AM BROADCASTERS - CALL TO ACTION

[Savage]

With the imminent rollout of nighttime AM-IBOC now slated for September, I conducted an experiment last night. I put WYSL in DA-N 500-watt mode during critical hours, to measure the impact of nighttime adjacent-channel interference with a neighboring station's IBOC exciter operating. I have long fought this "innovation" in industry trades and on the WYSL website, but now must add: the destruction of AM analog service will be much worse than even I thought. The interference from a 50kw adjacent was terrible, but it's interference that's far more obnoxious than a competing carrier with the usual modulation chatter. Its effect is exactly like the old shortwave jammers set up for political purposes - the roaring noise under your station will never be tolerated by listeners.

HD-AM is junk-technology unwanted by just about everyone, except Ibiquity, captive big-group corporate engineering exectutives who have been "recruited" by Ibiquity and who have no personal stake either way, the bumbling, amateur political hacks known as "the FCC" and a tiny handful of HD receiver enthusiasts blogging from their mothers' basements.

AM broadcasters have everything at stake here. In less than 30 days the AM band at night is going to turn into an unlistenable quagmire of noise for 99.98% of listeners, who will leave AM in droves, forever. The aforementioned HD-AM boosters who think the earth is flat and that consumers will dash out and buy new radios just to get the ballgame clearly, are living in fantasyland. Many secondary AMs, many of which have a proud history of decades of service to their region - WYSL comes to mind here - will essentially be relegated to involuntary daytimer status.

Without concerted action by those who believe in AM, by the time the FCC wakes up to the chaos, the damage will be done. Perhaps this is what the IBOC lunatic-death wish lobby wants: drive away the existing analog audience so there's nothing left to lose, and then make HD-AM manadatory. Of course you're smart enough to know - the listeners will never come back, analog, digital, Ibiquity, CAM-D or otherwise; they'll have figured out other ways to get their favorite programming via the Internet or satellite. Now and forever, HD-AM has all the consumer appeal of a $200 electric fork.

This is a call for AM broadcasters - and those who respect the band's 85 year heritage of service - to take action. Here's what we all can and must do:

1. Check to see if adjacent-channel IBOC interference is stepping on your nighttime interference-free protected contour. Have your attorney and consulting engineer prepare and file a complaint with the Commission PROMPTLY.

2. Run anti-IBOC promos on your station, urging listeners to complain to the FCC about the reduction in nighttime service. Because of the technical complexities involved this can be a little challenging, because the average listener's eyes roll back in their head when IBOC is explained. But I have some promo copy which I think works. You're welcome to use my copy on your station gratis. E-mail me: [email protected].

3. Like most local broadcasters, you must have a connection with your Congressional delegation. Explain the IBOC interference issue as succinctly as possible and ask for their help in getting relief for your station. Again, you've got to think this out beforehand. If you get too technical with politicians they'll just cut you off with "I don't understand all this technical radio stuff. I'm sure the FCC will work it all out." You need to hammer home the point that your station can't be helpful to him/her if it's no longer financially viable, and that IBOC is an ill-conceived idea which must be modified or stopped. Ask him/her to contact the Commission.

4. Contact local politicians - your County Executive or Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Mayor, etc. Point out that the technical "innovation" called IBOC is threatening local radio's survival. Mention the economic impact, potential of loss of jobs. Have them complain to the Commission.

The idea here is to inundate the Commission with a tidal wave of complaints.

Stop talking about HD-AM. Do something about it. Before we all lose everything.

 

[calstymes]

Savage is right. Now is not the time to be quiet. I advocated this months ago when only the promise of having AM HD-at-night was being contemplated. The small market AM's are going to be severely injured. Many of them believe that they are already being severely injured.

The 50 KW AMs will, for the most part, be just fine. Even Tom Ray said that he didn't hear interference from WLW until he was 85 miles away from WOR's transmitter. To these stations, the isolated pockets of adjacent channel interference complaints will be not much more than mild annoyances. But we all really need to worry about what is going to happen to small AM stations. I become more and more convinced each day that although this hadn't been anticipated even by the fine folks at iBiQuity, a really wonderful side benefit for the large AM operators is that many small AM operators will be driven out of business.

Yes. The FCC's word IS law. And that is why it is going to be very difficult for the small AM operators to challenge it. It is really rather unbelievable what has happened here. There were some individuals in the federal government who very quietly and seriously questioned what the FCC was doing (hence the rather long delay in the publication of the new FCC rules in the Federal Register) but corporate greed and politics spoke more influentially and these individuals have been temporarily silenced.

