AM HD TURNOFF PACE ACCELERATES

[local oscillator]

Here's another good one: Ten years ago, CBS was trying to pry the rights to broadcast the Tigers' and Red Wings' games away from their longtime home, WJR (50 kW, ND, 760), and put them on WXYT (5 kW, ND-D, DA-N/2 towers, 1270). They were successful in their negotiations with Mike Ilitch, owner of the teams, but only after agreeing to equal WJR's 50 kW. After several apps with the FCC, CBS pulled it off -- with 9 towers, day and night. WXYT had become a 50 kilowatter that many agree (including me) doesn't have as good a signal as it had had previously with 5 kW. All of the usual comments about "station you can't hear past the parking lot" and "50 kW -- straight up" applied here. So, Ilitch didn't get his coverage, and CBS spent a lot of $$$ on a directional monstrosity. Nonetheless, there is a happy ending. Three years ago, CBS flipped the former WKRK (97.1) to a simulcast of WXYT as WXYT-FM/The Ticket. Ilitch now has his coverage, and CBS has a ratings winner -- and a nine tower white elephant in a field south of Detroit.

 

[Chuck]

You should rename the thread:

"AM TURNOFF PACE ACCELERATES"

Not really. According to the FCC, AM is static. (No pun intended). The current radio figures as of June 30, 2010 are:

AM STATIONS 2009 = 4786, 2010 = 4786
FM COMMERCIAL 2009 = 6427, 2010 = 6494
FM EDUCATIONAL 2009 = 3040, 2010 = 3213

TOTAL 2009 = 14,253, 2010 = 14,503

The 2009 figures are from January 1, 2009, so in a year and a half, not much has happened on the AM front. You didn't expect growth, did you?

 

[ddsparxx]

There is a way. A switch that when operated to use AM, TURNS OFF the clocks and CPUs that run square waves.
OR, find a way to use sine wave clocks and properly decouple such signals internally so such signals remain inside the circuit where they "belong".

I just purchased an amazing radio. It cost me all of $60 but I can't believe what it does. It's a Tecsun PL-380, with a DSP receiver. Variable bandwidth AM with the touch of a button. The FM capture ratio must be about 0.1 db, because for the first time since the inception of IBOC I can clearly hear adjacent-channel stations that were once buried in noise. You have to move the radio around to a "dead spot" from the HD transmitter, but it works. I just got it yesterday & haven't figured everything out yet. But this is one pretty fine device. I haven't gotten it away from the city yet to see how sensitive the AM really is, but it appears to be among the best.

Dave B.

The DSP radios from Tecsun are definitely amazing. I have the similar model, Tecsun PL-310, and I can do the same thing--move the radio to a dead spot from the HD sideband or transmitter, or even a semilocal FM station and hear the station either buried in the iBLOCK noise or the semilocal station. I recentlly nulled out a 50 kW FM about 40 miles away and heard a co-channel 50 kW about 150 miles though this was during a fairly weak tropo opening.

 

[milton77]

I live in Oklahoma City. When KFAB's IBOC is on, hearing KMOX becomes problematic. I haven't heard it in the past few weeks, hopefully they will keep it off at night - especially once the Cardinals move back to KMOX.

 

[Don Juannn]

You should rename the thread:

"AM TURNOFF PACE ACCELERATES"

Not really.

Yes really. The turnoff is not to transmitters....but receivers.

As for the AM audience, that's gone even further south. Up until 1978, half of all radio listening was done on the AM dial. Now that share has dropped to about 17 percent, according to the FCC. Among young listeners, the decline is catastrophic.

 

[davideduardo]

Now that share has dropped to about 17 percent, according to the FCC. Among young listeners, the decline is catastrophic.[/i]

I didn't know the FCC was in the ratings business.

 

[Don Juannn]

Now that share has dropped to about 17 percent, according to the FCC. Among young listeners, the decline is catastrophic.[/i]

I didn't know the FCC was in the ratings business.

Not a rating...but a "usage quotient". ;-)

I believe the number is true....however how the author got it.

 

[davideduardo]

Now that share has dropped to about 17 percent, according to the FCC. Among young listeners, the decline is catastrophic.[/i]

I didn't know the FCC was in the ratings business.

Not a rating...but a "usage quotient". ;-)

The FCC does not measure that, either.

 

[Savage]

The FCC is primarily interested in measuring money these days. As in, your outrageous annual "spectrum use fee," which until this year was due (in ever-escalating amounts annually) the third week in September.

This year's spectrum fee was due August 31. Welcome to the the All-New Eleven-Month Year, as decreed by the Friendly Communications Commissars.

 

[KB1OKL]

I'm not sure if this is permanent but WTAG 580 Worc, MA has had their IBOC off now for three days. It's IBOC has really been annoying, they've had it on a few nights in the recent past and obviously that didn't work out so it's always been a daytime IBOCer. Here's hoping it's now a former IBOCer.

