• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

AM HD report

C

clouseau

As someone who posted here a lot a couple of years ago, I wanted to relay a recent experience.

We recently bought a Kia Soul (Less the Hamsters) withe Microsoft UVO. It came with HD on that system. Living down here in Hooterville where we have 2 HD FM's and No AM's I still had not actually heard HD AM.

Had chance last week to go to the far side of San Antonio, TX. Upon getting to "The Loop" I turned on WOAI and promptly got an HD logo and we dropped into digital. I drove from the southeast corner to the north section several miles beyond the airport. Overall the experience with the AM was great. I had about a 5 second outage as I went under the 2 tier overhang at St Marys, but other than that I had a good solid lock the entire time. Very quiet noise floor.

I did pop over to KTKR for a moment and it locked up promptly as well.

Now both of these stations are flamethrowers, no doubt. but based on some of the AM HD Reports I had heard here in the past, I thought it only reasonable to add my experience.

Feel free to throw mud or whatever. I tried it in my new car and it seemed to work fine. I'll also freely admit all of San Antonio isn't inside the loop, etc..etc..

YMMV
 
I hadn't replied (until now) ... but I thought I had seen a few other replies to this.

I'm also getting warnings in firefox that these boards are an attack site.

Maybe something's up??
 
I'm also getting warnings that this is a dangerous site. When I logged on to do this post I was required to agree to the "terms of service" since the terms have been updated since the last time I was logged in. Do the honchos know about this? I've never had a problem with this site other than arguments with fellow posters. What's going on?
 
I have been bypassing the warning for two days now and not had any incidents. It may be a false warning. In any event, the R-I mods have published a workaround.
 
Preliminary Houston results with a Pioneer DEH-P9400 head unit:

AM - one of the most sensitive car radios I have owned on AM. Somewhat hampered by the short 31 inch whip, but that is fixable:

KMIC 1590 - about 30 miles - mono HD decode, no stereo decode - fairly unreliable HD reception.

WOAI 1200 - about 180 miles - completely clear analog - no HD. I am not sure they are still broadcasting in HD, because there is no trace of sidebands that I previously heard.

WTAW 1620 - about 80 miles - completely clear analog - no HD

FM HD decodes from rim shots 40 to 50 miles away.

More reports as I test the unit.
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
Preliminary Houston results with a Pioneer DEH-P9400 head unit:

AM - one of the most sensitive car radios I have owned on AM. Somewhat hampered by the short 31 inch whip, but that is fixable:

KMIC 1590 - about 30 miles - mono HD decode, no stereo decode - fairly unreliable HD reception.

WOAI 1200 - about 180 miles - completely clear analog - no HD. I am not sure they are still broadcasting in HD, because there is no trace of sidebands that I previously heard.

WTAW 1620 - about 80 miles - completely clear analog - no HD

FM HD decodes from rim shots 40 to 50 miles away.

More reports as I test the unit.
Click to expand...

Still miserable - results, anything at all - power lines, underpasses, lightning - HD is gone on a local station. Very bad - possibility of mass consumer acceptance - zero! Worse than cell phone call dropping, at least cell phone calls work 90% of the time, local KMIC less than 20% of the time five miles from the towers. Every street is lined with power lines, which destroy HD lock. Bad system! Defective system! I knew from theory, now I know from observation.
 
The only part of AM IBOC that propagates with any certainty are the noisy sidebands and those go for hundreds of miles especially at night. For example I was only able to get a lock on WBZ HD on my Sony Sony XDRF1HD tuner (one new one for sale on Amazon.com for 599.99!) with CC Crane Ferrite loop antenna for seconds during late afternoon when conditions are great and signals are strong but it's buzzy sidebands travel hundreds of miles obliterating Bob Savages station on 1040 within it's contour. It can't be received on one of the best HD tuners made with one of the best AM antennas at 40 miles out but the white noise sidebands travels hundreds of miles, great system! :D
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom