Fcc approves digital am radio

[TheBigA]

Has anyone here actually heard digital-only AM HD?

Scott Fybush wrote about his experience in post #27 in this thread.

 

[semoochie]

Scott Fybush wrote about his experience in post #27 in this thread.

As did I in another thread:

"Hybrid HD AM has to accommodate the analog portion and the sound quality suffers. All Digital has none of those problems and sounds like FM HD. I heard KRKO Everett WA testing at night, from Portland OR and it sounded just like very clear FM! I've never heard their analog signal anything close to clear and that was 40 years ago. I doubt if you can hear it at all anymore!"

 

[louis_p]

As did I in another thread:

"Hybrid HD AM has to accommodate the analog portion and the sound quality suffers. All Digital has none of those problems and sounds like FM HD. I heard KRKO Everett WA testing at night, from Portland OR and it sounded just like very clear FM! I've never heard their analog signal anything close to clear and that was 40 years ago. I doubt if you can hear it at all anymore!"

If that’s the case, All Digital can definitely revitalize the AM band! Using your example, KRKO’s night time pattern sends most of the signal towards Victoria. The fact that you could receive a clear, stable signal in Portland is very impressive!

 

[TheBigA]

The fact that you could receive a clear, stable signal in Portland is very impressive!

If and only if you have an HD receiver. Not many people have them.

 

[semoochie]

If that’s the case, All Digital can definitely revitalize the AM band! Using your example, KRKO’s night time pattern sends most of the signal towards Victoria. The fact that you could receive a clear, stable signal in Portland is very impressive!

I'm guessing that it was non-directional for testing purposes.

 

[kevtronics]

Scott Fybush wrote about his experience in post #27 in this thread.

Scott said "the digital signal locks" but didn't say how quickly it locks. That's my question -- do you just hear static for several seconds when first tuning in a digital-only HD Radio signal (AM or FM) until it starts decoding the digital audio? Unless the digital decode is near-instantaneous, it will make your station invisible to preset-hoppers.

 

[Kelly A]

Has anyone here actually heard digital-only AM HD? I'm wondering what the tune-in experience is like. Do you just hear static when you first tune in the frequency, until the digital starts decoding a few seconds later? If so, how would the average listener even know there's a station on that frequency, if they don't already have it programmed into their presets? Does an HD Radio's seek/scan tuning stop on it? And do analog tuners still stop on the signal, or do they just detect it as noise and skip over it?

I commute every day around the 495 Beltway North, and frequently tune in WWFD-AM. To answer your question: The audio quality and frequency response is equal to FM analog stereo. The stereo separation may be better because there is no analog crosstalk L+R/L-R. Signal to noise is definitely better than analog AM or even FM.

The factory radio in my 2018 Volvo XC90 T6 and my wife's 2017 Jaguar XJL both lock onto WWFD in MA3 mode without a problem. There might be a half second burst of noise if the signal gets lost and reacquires, but that's about it. The PAD information shows up on both radios with call letters, plus artist and title info. When you save WWFD as a preset, the call letters show up in the channel list on the screen, rather than the frequency. It's just as seamless from a user perspective as any FM station running RDS data or HD PAD. The seek/scan will stop on WWFD just as any station. Modern analog car radios seem to just ignore the MA3 signal on a scan.

 

[Kelly A]

Just saw that WMGG-AM, Tampa Bay has announced they will be going full MA3.

 

[CTListener]

Just saw that WMGG-AM, Tampa Bay has announced they will be going full MA3.

This seems to be a 100% simulcast of a regional Mexican musical format from a co-owned FM. Is there a cost savings involved in switching the AM to a mode that few in the market will be able to decipher with their existing receivers? I assume they don't plan to launch some new format on the MA3 AM signal, which would, IMO, be idiocy.

 

[TheBigA]

Is there a cost savings involved in switching the AM to a mode that few in the market will be able to decipher with their existing receivers?

My take on it was that they wouldn't experience any loss, so no risk. I think I saw the AM power is about the same as the FM translator.

 

[Kelly A]

This seems to be a 100% simulcast of a regional Mexican musical format from a co-owned FM. Is there a cost savings involved in switching the AM to a mode that few in the market will be able to decipher with their existing receivers? I assume they don't plan to launch some new format on the MA3 AM signal, which would, IMO, be idiocy.

I think you'd agree that people don't listen to any particular station because it's amplitude or frequency modulated. They listen for content and quality. Maybe not realistic given consumers don't go out of their way to buy radio receivers anymore, but to me (as BigA said), if nobody is listening, what do you have to lose? Listeners moved in mass to FM from AM because of new music formats and improved fidelity. What would an MA3 station with a new format potentially provide? Launch the new format, stream it for Alexa and Google users, and listeners have a greater choice of where to find the new format.

 

[Buddy Shula]

Digital AM is interesting and perhaps smart for certain AM situations. If a station has many FM translators, as well as digital platforms like Alexa, it could be worth a shot. Especially with a music format, or a format targeting younger.

It's a roll of the dice, but eventually it will be a good option. The following is demo dependent :

How do we listen at home now?: Alexa, Streaming, App, Some traditional AM/FM radios - mainly FM
How do we listen at work now?: Alexa, streaming, app, Some traditional AM/FM radios -Mainly FM
How do we listen in the car now?: This is the big unknown. I listen on the radio. Both AM and FM. I also use App and Bluetooth

The bottom line is, how are people listening to the radio content, and then apply that to your own station.

In Buffalo, AM radio OTA is strong. But it's not in many bigger markets.

If you had to ask people to buy HD radios, they would say NO, like they have in the past. If it is standard in car, that is a game changer.

How do people listen to my station? 1230AM Great metro AM coverage, sounds terrific in Erie and and some in Niagara. Erie is our base. / 102.9FM (Great metro translator, could be best in the market 700,000 Geography coverage), / 100.1 FM (Another great metro translator, 200,000 person geography coverage) / 100.5 FM (Decent translator. Next to Canada Sufficient coverage in the highly populated Tonawandas), listening platforms also include....streaming, voice activated devices, mobile app. That's a lot of platforms! For WECK with a majority of listenership on digital and FM's anyway, it could make sense. It would certainly get attention. But I hate attention.