AM Going away?

[rbrucecarter5]

Figured you would weigh in eventually, David!

Assimilation starts in the schools, with learning English in the case of America. I know many first generation Hispanics who learn English as fast as they can, fit in as quickly as they can in school or on the job. They are proud of their heritage, but do what it takes to succeed in the US. Enabling a foreign language only delays the process of assimilation.

You were making some excellent points - but you lost it when you said the music is better. Come on, David - that is a matter of musical taste! You criticize me for saying the oldies are better music - music in Spanish is better for you because it is your taste. Not because it - or the oldies - or whatever is better music. Of course the ultimate in musical snobbery isn't coming from either of us - it is probably the classical or smooth jazz folks who are most vehement about their music being better than anybody else's. The one time I told I liked some music coming over the border - I think it was on 780 - you ripped that format apart even though it was in Spanish! So I don't know what your taste is - unless it is that overmodulated stuff on KEYH that sounds like some mariachi band in Epcot's Mexico building or something. Really not to my taste when it clips and overmodulates and distorts - no matter what style of music it is. That is just poor technical quality plain and simple. Distortion shouldn't be broadcast, it should be done on the receiver by people who enjoy music that way. All the over modulation and clipping makes quite a mess on adjacent frequencies. I am surprised the FCC allows that sort of thing.

 

[ContinuousWave]

The latest chatter involves throwing away any co-channel interference concerns and allowing AM stations to crank up the power, ditch or loosen up directional arrays, and essentially blanket the local market while drowning out everything else. Of course, it would be a colossal mess past a certain distance--sort of like the "graveyard" channels on steroids.

I still think the FM band should be expanded down to 76 MHz and some procedure put in place to allow the migration of current AM stations there. Wouldn't necessarily mean the end of AM, but it would put existing stations on an even playing field while perhaps allowing signal upgrades for those that remain on AM.

The expansion down to 76 MHz would mean 60 new channels, assuming the current 200 kHz spacing is retained. Too bad it couldn't be taken down to 66 MHz, but there is the odd 4 meter band (72-76 MHz) in the way (although I supposed modern digital tuners could simply skip over that, going directly from 71.9 to 76.1 when scanning upwards.)

The expansion down won't likely happen...as the FCC repacks the TV band and if they have to give up 20 more channels to wireless as Congress wants to do (thanks to the lobbyists paying off their representatives), the lowband channels will probably have to return with more full power stations...I feel they need a 10db or more increase in ERP limits...to overcome noise and other issues..but places like Phily has its ABC station on RF 6 because there was no other place to go..personally I cannot see how major markets like Houston and up can survive a repack with all the LDs out there..where are they going to go? I cannot see some of them sharing RF....unless mandated by the FCC...Also in Houston, certain TV channels are still reserved for Land Mobile Radio (T band)....with the new narrowbanding happening, I would think all the T band stuff could be moved down to normal UHF and allow the TV channels to be used by TV stations.. At some time, there has to be someone who comes to their sense to realize there is a limit to the resources and you can only put soo many signals on a band/channel/etc....the FCC seems not to have grasp that idea as they try to cram more and more into a band already crowded....AM will not go away...the Expanded Band has not been used to it potential yet...the FCC has sat on it for a long time and not followed the timetable originally set in place when they started allowing licensees to move there...there are plenty of other places where the Ex Band could be used to move Class D or Bs (or even Cs!) from the original band...Get rid of HD (though Ibiquity wants to go FULL digital!), require receivers to have noise blankers and improved audio on the AM side, and get serious about Part 15 noise levels and even more so, power line, etc noise.....

-.-. .--

 

[Jay Walker]

The "fidelity" of the sound should be the same. What might be different: interference because of tunnelling, distortion due to multipath, etc. BUT.... 76 mHZ might be BETTER than 108 for all we know.

There is the issue of more Sporadic E skip possibilities on the lower VHF spectrum...but that's an occasional event and not necessarily a deal breaker...

