CITADEL TO STATIONS: DON'T MAINTAIN, REPAIR OR UPGRADE HD EQUIPMENT

[Savage]

An unimpeachable internal source at Citadel tells us: the word was handed down from corporate for stations not to spend anything more on HD-AM. When iBiquity exciters break down (a frequent occurrence, from all available information) or require software upgrades, CEs have been directed to simply turn them off.

Here they go: the first Decepticons to be demounted from their equipment racks, to be shuttled off to the elephants' graveyard of decommissioned obsolete equipment - the "ubiquitous" dusty back room at the transmitter site, populated by grimy ITC cart machines, wire-line remote control systems, phono preamps, and DOS computer hardware. Decepticons now face a new future of being cannibalized for project parts - finally an honest use for whatever components they can donate.

Citadel has said, don't spend another nickel on HD-AM. WJR has been analog-only for months.

 

[kyscott]

I'm having flashbacks to the 1980's here and AM stereo. I would be willing to guess that in the next five years or so, you can walk into the back room of a transmitter building and see Ibiquity equipment sitting up on a shelf next to the Motorola stereo exciter.

How much money has been thrown down the black rat hole of this experiment?

 

[JH_Radio]

Well we could always put AM Stereo bakc on the air....
John
Bensalem, PA

 

[oldiesfan6479]

This could be the first and only good thing Farid has done
since he took over the ABC shop.

It's the "kill I-CRAP and anything else you have to do to
protect my bonus" memo. ;D

Which side do you root for in something like this? ???

 

[KB1OKL]

Damn,

and I just spent 85.00 to check out I-Krap in my home. (I like that name)
For the state of IBOC check out John Gorman's great blog entitled Radio: HD Radio's holiday horror ;D

Maybe I can turn on the old R-390A's and SP-600's for BCB DXing again soon?

Which side do I root for?: Kill I-Krap of course especially on the AM band before it kills IT.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Something to Root For!

This could be the first and only good thing Farid has done
since he took over the ABC shop.

It's the "kill I-CRAP and anything else you have to do to
protect my bonus" memo. ;D

Which side do you root for in something like this? ???

You root for Ibiquity to hire Farid away from Citadel!

That would kill two birds with one stone...

 

[JohnnyElectron]

WJR should turn it's AM stereo system back on, as WJR was one of the best sounding stations, AM or FM, when it had the C-Quam running 3 years ago. I have a recording of a Sunday night locally-produced music program, and it sounds unbelievable. WJR's analog audio has much better bandwidth sound than it did a year ago with HD-AM.

You can run C-Quam without "disturbing 2 to 4 of your neighbors", unlike iBiquity-AM, so why not use it?

 

[pocket-radio]

For a company who is struggling with a stock price of forty cents, why would you continue to blow money on project that generates no revenues or listeners

 

[rbrucecarter5]

An unimpeachable internal source at Citadel tells us: the word was handed down from corporate for stations not to spend anything more on HD-AM. When iBiquity exciters break down (a frequent occurrence, from all available information) or require software upgrades, CEs have been directed to simply turn them off.

That is one email I would really like to see posted here ----

We will remember HD AM for years until audio chains are finally repaired to give full fidelity again. That is my second gripe about HD AM, right after the tremendously loud, persistant for hundreds of miles digital sidebands.

I might do another trip out west if my daughter works the summer filming schedule. If I do, I will post Youtube documentation of Chicago and other distant AM stations having sideband pairs 1000 miles away in the daytime. It was really quite amazing. I would say a NM or AZ road sign or landmark in view of the car radio would do nicely. That is - if any AM is still running IBOC by next summer.

Incidentally - I could not document WJR sidebands any further away than Eastern NM along the road from Clayton to Raton. It appears that even those monster signals have a daytime range limit - by the time I was in Western AZ, even the Chicago sidebands were barely audible in the daytime. But up to Flagstaff - IBOC sidebands, daytime, from distant Chicago stations on a un-modified car radio were clearly receivable. I WILL post proof if I get to make the trip again!