We'll all find out very soon what the real effect of night time AM HD will be. I am anxiously awaiting to see what will happen.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I think you are way too late. I think it is going to happen, the interference will be horrendous, and even advocates are going to be forced to eat their words. I know how far lightning noise goes at night, now consider continuous lightning strikes in the background, hundreds of thousands per second. I've already heard IBOC sideband pairs hundreds of miles away, when the analog channel is inaudible. I just did it again in Northern NM.

My plan is simple: let the fools have their way. Turn it on at night, as many stations as possible. Increase the power all they want to try to get decode. Crank up the sidebands. I think the band's listenability will be in meltdown, people complaining, lawsuits filed, it may even make it above the threshold of national news. The FCC will get the blame, we'll have a committee investigations, some heads will roll - nighttime authority rescinded - perhaps re-evaluation of daytime as well as people document that interference is not limited to night.

Before any of this can happen, we need the public to notice. Calls to action among the DX community were laughed at. A million phone calls to the FCC - once the band is jammed - will NOT be laughed at.

So bring it on, as much interference as they want, let the advocates screw up the band and we will get the public to finally notice the true "potential" of HD radio on AM. Then, we will be able to get something done, pick up the pieces, and come up with a system that works - such as quarantining this nonsense to another band, or a portion of the AM band.

One thing is for sure, Castro won't take this lightly. I'm just going to laugh if he decides to put 117 one million watt stations up and down the band in protest. Go Fidel!!!!

 

[amfmsw]

You're all correct in your points.

But what difference does it make when our analog receivers respond 150-3Kc. It's a POTS line audio with a tuner and amp. The perception is, AM sounds like crap today. Are we going to flood the market with Chicago plant, Union-made, point-to-point wired, tubed, wideband Zenith radios? The only positive I see is that the IBOC tuners reveive/decode C-Quam. Buy 'em up and turn 'em on.

We had our last chance with AMAX and the stereo debates. We stuck that $200 electric fork in us, and we're done.

 

[vsa]

You're all correct in your points.......We had our last chance with AMAX and the stereo debates.  We stuck that $200 electric fork in us, and we're done.

As soon as they get the price of these electric forks under $100, $50, $25, $15, $10, $5, $2, these things will be flying off the shelves! Just watch.


 

 

[LinoNYC]

But what difference does it make when our analog receivers respond 150-3Kc. It's a POTS line audio with a tuner and amp. The perception is, AM sounds like crap today. ...... The only positive I see is that the IBOC tuners reveive/decode C-Quam. Buy 'em up and turn 'em on.
We had our last chance with AMAX and the stereo debates. We stuck that $200 electric fork in us, and we're done.

Thats really the point often lost in these debates. All of the solutions for AM's ills require the listener to buy a new radio.

Even if iboc takes-off it will be mostly FM driven w/AM along for the ride. If you are optimistic that new iboc chips embedded into average radios will be on shelves within year, it will be close to a decade before there are enough to matter.

Lino

 

[Ray22]

Of course, a by-product of going IBOC all along was to cut out the small owner/market operators that haven't sold out to a major chain. The IBOC stations didn't go to the expense for nothing. And NOW you are upset and want to protest? Gee, where were you guy's when Docket 99-325 comment period was going on? You should have protested more then, now it's a little late. The fork is firmly in the side of AM. What you don't know is that the interference will (by design!) start small because there are only a small percentage of IBOC AMs, and they are keeping the IBOC levels low. Wait a few months and levels will increase as interference and the number of stations increase. The increase in IBOC levels will be necessary to overcome the increased interference. (Some of this also applies to the FM system.)
Good luck and enjoy listening to satellite radio.

 

[SUPERCASTER]

Some great ideas, guys.
Keep up the good work.

From Ray22:

Gee, where were you guy's when Docket 99-325 comment period was going on?

Hundreds responded, (including me) sent in negative comments, including engineering data and protests. The HD cartel, NAB, lobbyists and promoters applied influence, cash, and pressure. All most all negative comments were ignored by the FCC. Now, I guess, we'll wait and see.

 

[w9wi]

(hence the rather long delay in the publication of the new FCC rules in the Federal Register)

While emphasizing that I don't disagree with the rest of your post...

The time it took to publish the new rules in the Federal Register was not unusual.

The 3rd DTV Periodic Review (a non-controversial action involving digital *television*) was published 76 days after it was released by the FCC.

The permanent IBOC rules were published 77 days after FCC release.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

You're all correct in your points.

