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AM HD Radios receive C-Quam AM Stereo!

Re: Link to WNMB Audio

Mike Walker said:
Bill asked if I would host this audio for him (of WNMB North Myrtle Beach in AM Stereo, recorded on the Accurian). I'm happy to, Bill! http://www.theproductionroom.net/wnmb.mp3
Click to expand...

For listening to your music collection around the house and/or yard in C-QUAM AM Stereo, Chris Cuff makes a 100 milliwatt AM Stereo transmitter (see the very bottom of this web page for information on it and his e-mail address): http://www.geocities.com/amstereo2001/

I use mine to listen to CDs and radio stations' internet streams in AM Stereo, using my Sony SRF-AX15 AM Stereo/FM Stereo Walkman to receive it.


-- Black Shire
 
Audiophile, just because you haven't gotten an AM stereo station, doesn't mean it doesn't receive am stereo. I'd wage a week's pay that it does. AM stereo stations are turning off their exciters pretty quickly. Call the station you're trying to receive, and ask if they're still stereo!

I tried to receive WCIS in Morganton NC (760AM) about 40 miles away on my Accurian in stereo. I couldn't, even with the Terk AM Advantage. I didn't conclude that "it can't receive stereo". I concluded that either the station's exciter is turned off, or I'm just not getting a good enough signal. Perhaps the station THINKS their exciter is working, but it isn't putting out the 25hz pilot tone that radio needs in order to switch to stereo. These are all more likely than your Accurian lacking a capability that everyone else's posesses ;)
 
Don't tell me what can't receive! ::)

My Realistic TM-152 recieves CFCO in stereo, the Accurian doesn't...
 
And my SRF-A100 receives stereo stations my Radio Shack tuner doesn't. That doesn't mean they're not stereo, only that I can't receive them that way.

You may be right that your raido doesnt' receive c-quam (while everyone else's does). But look it from my standpoint...consider the odds!

Here's an am stereo sample from WNMB in North Myrtle Beach South Carolina being received on an Accurian just like yours http://www.theproductionroom.net/wnmb.mp3

Admittedly the radio was IN THE STATION at the time the recording was made, down the hall from the transmitter (I assume from Bill's description, I've never been in WNMB. Actually I DID visit the station 25 years or more ago, but have no idea if they're in the same building). But I'd wager a lot that under the same circumstances your radio would receive stereo too.

Does that make it a GREAT (or even good) am stereo radio? Nope. But as an unadvertised "extra feature", if you live near an am stereo station, hell...it's pretty cool. My only point!
 
Well, now, wouldn't it be the irony of all ironies - if IBOC AM doesn't work - that stations would rescue the idea of "High Definition" AM by changing back to C-Quam and the old AMAX standards. One has to wonder if Ibiquity - knowing that AM IBOC was doomed - quietly made sure C-Quam was added as a fallback plan!

This also raises an interesting possibility. If software can decode both - then the nighttime problem is SOLVED. IBOC day - C-Quam night.
 
Good point Bruce (did you once work at WIFM in Elkin, NC? WWWC in Wilkesboro NC?). Except that the transmitter would have to be set up quite different for C-Quam and HD. C-Quam would suggest wide-bandwidth analog audio, which is generally a no-no for HD (am hd proponents recommend no more than 5khz analog bandwidth for talk on am hd, 7khz for music).

Also it's physically impossible to transmit C-Quam and HD at the same time on the same transmitter, so there would need to be some elaborate (and expensive, no doubt!) switching system. Think of all the things that would need to be switched, preferably in an instant so there was no "down-time" during the changeover.

Interesting idea, however (even if you meant it tongue-in-cheek). But as one who has real doubts about AM HD, I'd hate to see it degrade am analog quality and coverage in the daytime as well (those who accuse me of being in the "HD cartel" please note how many anti AM-HD comments I've posted!)
 
Guys, ref the WNMB aircheck. The recording was made in our studios, just off main street in North Myrtle Beach. HOWEVER, our transmitter and antennas are about a dozen miles away, located off highway 90 behind Barefoot Resort and Colonial Mall. Also, the recording was made with the radio sitting in a production studio surrounded by three computers. Those things considered, it was pretty good. However, it does not hold a candle compared to the Carver TX11-a or the Sony Srf a-100, or even our newer sony 15s. I wish had a way of getting a good recording of the Audiophile C-Quam AM Section in my Thunderbird or in my Expedition. You would think it's FM Stereo, only better. 8)
 
In that case, it's even more impressive Bill. I assumed (from the lack of noise) that the transmitter must be "down the hall".
 
