AM HD TURNOFF PACE ACCELERATES

[KB1OKL]

I own AT LEAST a dozen AM receivers that easily reproduce up to 10 kHz of audio bandwidth. The least expensive of these cost less than $50 (a GE Superadio III). It is simply NOT TRUE that you can't find inexpensive AM receivers that sound good, although most of the ones you will find in stores are indeed very poor.

I didn't even think about the Superadios, I have a I and a II, they sound good.

 

[Savage]

For a decent AM radio on a budget...go to any yard, church or tag sale this spring. You'll find any number of 5-tube radios from about 1945-1965 for anywhere from $1 to $15. Plug it in to make sure it works before you plunk down your sofa change. Take it home and blow it out with canned air and squirt some Blue Shower in the volume control. Voila. Enjoy! In many if not most cases, the radio will play and provide reception vastly better than anything you can buy new....and it will for the rest of your life without further attention.

 

[tomservo]

None of those old time radios do any good in the car, where many people listen. Those are the radios, whether OEM or aftermarket, that are most likely to have worse-than-telephone bandwidth on AM. Speaking of phones, does anyone under 30 even know how good a landline telephone can sound? Cell phones have ruined good call quality. I came across a tape of a talk show from the 90s, before digital cordless and cell phones took over, and the fidelity of most of the callers was very impressive. So I guess AM radio isn't the only thing suffering a decline in quality these days!

 

[Play Freebird]

One thing I never understood is why the industry seems to have an unwritten rule that we must be all talk, all the time. Music is not allowed except for short snatches used for "bumpers". If our government made a law that you could not broadcast music, everyone would be up in arms about it, but the industry has apparently outlawed music on its own.

The music licensing agencies (ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC) have much to do with this. Talk stations receive a substantial break on licensing fees.

 

[KB1OKL]

For a decent AM radio on a budget...go to any yard, church or tag sale this spring. You'll find any number of 5-tube radios from about 1945-1965 for anywhere from $1 to $15. Plug it in to make sure it works before you plunk down your sofa change. Take it home and blow it out with canned air and squirt some Blue Shower in the volume control. Voila. Enjoy! In many if not most cases, the radio will play and provide reception vastly better than anything you can buy new....and it will for the rest of your life without further attention.

I got my two Superadios at yard sales, couple of bucks each, 5 tube radios are hard to find now they're all on ebay.

 

[badjef]

None of those old time radios do any good in the car, where many people listen. Those are the radios, whether OEM or aftermarket, that are most likely to have worse-than-telephone bandwidth on AM. Speaking of phones, does anyone under 30 even know how good a landline telephone can sound? Cell phones have ruined good call quality. I came across a tape of a talk show from the 90s, before digital cordless and cell phones took over, and the fidelity of most of the callers was very impressive. So I guess AM radio isn't the only thing suffering a decline in quality these days!

That's because the "smart phones" are not smart phones. I call them "dumfones". They are smart devices, but really dumb phones.

Don't get me started on this one.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[ajc_trw]

Actually music can sound quite good on AM if you do the engineering correctly.

You forget: There are TWO sides to this equation. The best transmission system in the world is useless if the receiver won't reproduce anything above 3kHz, and you will be hard-pressed to find anything the average consumer can afford (or is willing to pay for) that can do that. We won't even talk about all the other challenges AM faces on the engineering side, like atmospheric noise, skywave fading, interference from other stations (IBOC or not), a grossly overcrowded AM band...things which no transmission system, no matter how well engineered, can overcome.

Maybe so, but higher fidelity AM broadcasts are compatible with all AM radios so there is no chicken & egg problems. Also, many people may find sweet serendipity as their older and/or cheaper radios sound better with the hi-fi stations than those who remain AM quality. It's hit and miss but when you hit.

 

[davideduardo]

The music licensing agencies (ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC) have much to do with this. Talk stations receive a substantial break on licensing fees.

The performance rights collection organizations take a very small piece of revenues from terrestrial radio. New agreements will reduce this even more, and tie fees to revenue rather than market size.

The percentage of gross revenue going for composer and author fees is in the vicinity of 3%... small when you consider agency commission on time buys is 15%.

Talk is programmed because it is profitable, not because it "saves money."

 

[satech]

Bad news: I reported back in late December 2011 that 1280 WADO in NYC had turned off their IBOC, but now as of about a week ago, they've turned it back on.