But what difference does it make when our analog receivers respond 150-3Kc. It's a POTS line audio with a tuner and amp. The perception is, AM sounds like crap today. Are we going to flood the

I keep reading this - and I've even been called a liar on this forum - but virtually ALL new AM designs (apparently not car radios though) are crappy one IC / one ceramic filter affairs that are extremely wideband and low selectivity. I've torn down dozens now. All use one of the same 3 IC's, some don't even use an IF filter at all - they bypass with a capacitor. That doesn't even qualify as superhet. Of course, FM performance is usually really good on those radios. AM is a poor performer. I've seen radios with an IF bandwidth of +/- 100 kHz, +/- 30 kHz is more typical. I cannot find a single radio of the old 3 IF can variety manufactured in the past ten years! Yet THAT is what IBOC advocates keep invoking, and any suggestion to the contrary is met with hostility, ridicule, and even cries that I am lying. So - I am carefully photographing and documenting every receiver teardown, and will soon put a webpage up proving my point.

So - HD advocates: it is time to put up or shut up. My challege is - name a single model of home AM or AM FM radio manufactured in the past 5 years that has 3 IF cans in the AM section - instead of the one IC, one ceramic filter approach which is inherently wideband. I'll verify either your claim - or bust it. But it has to be manufactured in the past five years - I'm not interested in a 1980's radio dusted off to make Ibiquity look good.

Simpler than that - post a schematic or photograph of a NEW radio with the old 3 IF can narrowband design - show the inside to prove it. I don't think you can.

 

[calstymes]

w9wi stated:

The time it took to publish the new rules in the Federal Register was not unusual.

Yes, yes, I know. However, I also know that there WERE some individuals in the federal government who very quietly and seriously questioned what the FCC was doing with respect to the AM band and did try to get the commissioners to come to their senses. Unfortunately, the same forces were again at work, as SUPERCASTER defined:

The HD cartel, NAB, lobbyists and promoters applied influence, cash, and pressure.

They still are and the negative comments are still being ignored by the FCC. Yes, we will wait and we will see.

 

[Play Freebird]

Reading the dialogue between the pro- and anti-AM IBOC factions over the past months, it's clear that the system's supporters feel they have a "bulletproof" case in that the digital sidebands supposedly meet (or even exceed!) "NRSC mask" limits. However, I question how many of them have actually taken a spectrum analyzer out in the field to compare an HD station against one running conventional NRSC-compliant analog, and tried switching between the peak and RMS detector, peak hold mode vs. averaging, broadening the resolution bandwidth, etc. to get a feel for the way these settings can make a big difference in displayed measurements. It's not that hard to make the trace look pretty if you tweak the controls to achieve the desired results.

The "approved" test procedures for both analog and IBOC are available for download at www.nrscstandards.org. You'll see that the digital procedure specifies averaging over a 30 second period, whereas the analog procedure (also described in the FCC rules under 73.44) requires peak hold for at least 10 minutes. Needless to say, this makes a significant difference in apparent compliance with the mask limits.

The AM digital "bandwagon" has crossed pretty far into irrational territory. In the August 15 issue of Radio World, one corporate engineer mentioned that his company "restored several AM stations to music formats because we can now offer good fidelity via HD Radio." Well, OK, the handful of employees listening on the studio monitors (and the company executives who can afford IBOC car radios) may have noticed the "improved" fidelity, but let's be honest. At this minuscule stage of digital receiver penetration, how many "real" listeners have heard any difference other than a disappointing reduction in analog bandwidth? One percent at best? And this was enough to prompt several format changes? Makes me wonder if those stations actually have "real" listeners.

In the same article, Cox Radio's less-than-perfect experience is discussed. Seems they had a problem with digital hiss in some Chrysler radios with wideband filters, but iBiquity spokesperson Vicki Stern dismissed this as a minor inconvenience: "To our knowledge, a few wide-band receivers were sold, and these radios are no longer being manufactured. Therefore, this is not a serious issue."

There you have it; for the revolution to succeed, we must banish all wide-band AM receivers!

For a refreshing breeze of sane and rational thinking, let's go back and read Barry McLarnon's commentary, perhaps another point in favor of Canada's health-care system. I realize this link has been posted before, but for convenience, I'll put it up again:

http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/commentary/2006.07.19-03_rw_hd_guest_barry_2.shtml

 

[vsa]

...Seems they had a problem with digital hiss in some Chrysler radios with wideband filters, but iBiquity spokesperson Vicki Stern dismissed this as a minor inconvenience: "To our knowledge, a few wide-band receivers were sold, and these radios are no longer being manufactured. Therefore, this is not a serious issue."

