouged for airing probably less than 30 hours of music each week. And the fees may get worse as there are at least a couple of new Bills circulating in congress that will make it more expensive to air music on a radio station. And something equally as troubling is that Talk formats may be coming under fire because there is at least one Bill in congress that would return something like the Fairness Doctrine to radio. If that happens it will wipe out a lot of Talk stations around the country simply because they won't be able to find a market for the programs that are going to be mandated for airplay by Congress and the FCC.

So in a nutshell, a professional Part 15 AM station seems to be the most prudent way to broadcast at this time. A lot of them are going on the air and are turning a profit when they have the right format for their market. I think we'll see hundreds of these hit the airwaves over the next few years until we know what is going to happen with licensed broadcasting in this country.

 

[satech]

Just to correct a few things here...

1. Just like Internet web broadcasters, Part 15 stations are also obligated to pay public performance royalties if they broadcast commercially licensed music. In fact, a few years ago BMI contacted every Part 15 station they could get in touch with, offering them the "opportunity" to begin paying royalty fees for any BMI-licensed music they might play on the air. I doubt BMI had much luck in getting microbroadcasters to fork over the dough, but at least they probably scared away a few Part 15ers from playing any BMI-licensed music on the air.

2. Putting any kind of audio processing after Breakaway Broadcast, other than something specifically designed for AM or FM broadcasting, will ruin the tightly controlled peak limiting, clipping, tilt correction, and spectral filtering that Breakway is working so hard to achieve. For example, it is fine to put something like an Inovonics 222 after Breakaway if you don't trust your computer's sound card to have adequate performance to maintain proper modulation and bandwidth control, but adding something like a tube compressor to achieve a desired on-air "signature sound" must be done before Breakway, if at all.

3. The "Fairness Doctrine" is a non-issue. Even when it was in place, it never prevented politically partisan commentary and talk radio from being broadcast, nor did it ever explicitly require "equal time" for opposing viewpoints. And today, despite the scare-talk about the majority party voting to re-enact it, no attempt to do so has ever reached the floor of the Congress; and on the contrary, in recent years there have been far more attempts by the minority party to explicitly ban the Fairness Doctrine from ever being re-enacted.

 

[WCWalker]

Satech.

1) BMI tried to obtain money from Part 15 broadcasters but gave up when they found out it was far too costly to collect. I personally know a couple of people that contacted both BMI and ASCAP prior to 2005 and years earlier asking if their part 15 stations had to pay royalties. At that time neither organization had any formal rules on the books for part 15 broadcasters and neither was required to pay any money. I still believe that ASCAP is not asking Part 15 broadcasters to pay. BMI still has a form to fill out and wants a couple hundred bucks a year from these stations but I don't think they seriously try to collect.

2) Thanks for this tip.

3) Let's hope we don't see ANY kind of legislation demanding that private broadcasters must air programs they deem as either unprofitable or not in the best interest of serving the market. Best to let the free market rule. We are going to see a lot of AM and FM outlets up for sale in the next few years and it will be up to the new owners to provide the programming they believe will best serve the interests of their target audience.

 

[joshzz]

I agree wholeheartedly with satach.

There's really nothing to worry about. There will always be radio stations and no matter the scare tactics used by the political parties everythings always works out ok.

The political parties have been playing these games for decades. These scare tactics should never be used in making decisions about one's livelihood and/or interests. One party gets in, then is voted out and most of what was done is undone.. as long as we have this 2 party system everything is cyclical.

Back to my point. I had no experience running a radio station either. l learned everything I know from veteran broadcasters. There are many, many owners that would gladly share their knowledge of owning a radio station.

I don't know if you ever watched the show Survivor (in fact, I only watched the final episode this year - as my fmaily are avid fans), but I found what the winner had to say most fascinating... She said (Natalie) that she gave up her lucrative position as a drug representative to be on Survivor. Her philosophy is that to succeed we at times need to take risks.. I feel the same way - for me I trust GOd will get me through anything.. Obviously you need to weigh the risk of any particular situation but a hard worker can make it in radio without previous experience. .. And when you are in trouble you can always that have been in the business for a long time. josh

 

[Tom Wells]

Just to correct a few things here...
2. Putting any kind of audio processing after Breakaway Broadcast, other than something specifically designed for AM or FM broadcasting, will ruin the tightly controlled peak limiting, clipping, tilt correction, and spectral filtering that Breakway is working so hard to achieve. For example, it is fine to put something like an Inovonics 222 after Breakaway if you don't trust your computer's sound card to have adequate performance to maintain proper modulation and bandwidth control, but adding something like a tube compressor to achieve a desired on-air "signature sound" must be done before Breakway, if at all.