 

[Play Freebird]

I'm not sure if this is permanent but WTAG 580 Worc, MA has had their IBOC off now for three days. It's IBOC has really been annoying, they've had it on a few nights in the recent past and obviously that didn't work out so it's always been a daytime IBOCer. Here's hoping it's now a former IBOCer.

WTAG made a good decision by shutting it off. Those of you who aren't locals, take a look at this night pattern, keeping in mind that the population density around the 125 degree null is significant:

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/314695-24314.pdf

WTAG already has a 230 watt FM translator in Paxton (at a hilltop site personally approved by Major Armstrong), so why keeping fooling around with IBOC?

 

[Time Traveler]

I'm not sure if this is permanent but WTAG 580 Worc, MA has had their IBOC off now for three days. It's IBOC has really been annoying, they've had it on a few nights in the recent past and obviously that didn't work out so it's always been a daytime IBOCer. Here's hoping it's now a former IBOCer.

WTAG made a good decision by shutting it off. Those of you who aren't locals, take a look at this night pattern, keeping in mind that the population density around the 125 degree null is significant:

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/AM_DA_patterns/314695-24314.pdf

WTAG already has a 230 watt FM translator in Paxton (at a hilltop site personally approved by Major Armstrong), so why keeping fooling around with IBOC?

The site that the brain trust that runs WAAF abandoned a few years ago....destroying one of the best FM signals in New England.....

 

[BRNout]

The site that the brain trust that runs WAAF abandoned a few years ago....destroying one of the best FM signals in New England.....

Yes, one of the dumbest moves I've ever seen. Trade-off: lose signal through much of New England in exchange for almost no signal improvement in the target market area. In fact, the signal is actually worse in many Boston 'burbs where it was excellent before - and was not improved enough in Boston proper to matter. Which is why Entercom bought the former WILD-FM 97.7 to offer a city-signal simulcast of WAAF.

Meanwhile, WAAF's once legendary signal is gone from much of central and western MA, CT, RI, and SW NH. Areas where they once had quite a few listeners.

Truly stupid.

 

[davideduardo]

Meanwhile, WAAF's once legendary signal is gone from much of central and western MA, CT, RI, and SW NH. Areas where they once had quite a few listeners.

The real question is why they thought the move would improve the Boston MSA coverage if, in fact, it made no real improvement.

The loss of the rest of the coverage is insignificant or irrelevant in that radio is not bought for coverage outside the metropolitan survey area where a station "belongs."

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

WAAF's once legendary signal is gone from much of central and western MA, CT, RI, and SW NH. Areas where they once had quite a few listeners.

...and for all pratical purposes zero business.

Yes, this is a business, believe it or not. Having their former signal did absolutely nothing for them business-wise.

 

[KB1OKL]

WTAG's IBOC is back on with a vengeance this afternoon, completely hashing up 560-600 Khz, it had been at least 8 days unless they are testing (again) and I was lucky enough to catch them while there off.

 

[KB1OKL]

Well WTAG's hash machine is on here well past sunset hashing up at least 560-600Khz, I can hear hash on 555 where I'm trying to listen to ZIZ 555 Khz. Even though I'm out of their protected contour they did give me permission to listen to them.

 

[Savage]

Back to Detroit! The Former Motor City has got to qualify as the Mecca Of MEOVs, with its plethora of gigantic AM directional farms. Allow me to enumerate some highlights in International Orange and White:

WRDT 560 (Monroe) - 4 towers
WNZK 680/690 (Son of Cheer Radio 7) - 6
WFDF 910 - 8
WWJ 950 - 9
WCAR 1090 - 6
WDFM 1130 - 9
WCHB 1200 - 10
WXYT 1270 - 9
WDTW (Former Keener 13) 1310 - 6
WDRJ 1440 - 6
WLQV 1510 - 9

By my reckoning that's 11 stations with a total of 81 sticks, for a median of almost 7.5 towers per AM station....which has to be some kind of record. Calling All Scott Fybushes!! How about a special NERW feature or maybe even an entire Tower Site Calendar starring the Detroit Forest of AM Towers?? (And this doesn't even take into account nearby suburbs or Canada which have their own AM farms.....)

 

[local oscillator]

Add 1 more: 560 has 4 towers days and 1 tower nights from separate sites. Not to mention that 1440 used to have 10 towers and 1500 used to have 12. There are a few additional stations that bring the average down a bit, though. 1400 has only 1 tower, 1340 has 2, and 1030 has 3. Nonetheless, that's a whole lotta hardware. Unfortunately, only two of the 14 stations have substantial listening -- WJR/760 and WWJ/950.

 

[BRNout]

WAAF's once legendary signal is gone from much of central and western MA, CT, RI, and SW NH. Areas where they once had quite a few listeners.

...and for all pratical purposes zero business.

Yes, this is a business, believe it or not. Having their former signal did absolutely nothing for them business-wise.

They lost strong coverage within portions of the (Boston) market itself, in addition to those 'bonus' ears outside of the market. That was traded for......well, not much additional coverage anywhere. So, yeah, I'd say that it was bad for business. Believe it or not.