"Vicki Stern, the jury has found you guilty on one count of felony spinmeistering. This court sentences you to a life sentence, plus seven years, of forced listening to the hissing on one of these Chrysler radios."

The now-former iBiquity PR FLACK was led away sobbing. Almost under her breath, she could be heard saying, "I had a good job shoveling manure at the zoo. I should have stayed there."


  

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Castro has been firing up a signal on 1181 kHz lately. I wonder if he is gearing up for a "jam the capitalist's HD hiss" protest? I will just laugh if he puts 117 one megawatt jammers up and down the dial. We deserve it for polluting the nighttime airwaves with this cr@p.

 

[amfmsw]

rbruce, nice homework. Maybe we could use the IBOC for SW listening instead. With Kruschev and Castro having turned their "airplane" jammers off, the bands are quiet. It would sound like old times again!

Question however. If, no since, the manufacturers are using wideband crystal sections, why do they drop them down to a 3Kc bandwidth? I know the stories about the heterodyne whistle, but why don't they put a lousy 10 cent switch to choose quality or selectivity, narrow or wide? Like the GE Superadio (which does use 3 trf cans). Or why not use a heterodyne notch filter, leaving the highs intact?

I use a Marantz 10B for FM. I use a Fisher tube Model 90R to listen to AM. It has front pannel pushbuttons for Distant, Standard, Local. (reading on the dispaly Sharp, Medium, Broad). The AM, pre-NSRC, sounded better than FM. Today, however, I can't stand the shrillness of "Local" because of the pre-emphasis.

TV Manufacturers today put all effort in the picture, $2000 worth of LEDs, and two 3x5" crap speakers. You'd think that selling their receivers, they would put the effort into it's one and only function, quality sound.

So let me put it to you gentlereaders, have we painted the wrong entity, Ibiquity, the boogieman? Is the real monster the manufacturers?
Remember whan Kahn vs Motorola were in the ring? Remember the total junk C-Quam tuners on the market? Like the Radio Hack model AM Stereo-FM Stereo mini boxes? Terrible sensitivity, poor bandwidth, no bass, but it was in STEREO! BFD. They remind me of the Boston Acoustics Interceptor...compact, great sound for a small package, but with crap sensitivity and poor analog bandwidth.

In closing, can't we demand a better built radio? No offense to engineers and designers at BA, but keep this in mind.

Side by side comparisons, with the EXACT same antenna, my 1932 hand-wired Philco Model 90 Cathredral radio picks up 10 times more listenable AM stations, sounds better, has less interference from electronics, is easier to use, and is louder than my 2007 Boston Acoustics. It even has a #47 dial lamp! And it doesn't consume 47 watts while idleing for the memory. Remote? That's what the kids are for!

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

I came across these two web articles today. I should warn in advance that they're pretty technical in nature, but in boiling them down the conclusion is that the kind of interference AM-HD causes will most likely render the AM band useless at night.

The first is an article from Jeff Littlejohn of Clear Channel Engineering, written in 2002 (before the lid was clamped shut on negative comments about HD from the HD Cartel...er, Alliance), reporting actual measurements regarding interference between two stations on first-adjacent channels, one running AM-HD and one not running it: http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/Clearchannelrprt.pdf

The second is from Barry McLarnon, a Canadian broadcast engineer, predicting what will happen if Canadian stations start lighting up AM-HD: http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/Clearchannelrprt.pdf

 

[awj223]

Do you have to be a station owner to complain? I don't own a station, but I'll be listening when the buzzsaws go live after dark, and if I hear unacceptable levels of noise inside stations' protected interference free contours and there's a way I can complain to the FCC, I will.

Is there a resource I can use where I can enter a geographic location and it will list all stations whose protected contours fall within that area?

 

[Chuck]

I came across these two web articles today. I should warn in advance that they're pretty technical in nature, but in boiling them down the conclusion is that the kind of interference AM-HD causes will most likely render the AM band useless at night.

The first is an article from Jeff Littlejohn of Clear Channel Engineering, written in 2002 (before the lid was clamped shut on negative comments about HD from the HD Cartel...er, Alliance), reporting actual measurements regarding interference between two stations on first-adjacent channels, one running AM-HD and one not running it: http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/Clearchannelrprt.pdf

The second is from Barry McLarnon, a Canadian broadcast engineer, predicting what will happen if Canadian stations start lighting up AM-HD: http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/Clearchannelrprt.pdf

The link to the Barry McLarnon article appears to be the same as the Jeff Littlejohn article. There was a recent McLarnon article in Radio World that expressed his current concerns. The link is elsewhere in the HD Forum. He is clearly very cautious about AM HD.