I will agree that one must tread very carefully here, but that's not to say it can't be done correctly. I have satisfied myself with an oscilliscope on a trapezoid pattern, that I am not "ruining' the control of the audio. I don't care for the results of either processor individually. It also depends on the ability of the transmitter to follow the audio. Naturally, any clipping and -100% peaks would splatter and sound awful. And if the transmitter doesn't have sufficient "headroom" to reproduce an occasional 150% positive mod peak, it will sound worse than running the audio lower. In my case, with a tube class A output, I've designed in enough capability to do 200% positive, but don't run it that way, since it's more than most receivers' AGC can follow without sounding bad. For most consumer-ready part 15 AM transmitters, your advice is quite true. On FM, I certainly agree fully, as any lack of control goes right into your neighbor's spectrum.

There was a thread months ago, where "loudness" vs "perceived loudness" was beaten to death.
My conclusion is that Breakaway by itself was certainly capable of greater loudness, but the combo as I am using them has greater
"perceived loudness". I readily admit that the ART can only be adding distortion, but as it seems to be even-order harmonic distortion,
and doesn't call any attention to its efforts, I will use it, as it makes my station sound like a hot, muggy night in 1966.

The ART never made my station thunder and punch, and that's the real magic of Breakaway.

 

[joshzz]

I wasn't quite sure of what is a Part 15 AM station other than the fact it offers small wattage power. According to the FCC website they reach about 200 feet.

How could the licensing companies even think about charging owners of these micro radio stations? 200 feet would cover about 1 - 5 homes in my community.

 

[RadioMan203]

I wasn't quite sure of what is a Part 15 AM station other than the fact it offers small wattage power. According to the FCC website they reach about 200 feet.

How could the licensing companies even think about charging owners of these micro radio stations? 200 feet would cover about 1 - 5 homes in my community.

Not to digress too far off the thread, that would be like the person who buys a $20 modulator for their iPod finding a bill in the package for $200 for music royalties. While it would be nice if Part 15 transmitters could gain an appreciable audience not even the FCC considers them "broadcast stations".

Back on topic, I assume the previous discussion is in reference to Breakaway is the broadcast version only and not necessarily the audio enhancer?

 

[frankberry]

It's a shame that the FCC can't (won't) set aside two or three channels in the extended AM band for low powered, unlicensed stations.
1 or 2 watts into a good antenna would be enough to cover several miles.

 

[Tom Wells]

Oh, how I'd love to run 2 watts.

I never tried the Breakaway personal audio processor, I went right to the better product.
But I bet it would be an improvement in the audio of many pt 15 stations over what they currently use for processing.

 

[WCWalker]

I agree wholeheartedly with satach.

There's really nothing to worry about. There will always be radio stations and no matter the scare tactics used by the political parties everythings always works out ok.

The political parties have been playing these games for decades. These scare tactics should never be used in making decisions about one's livelihood and/or interests. One party gets in, then is voted out and most of what was done is undone.. as long as we have this 2 party system everything is cyclical.

Back to my point. I had no experience running a radio station either. l learned everything I know from veteran broadcasters. There are many, many owners that would gladly share their knowledge of owning a radio station.

I don't know if you ever watched the show Survivor (in fact, I only watched the final episode this year - as my fmaily are avid fans), but I found what the winner had to say most fascinating... She said (Natalie) that she gave up her lucrative position as a drug representative to be on Survivor. Her philosophy is that to succeed we at times need to take risks.. I feel the same way - for me I trust GOd will get me through anything.. Obviously you need to weigh the risk of any particular situation but a hard worker can make it in radio without previous experience. .. And when you are in trouble you can always that have been in the business for a long time. josh

No, I have never watched Survivor and aside from NHL hockey, the NFL, college football and tennis I don't watch TV except to catch my local news. I devote my spare time to radio.

I know all about taking risks and have taken more than my fair share in recent years. But purchasing a licensed station and over extending my credit and building more debt at this time is beyond risky. The most successful people that I know all started at the bottom of the ladder and worked up. It seems more fiscally responsible in this economy to keep my debt to a minimum and slowly build a small station until it can be parlayed into a licensed station.

Actually the 200 foot radius specified by the FCC is only for certain transmitters. The FCC Type Accepted transmitters are certified under rule 15.219 and don't have to adhere to field strength rules which greatly limits the range of an AM transmitter. Field strength does apply to Part 15 FM transmitters and their effective range when used at ground level is about 200 feet.

The FCC defines Part 15 radio as "microcasting" and the transmitters are "microcasters". By definition they are not broadcast units.

We're getting off topic in this string. In my initial post I simply wanted to obtain feedback and suggestions about which AM processor would work best for my application.

 

[jry]

We'll be getting rid of our CRL's and replacing them with the Omnia.

We have 2 or 3 of them now and they really do rock.

I agree with cutting the high end. My suggested number is 7.5. It works well with car radios and if someone has a higher end AM tuner, they won't be too disappointed.

Like they said, pack your audio energy in the envelope that radios can "hear". You'll think that you have expanded your coverage area.