AM HD TURNOFF PACE ACCELERATES

[Savage]

Yep. If they wanted to just go out and kill the AM band entirely, it would be hard to imagine a more effective vehicle than IBOC. Especially when you layer in the cynical legal manipulations which deprive victim stations of any effective petition for relief. The willingness of these HD-pushers to self- and mutually-annihilate is just mind-boggling. At least to those of us with operational minds.

And Tom Wells - I plead guilty to inadvertently impugning 78 rpm records. And you are also right about the bandwidth requirements for a 10 kHz vs. 5 kHz wide AM signal.

There were some fine-sounding 78 rpm records, especially when the sound was run through one of the dynamic noise suppressor circuits which were coming into widespread use at the end of the 78 period. And the Decca "FFrr" (Full Frequency Range Reproduction) records from Britain post-WW2 typically went out to 8 kHz. They sounded far more natural than many of the 45 rpm singles which also provided about 5 kHz bandpass until the onset of the stereo disc era in 1957.

 

[satech]

I have not been able to monitor WLS during the daytime since I'm at work then, but I don't know of any reason why they would NOT be running AM stereo during the day. I can confirm that they do at night, and it comes in perfectly at my home.

iBiquity's own web site pretty much answered my question: WLS is no longer on their official list of HD Radio stations. Neither is WABC. It seems like Citadel is dropping AM IBOC like a hot potato... or in this case, a rotten one!

 

[calstymes]

satech reported:

iBiquity's own web site pretty much answered my question: WLS is no longer on their official list of HD Radio stations. Neither is WABC. It seems like Citadel is dropping AM IBOC like a hot potato... or in this case, a rotten one!

Things are getting exciting around Citadel! Now when CBS and CC eventually do the same thing, maybe the AM broadcast band will start to sound listenable again.

Wouldn't that be fun Mr. Wire?

 

[satech]

Things are getting exciting around Citadel! Now when CBS and CC eventually do the same thing, maybe the AM broadcast band will start to sound listenable again.

Ain't that the truth. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the mutually assured destruction skywave hashfest that's still going on: 1000 WMVP, 1010 WINS, 1020 KDKA, 1030 WBZ, and 1040 WHO.

 

[badjef]

970 WFLA has turned their back on after a few days off. I was feeling a reduced power here, I susspected they were working in the field. Yesterday their strong signal returned and the HD along with it.

It is still daytime power only.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[BRNout]

Things are getting exciting around Citadel! Now when CBS and CC eventually do the same thing, maybe the AM broadcast band will start to sound listenable again.

Ain't that the truth. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the mutually assured destruction skywave hashfest that's still going on: 1000 WMVP, 1010 WINS, 1020 KDKA, 1030 WBZ, and 1040 WHO.

And the hashfest covers at least 1/4 of the North American continent at night and extends beyond WHO to include 1050 WEPN (for those in NYC and New England), 1060 KYW, 1080 WTIC, 1090 WBAL, and 1100 WTAM. Live near one of the above-mentioned stations and you get one station of the group clearly. Live far enough away from any of them and all are degraded by hash.

WBZ, which formerly bombed into Chicago every night, is frequently hard to listen to because of the strong hash/hiss/roar of it's neighbors. However, figuring out who is doing it can be all but impossible some nights because 1020 and 1040 also get the hash treatment from WBZ and from their other neighbors. Basically, they all kill each other - so MAD is a very accurate analogy in this case.

 

[WPPCProductions]

I'd like to see a 6pm to 6am shutdown.that will clean up the band a little.

 

[schmave]

I'd like to see a 6pm to 6am shutdown.that will clean up the band a little.

If HD doesn't completely go away, a nighttime ban would do - for now!

 

[satech]

If HD doesn't completely go away, a nighttime ban would do - for now!

It would take a major upheaval for the FCC to rescind their rule allowing nighttime use of AM IBOC. They will likely just let it die out on its own. Indeed, AM stations which are abandoning IBOC are doing so full-time, not just at night.