 

[ajc_trw]

WJR should turn it's AM stereo system back on, as WJR was one of the best sounding stations, AM or FM, when it had the C-Quam running 3 years ago. I have a recording of a Sunday night locally-produced music program, and it sounds unbelievable. WJR's analog audio has much better bandwidth sound than it did a year ago with HD-AM.

You can run C-Quam without "disturbing 2 to 4 of your neighbors", unlike iBiquity-AM, so why not use it?

Before I started working for KAZM 780 (AM stereo) Sedona AZ I checked out the air studio and listened to the big speakers above the soundboard. I was a bit confused as to what I was listening to, on-air or from the board. The sound had excellent separation and a good deal of dynamic range (board audio) but the treble was a bit limited to around what sounded like 7-8kHz (on-air). I later found out I was listening to the on-air sound and was quite impressed. ;D

The only time I didn't like the separation was when I used the board cassette recorder to tape my shows which was only hooked to one channel. The super stereo mixed songs left quite a lot out when you only got the left channel.

Andrew Cheadle
Overnight KAZM 780
July 95 to Feb 96

 

[clouseau]

An unimpeachable internal source at Citadel tells us: the word was handed down from corporate for stations not to spend anything more on HD-AM. When iBiquity exciters break down (a frequent occurrence, from all available information) or require software upgrades, CEs have been directed to simply turn them off.

Well if you were Citadel... and wondering where you would get the next electric bill payment from, I would suspect so. Bob. I'm sure you have worked SOMEWHERE where times are BAD. Clearly Citadel is such a place. IIRC they couldn't even hold on to their exclusive with Hannity. And that should be a license to print cash. Like CC was willing to let Rush go. Right... If you don't have the cash... you don't have the cash. As a Texan,who actually worked in Aviation for a spell, I could show you emails from Continental Airlines in the Lorenzo years that would make your head spin. Companies act weird when they're out of money. While AMHD may not be the panacea, I'd be hard pressed to call Citadel's money problems the ultimate condemnation. I'd be a little more concerned that that right turn might not be a AMHD NASCAR race, but rather circling the drain. It sure isn't good news for Ibiquity.

Did I mention I'm looking for a second hand FMeXtra system? Seriously I would consider it. Bad aquisitions and piss poor operational policies do not necessarily demonstrate an HD problem. However I do fear the industry may be screwed overall. With Citadel burnt and Clear Channel's new "Buyout Nut" Sky high, It MIGHT be a good time to go into the aquisition business. Or not... I'm happier with my money in Soda and Snack Food.

Here they go: the first Decepticons to be demounted from their equipment racks, to be shuttled off to the elephants' graveyard of decommissioned obsolete equipment - the "ubiquitous" dusty back room at the transmitter site, populated by grimy ITC cart machines, wire-line remote control systems, phono preamps, and DOS computer hardware.

Bob. This is one of the all-time classic sentences posted on the internet. I salute you. If only you had mentioned a Kahn stereo encoder or a CBS NetAlert.

Decepticons now face a new future of being cannibalized for project parts - finally an honest use for whatever components they can donate.

And a Battlestar Galactica reference even. Gotta love it.

Citadel has said, don't spend another nickel on HD-AM. WJR has been analog-only for months.

I can almost feel your relief. And I get it. However I worry that the talk format continues to migrate to FM, and Tier 2 disappears... (O'reilley) the AM universe is continuing to contract. This bodes well for Second tier talk on FM and not so well for Smaller AM's. Maybe it's time for AM's to make the "Translator grab"?

Of course that's just my opinion.

Clouseau

 

[KB1OKL]

WJR should turn it's AM stereo system back on, as WJR was one of the best sounding stations, AM or FM, when it had the C-Quam running 3 years ago. I have a recording of a Sunday night locally-produced music program, and it sounds unbelievable. WJR's analog audio has much better bandwidth sound than it did a year ago with HD-AM.

You can run C-Quam without "disturbing 2 to 4 of your neighbors", unlike iBiquity-AM, so why not use it?

Yes and it would sound great on my Meduci, I used to get C-Quam stations for hundreds of miles at night in my Plymouth, sounded great, and the Meduci is much better than the radio in my old Plymouth.