 

[vchimpanzee]

I totally agree that the FCC is populated by total morons who have no engineering savvy whatsoever. There are ten times the number of AM stations on the air that prudent use of the band would dictate. They let stations stay on full power after sunset and before sunrise in the name of "critical hours". Interference is tolerated if it is for the sacred cow of high school football. Now, the same morons are doing the same thing to the FM band with translators for AM stations, thousands of translators for one religious group, low power FMs, and, of course HD on both bands. We need real engineers - not lawyers interested in minority ownership and other non-issues in the FCC.

I suppose I agree with all of this, but critical hours refers to the hours after sunrise and before sunset.

 

[ContinuousWave]

The "fidelity" of the sound should be the same. What might be different: interference because of tunnelling, distortion due to multipath, etc. BUT.... 76 mHZ might be BETTER than 108 for all we know.

RF difference between 76 and 108 MHz is no difference....multipath and other issues would remain the same..but it ain't gonna happen any time soon...

 

[ContinuousWave]

I suppose I agree with all of this, but critical hours refers to the hours after sunrise and before sunset.

Totally disagree.....10x the number of AMs?? There has been no new filing windows for AM in over a decade or more...(except for the Ex Band).....stations that stay on full power after sundown are doing it on their own...any "Critical Hours" always include lower power on the license; if thats not being followed, thats the station's fault, not the FCC...Interference is not tolerated but if not reported, nothing is done. I agree the Commission, who makes the rules, has done some stupid things...but there is an engineering section of the FCC where there are technical folks and the Commissioners are supposed to rely on their advice...

 

[stan]

AM radio is a poor investment. Audio quality for music is poor and it's listeners are predominantly older. Young people never will listen to AM, and are abandoning radio in general. When the older generation dies out, then AM may finally get the demise that has been delayed for too long.

 

[ContinuousWave]

Actually the AM band can just sit empty after the reclamation, sparing the FCC from another service to regulate. Interestingly enough, there is a thread in the Ham board about fake GPS signals. NDBs could be expanded upward into the AM band.

NDBs in the US are going away due to GPS...one of the largest makers of NDBs (Southern Avionics in Texas) sells 99% of them overseas...Nautel still makes and sells NDBs but a lot of their sells in that market are again overseas.

 

[1069_KIFR]

Yes.

 

[KTN Corp]

NDBs in the US are going away due to GPS...one of the largest makers of NDBs (Southern Avionics in Texas) sells 99% of them overseas...Nautel still makes and sells NDBs but a lot of their sells in that market are again overseas.

At the time I wrote that, there was a big story about broadcasting fake GPS signals to mislead Air Force planes during battle.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

AM radio is a poor investment. Audio quality for music is poor and it's listeners are predominantly older. Young people never will listen to AM, and are abandoning radio in general. When the older generation dies out, then AM may finally get the demise that has been delayed for too long.

So you and other people say. But what I note is a real tussle for available frequencies, the FCC shoehorning in as many nonsensical AM allocations as possible, glut of stations. Why would that be if nobody is listening to AM? Answering my own question - AM is cheap relative to FM so all the small broadcasters can get on the air for cheap. As long as an Asian station can sell commercials down in Asia town, or the classic country in a small town is supported by the local bait shop and restaurants, etc. you will see AM flourishing. It may not fit your definition of mass appeal, but the business model works and the stations are financially viable. The pressures that drive foreign, preaching, and niche formats onto AM are not going away, they are getting worse with FM programmed by focus groups dumbing down the formats to the least common denominator. Anybody with better taste than mass appeal will flee to alternative media, including AM. Remember that AM sounds a lot better than any FM with more than 2 HD sub-channels, and better than satellite which is abandoning stereo on a lot of channels. AM certainly has better fidelity than those ridiculous ear buds people use for MP3 players, which sound awful enough even through good headphones.