The one thing we might have a chance of seeing is an improvement in the way the FCC deals with interference complaints, because as the WYSL vs. WBZ case proves, the existing procedure is pretty much worthless. Under Kevin Martin, the FCC made up its mind that skywaves have been rendered obsolete, and therefore nighttime AM IBOC interference is not possible.

 

[TheBigA]

The one thing we might have a chance of seeing is an improvement in the way the FCC deals with interference complaints

I don't know...the current crew has been in for about a year, and I haven't noticed any change.

 

[Savage]

UPDATE! AM-HD continues its slo-mo Croak-O-Rama. June pop-count drops a few more stations, to 248:

http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html

That's about 50 stations off the high-water mark. Can't we just call it a (hiss-free) day already?

 

[JohnnyElectron]

There's a couple more off on a "temporary basis" while they repair their inoperable iBiquity hardware, like WSPD.

 

[ajc_trw]

UPDATE! AM-HD continues its slo-mo Croak-O-Rama. June pop-count drops a few more stations, to 248:

http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html

That's about 50 stations off the high-water mark. Can't we just call it a (hiss-free) day already?

The list still shows KCBS 740 as on with HD. I seem to recall they shut off the AM HD as their "sounds like FM" was mocked by 106.9 which is really FM quality.

That being the case the count is 247 and falling.

 

[kenglish]

UPDATE! AM-HD continues its slo-mo Croak-O-Rama. June pop-count drops a few more stations, to 248:

http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html

That's about 50 stations off the high-water mark. Can't we just call it a (hiss-free) day already?

I'd take a "Buzz Free Day" any day. Just tell me how to nuke a few dozen Plasma TV sets, a hundred or so switched-mode power supplies, and a few thousand feet of neon-installed-by-the-lowest-bidder-and-maintained-by-nobody. ;D

 

[Savage]

Yeah, ajc, but there are a couple of other errors the other way - for example WHTK 1280 has the buzzsaw back up and running, so I would guesstimate that net-net we're still talking 248 or so.

The overall trend, though, is decidedly down. Especially when you consider that 32 of the piddling alleged 85 or so 24-7 HD-AM signals are on the 6 graveyard channels. That means that only approximately 1% of licensed AMs are operating with HD 24-7.

Considering that factor, it's amazing that the remaining 53 unlimited-hours operating HD-AMs are causing the awful adjacent-channel racket. Can you imagine the mess if HD actually saw widespread adoption in the MW band?

AM radio would be totally useless. At night, in the east, between 1000 kHz and 1220 kHz and 660 kHz and 880 kHz, it already is on some nights.

 

[Savage]

Oops - hit SEND too soon. I meant to say, "1% of widely hearable AM licensed signals are operating with HD 24-7." Generally, a nighttime AM signal with a coverage radius of less than 10 miles (and considerably less with HD) is not one which I consider "widely hearable."

 

[ddsparxx]

At night in VA the adjacent channel racket makes those 2 portions of the AM band a mess. On the lower portion of the 1000 to 1220, it is awful with WBZ's buzzsaw being very loud, loud enough to bury most of WHO's and KDKA's signals. WPHT's IBOC is also loud.

 

[fybush]

Yeah, ajc, but there are a couple of other errors the other way - for example WHTK 1280 has the buzzsaw back up and running, so I would guesstimate that net-net we're still talking 248 or so.

But is WHTK running the buzzsaw when it's on night pattern? I'll have to remember to check tonight. I don't think they've ever had it operating on their very tight four-tower night signal, just the non-DA daytime.

 

[Savage]

Nope, WROC (oops! I meant WPXN....I mean WPXY-AM....no, umm....TWELVE-EIGHTY....) remains a digital daytimer. Pattern bandwidth issues and DA-N common point graph that looks like half of Megan Fox.

 

[audioguy]

I guess this belongs in this thread... The Score (670) has had their HD hash generator off all day... no interference to WSM last night either. So, we'll see. I'm not getting my hopes up because WBBM still has theirs going.