FCC Order for FM HD Power Increase

[Len14043]

Here is the link to the full FCC order authorizing the power increase.


http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-208A1.doc

 

[Play Freebird]

In Para. 18, note that all stations will be protected to the 60 dBu analog contour, even if they're Class B or B1 commercial. This is a radical departure from previous FCC policy decisions which stated that Class B stations couldn't voluntarily accept interference inside the 54 dBu protected contour, let alone cause it to other stations.

If the power increase calculator allows no more than a 6 dB increase, this indicates the 60 dBu contour of a neighboring station isn't fully protected and will receive predicted interference regardless of class.

 

[Tom Wells]

In real world conditions. for most users/ analog stations, this will seem like they need to be twice as far from an HD station to be
able to keep the signal without the buzzsaw getting them. It will seem like the undesired signal will be twice as strong,
and there will be many more moments of buzz saw capture in areas where there was formerly solid, if weak, reception.

However, the benefit to digital reception is likley to amount to 10-20% fewer dropouts, at best.

It will help somwhat in flight path multipath areas, not as much with building penetration, and not at all for high noise conditions.
If implemented here in Chicago, I suspect I'll have to modify of at least do a super-tweak on my Sansui TU-7700 before I hear much stereo
ever again. The current level of FM iboc sometimes wipes out (or makes razor-thin in tuning) stereo decode.
And it has definitely changed the capture effect on analog tuned radios, where the buzz saw is now the station between the stations.
As I recall, it used to be 98.3 WCCQ ...somewhere down there in the corn. Now it is a buzz saw.

 

[KyDXIn]

Why is the FCC trying this increase? I think the public has shown that there is very little interest in HD radio.

Is this a case of where Washington knows better than the general public? I don't have cable and I'm trying to deal with this inferior digital product of over the air television. I know in theory DTV is superior, but in reality if you live 60 miles or more from a transmitter, the signal is difficult to receive. At least with analog, the picture may not have been perfect, but it wasn't an all or nothing situation.

Is the FCC tryiing to push HD radio in an effort to then take over the existing commerical radio spectrum as they did with the analog TV frequencies?