 

[Savage]

Fear not, satech. It WILL go off again.

Okay, I admit "accelerates" may no longer literally be the case, but I'll still place over 41,000 page views and 800 replies in the "W" column....

....as I note that Barry McLarnon's HD-IBOC pop-count has ticked downward once again. As of 4-1-12 it's at 217 stations....down from 2009's "high-water mark," so to speak, of 290 (out of 4700 licensed AMs.) Fewer than 75 AM-HD stations operate around the clock, and the awful interference continues. GREAT innovation, which matters among the civilian population to almost nobody.

When is Glynn Walden supposed to retire, anyway?? ???

 

[JohnnyElectron]

I think that Glynn Walden is going to 'retire' just in time to run SiriusXM when Liberty pulls a hostile takeover on Mel Karmazin later this year, and Mel gets forced-out, Glynn and Liberty will wreck SXM like he did to AM stations with IBOC, IBAC!

 

[tomservo]

I don't see how SXM could be wrecked any more. From the firing of good dedicated XM talent to the ever-worsening sound quality, it's a pretty ratty service as is.

 

[LynnW]

Karmazim wrecked XM when it merged with Sirius. He fired most of the talent, took an ax to the playlists and essentially turned the music channels in to automated versions of NYC FM stations.

And I don't care what anyone says, Cousin Brucie sucks. Playing his 60's show on the 50's channel with his 10 minute "I love ME" intro was the final straw for me.

Now back to our regularly scheduled subject. KMOX is still polluting the airwaves with 50,000 watts of HD jamming at night.

 

[spunker88]

Its nice to see HD is still off on Radio Disney 1560 from NYC, but they are still running narrow bandwidth analog audio. Even though I don't like their format they would sound pretty nice now if they could go back to full bandwidth and AM stereo, but that will never happen. At least I can actually hear stuff on 1550 and 1570 now.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

And I don't care what anyone says, Cousin Brucie sucks. Playing his 60's show on the 50's channel with his 10 minute "I love ME" intro was the final straw for me.

Don't know where you've been, but his show has been on the 60's channel for years now, and his intro runs less than a minute and a half. He's not everyone's favorite, to be sure, but having known him personally, he's got just about the smallest ego of any air personality I've known.

 

[MarioMania]

KCBS 740 HD is back :-/

 

[LynnW]

And I don't care what anyone says, Cousin Brucie sucks. Playing his 60's show on the 50's channel with his 10 minute "I love ME" intro was the final straw for me.

Don't know where you've been, but his show has been on the 60's channel for years now, and his intro runs less than a minute and a half. He's not everyone's favorite, to be sure, but having known him personally, he's got just about the smallest ego of any air personality I've known.

They put his 60's show on the 50's channel. I never listened to 60's on 6. I'll take your word about his personality, but it certainly isn't obvious from the over the top intro to his show. Yjat would be the intro that was used at the time of the merger. May be it has changed.

 

[davideduardo]

They put his 60's show on the 50's channel. I never listened to 60's on 6. I'll take your word about his personality, but it certainly isn't obvious from the over the top intro to his show. Yjat would be the intro that was used at the time of the merger. May be it has changed.

For the years and years I have been subscribed to satellite, the Cousin Brucie 60's, 50's and 70's show has been on the Sixties channel, and the intro has been very brief.

 

[scanman1]

There was a brief period of time when Cousin Brucie's Wednesday show was on the '50s on 5, but that was a couple of years ago and now both his excellent Wednesday and Saturday shows are always on '60s on 6.

 

[iyiyi]

Its nice to see HD is still off on Radio Disney 1560 from NYC, but they are still running narrow bandwidth analog audio. // At least I can actually hear stuff on 1550 and 1570 now.

OK. What compelling "stuff" can you hear on 1550 and 1570 that 1560's IBOC "denies" the listeners of New York's metropolitan area?

Should 1560 decide to sign off for good: What do you believe the entire cume for an ENTIRE YEAR that 1550 AND 1570 will garner in Market #1? Beside yourself, I'd be willing to guess ZERO listeners! I can understand how a low power 1040 can be adversely affected by a 1030's IBOC and has a legitimate gripe. I can't see why or how anyone else should give a bleep about 1st or 2nd adjacent channel interference from IBOC! Co-channel interference is FAR and AWAY AM broadcasting's real "nightmare"!
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