It's a bit of a surprise to read the Littlejohn paper. At least, in public, he has been very much a Pro-IBOC cheerleader. Perhaps for political reasons some items were omitted from recent quotes. If I recall correctly, most of his recent comments were about FM, not AM. That might explain a lot. He is in an awkward situation.

I'd always regarded Littlejohn as one of the more competent engineering guys around, so I've been surprised that he seemed so pro-IBOC. This article restores my confidence. It should be an interesting autumn.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

I tried to format this right, but without preview who knows ---

Question however. If, no since, the manufacturers are using wideband crystal sections, why do they drop them down to a 3Kc bandwidth? I know the stories about the heterodyne whistle, but why don't they put a lousy 10 cent switch to choose quality or selectivity, narrow or wide? Like the GE Superadio (which does use 3 trf cans). Or why not use a heterodyne notch filter, leaving the highs intact?

If you are buying a radio for $5, what do you think is going to be inside? A couple of IC's, tuning cap, 1 inch ferrite bar (NOT joking), 1 CF FM, 1 AM, audio IC, DONE. And the IF filter for both bands? JUNK. Wide as a barn door so they don't have to screen to see if they are really 455k or 10.7M. Or just skip the filter for AM and get all the selectivity from the Q of the 1 inch ferrite bar. Superhet - for AM who cares? 100 kHz bandwidth on AM? Who cares. 10 k hetereodyne? Who cares? JUNK. Complete total junk. That happens to be wideband so the only real advantage is wideband music provided you don't get mixing from a station 4 frequencies away (like my daughter's radio did). Of course the speaker is an inch in diameter so its a terrific tweeter and bass cuts off at 400 Hz.

GE Superradio design is 35 years old. It has been modified over the years to include wideband and varactor diodes, otherwise is almost unchanged from the early 70's. It uses four IF cans, not 3 in the AM. You forgot the one up there on the detector. (Upper right of the schematic). SR-1 is among the most selective radios I've owned. It almost eliminates 2nd adjacent IBOC hash.

I use a Marantz 10B for FM. I use a Fisher tube Model 90R to listen to AM. It has front pannel pushbuttons for Distant, Standard, Local. (reading on the dispaly Sharp, Medium, Broad). The AM, pre-NSRC, sounded better than FM. Today, however, I can't stand the shrillness of "Local" because of the pre-emphasis.

Heath AJ-15 for me. It was good for DX from 330 miles when I was younger, still capable of it. Always wanted a 10B, but couldn't go the $600 pricetag when I had the chance in 1978. I use a Fisher AM-10 for AM. Sensitive and selective enough for transatlantic with a special narrow ceramic filter strip I added.

Remember whan Kahn vs Motorola were in the ring? Remember the total junk C-Quam tuners on the market? Like the Radio Hack model AM Stereo-FM Stereo mini boxes? Terrible sensitivity, poor bandwidth, no bass, but it was in STEREO! BFD. They remind me of the Boston Acoustics Interceptor...compact, great sound for a small package, but with crap sensitivity and poor analog bandwidth.

I still have a TM-152 - the product detector makes it really nice for local music. That is before they botched their signal with IBOC. Not very sensitive, but with an external loop it does a good job.

Side by side comparisons, with the EXACT same antenna, my 1932 hand-wired Philco Model 90 Cathredral radio picks up 10 times more listenable AM stations, sounds better, has less interference from electronics, is easier to use, and is louder than my 2007 Boston Acoustics. It even has a #47 dial lamp! And it doesn't consume 47 watts while idleing for the memory. Remote? That's what the kids are for!

Mine is a Sparton table model with tuned RF. A real station seeker. But the Fisher has that extra IF can and separate oscillator, so its better at DX than the Sparton. I've also got other various radios from Hallicrafters, etc. All great in their day - now more display pieces and investments than anything else.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

The reality is the big guys are the ones that own the big guns. It's true the own smaller stations too, but in the big company minds the gains will outrun the losses. The poor guy that owns the 1k and has sunk his whole life into keeping it profitable and useful will just get pelted without any relief. Nothing will be done about it.. CC and ABC/Cit and CBS and all of the big guys aren't really hurt so nothing is going to get done about it.. ever.

Face it guys.. The days of decent AM reception of anything under 10k is basically OVER after dark.