Bill said:
Guys, ref the WNMB aircheck. The recording was made in our studios, just off main street in North Myrtle Beach. HOWEVER, our transmitter and antennas are about a dozen miles away, located off highway 90 behind Barefoot Resort and Colonial Mall. Also, the recording was made with the radio sitting in a production studio surrounded by three computers. Those things considered, it was pretty good. However, it does not hold a candle compared to the Carver TX11-a or the Sony Srf a-100, or even our newer sony 15s. I wish had a way of getting a good recording of the Audiophile C-Quam AM Section in my Thunderbird or in my Expedition. You would think it's FM Stereo, only better. 8)
Click to expand...

Bill... I love your WNMB steam! A VERY FINE AM station! I really hope you’re doing well in your market. Your advertisers have a great option with your station. I’m one of those pre-baby boomers that enjoy great music and equal AM audio. Unfortunately, I can’t enjoy your station in Charleston due to 910 here. My parents have a home on Fripp Island, and I once heard “Hold on I’m Coming” behind 900 in Sav one evening... ‘Could that have been WNMB?

I have a Carver TX-11b—AWESOME AM! Nowadays, I use it to recover WIFE—Connersville, IN to privately stream to the net from my brother’s office there. I enjoy it daily! They have a stereo stream at www.superoldies1580.com but I prefer my 64k mp3 mono stream over-the-air from the Carver. Even when they are at 5-watts overnight, the Carver—assisted by a Terk “AM Advantage” loop delivers good quality.

Their PD, Bob Wills—is a really “mellow” and enjoyable guy (by broadcast standards)... He knows his “stuff”—BIG TIME! The format spans three decades with minimal “train wrecks”... He’s on mornings from 5-9AM—you should listen. I’m only casually-acquainted with him—nevertheless, he has assembled one of the best-sounding Oldies formats I have heard—and he’s accomplished that from very limited resources.

Their owner “cashed in” on an 18-mil offer to move their FM to Cincinnati this past summer, and he graciously rebuilt the AM with a new Harris 1kw “digital” rig—their audio is OUTSTANDING! You can’t slight AM after listening to this station! It’s a “boomer’s” dream come true. TRULY local radio! I really LOVE good AM quality—and this station is the quintessential reference!

If you find the need in your future for a PD—you should check this guy out—he does a GREAT JOB... and he REALLY loves (and knows) oldies!
 
Mike,I forgot in my last post; WNMB Studios and offices are still in the same building as always; 429 Pine Avenue, just off Main Street in the Ocean Drive section of North Myrtle Beach. Last year we renovated and remodeled the building, but the location is still the same as it was in 1972 for the original wnmb-fm. We lease some studio and office space to an FM Station, 94.9, WVCO, known as "The Surf", in one wing of the building.
 
Cool, Bill. I'll stop by and make a pest of myself the next time my wife and I are at the beach! ::)
 
Re: Link to WNMB Audio

Black_Shire said:
Mike Walker said:
Bill asked if I would host this audio for him (of WNMB North Myrtle Beach in AM Stereo, recorded on the Accurian). I'm happy to, Bill! http://www.theproductionroom.net/wnmb.mp3
Click to expand...

For listening to your music collection around the house and/or yard in C-QUAM AM Stereo, Chris Cuff makes a 100 milliwatt AM Stereo transmitter (see the very bottom of this web page for information on it and his e-mail address): http://www.geocities.com/amstereo2001/

I use mine to listen to CDs and radio stations' internet streams in AM Stereo, using my Sony SRF-AX15 AM Stereo/FM Stereo Walkman to receive it.


-- Black Shire
Click to expand...

That is indeed a great sounding aircheck. C-Quam can have incredible seperation. I installed Chris Cuff's C-Quam decoder in my old Sony receiver in order to get KABC 790 and KDIS 1110 Los Angeles in stereo. Although KABC was and is talk, the voices sounded clean and full with great presence in C-Quam. Sadly, both stations have since switched to IBOC and the analog audio sounds tinny and awful.

But if decoding C-Quam is part of the spec for HD receivers then there is absolutely no reason why any AM station, large or small market, shouldn't be broadcasting in C-Quam if they aren't already broadcasting IBOC.

And given the cloudy future for AM-HD (and next to none for CAM-D), all AM stations should take a second look at C-Quam.

db
 
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