 

[Savage]

Thanks, Inspector (at least I THINK it was a compliment. But one never knows.) Beating you to the punch with a likely reference to my age, I've been to transmitter sites where I did witness these once-promising gems gathering dust: the Kahn SymmetraPeak. The Gates Level-Devil. Gates Spot-Tape 101. Spotmaster cart winder. KAAR ConAlert receiver. Gates Nite-Watch. GE Uni-Level. Rek-O-Kut Challenger disc recorder. SysteMation all-cassette automation system (no, I didn't make that up.) And....anybody on the channel remember....the fabulous Ampex Cue-Mat??

I note your concern about O'Reilly and other alleged evidence that AM radio, while maybe not pushing past IBOC into the Tomb Of Oblivion, is tanking at an accelerated pace. I'm sure that's true of major group AM signals being simultaneously misprogrammed, neglected and polluted with HD-AM interference of the self and neighboring varieties. But down here in the insignificant boonie-land of independent operators (from the arrogant perpsective of big radio, the Commission, certain posters here and similar co-conspirators) we're doing just fine, thanks. Check all the trades. Entrepreneurial operators - the guys who best understand this industry IMHO - have remained in touch with their listeners and clients and communities, and - wow, amazing - continue to grow and succeed. With no help from the stupefyingly idiotic NAB and its incompetent twin - the RAB. And despite deliberate, cynical jamming sponsored by CBS, iBiquity and the aforementioned sleazebags. Funny how they try ploy after ploy to put guys like us out of business yet succeed only in repeatedly injuring themselves and each other. Instant Karma!! Keep it up, guys. We'll see you on Visiting Day at Attica.

 

[Savage]

Random postscripts: a poster here alluded to WJR's superior audio, dating back to its pre-HD days. I would add: you bet WJR sounded great. Any station associated with the late, great Ed Buterbaugh WOULD sound great. Audio quality was Ed's proud touchstone for his entire career. I had the pleasure of knowing Ed and learning from him at WEAM and CKLW. Today I can thread up 1973 reel-type airchecks of CKLW which unmask IBOC and NRSC machinations for the dishonest engineering quackery which they are. The station sounded, simply and fundamentally, fantastic, through its Buterbaugh prototype discriminate audio processing and its 1940s-vintage RCA (Victor!) Canadian plate-mod BTA-50F.

Inspector, I dispute your implication that Citadel is dumping IBOC-AM because they're cash-strapped. I would argue Martin Stabbert would have started tossing HD exciters overboard, even if the company was posting record profits. He (like almost any engineer you have an honest conversation with) has long believed that IBOC is (insert your own favorite depredations here. Use a lot of them.) IBOC ain't helping anyone on AM and is hurting many. HD exciters should all be turned off and we should move on to a real solution for AM.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Martin Stabbert...(like almost any engineer you have an honest conversation with)
has long believed that IBOC is (insert your own favorite depredations here.)

So how come certain C.E.s are still drinking the I-CRAP Kool-Aid?

I've sure they're top-notch engineers, but I just can't fathom why
some keep promoting this...well, crap. :

 

[Savage]

Fan, most of them AREN'T drinking the IBOC Kool-Aid. They're being ordered to install the stuff by corporate management which has bought into the whole farcical scheme. If you polled every CE in the USA and gave them complete employment and compensation amnesty to give their honest opinion about whether HD Radio is a good thing or a bad thing, we'd have the biggest Decepticon bonfire you could imagine.

There are notable exceptions - WOR's Tom Ray, some yes-man dweeb named Poole at Crawford Birmingham, arrogant blowhard Cris Alexander, and of course the IBOC Criminal In Chief Glynn Walden of CBS, who cooked up the whole cobbled system with the connivance of Dan "Empty Suit" Mason, also at the Eye, who promoted the insane IBOC scheme as an iBiquity stooge. He's not an engineer and is too stupid to know better. Look at the swell job he's doing with CBS.

Want to get a reading on this? Visit www.stopiboc.com and check out "Your Comments and Confessions." It's a small sampling of how honest broadcast professionals - to be distinguished from Ray, Poole, Alexander, Walden et al - really feel about HD Radio.

 

[pocket-radio]

I’ve said this before it feels like AM stereo all over again.
One exception though AM stereo worked, sounded great and didn’t add more noise to the band like Iboc does.