HD car radio

[cyberdad]

So for the pat two days I drove a rental car with an HD radio around Wisconsin. Capped off today with a drive from Green Bay to my home in Chicago's northwest suburbs. Here are some random observation.

Rural areas are pretty much an HD wasteland. Local stations don't have it. Metro stations' HD signals can't reach the rural areas very wel....although the analog signals penetrate the hinterlands reasonably well.

For a Class B full facility FM, the effective range to expect a reliable HD signal seems to be about 35-40 miles. Although I heard snatches of HD for as far as about 60 miles.

As for AM, I had a reliable HD signal on WBBM roughly to the northern fringe of the Milwaukee metro. WTMJ was still good in Green Bay. WISN made it a little over half way to Green Bay from Milwaukee. For all that we hate about IBOC, I have to say it sounded pretty good. Of course with news and news talk formats, what's the point.

I spent most of my time today locked on WRIT-HD2. They're calling this station "WOKY, the mighty 92" The (oldies) music is good, the audio is good, and hearing classic WOKY jingles once again is a hoot. But....the recreation (if that's what it's supposed to be) of the former Milwaukee top 40 powerhouse is just plain weird. Jocks from Cincinnati delivering canned voice tracked clear channel "real oldies" programming, automated temperature announcer, "The Mighty 92" slogan at 95.7.

The original WRIT/1340 was an excellent station and a worthy competitor. Why not just bring that one back?

Meanwhile, former WSAI jocks "Dangerous Dan" Allen and Marty "with the party" Thompson.....good as they both are, will have to do as your Milwaukee oldies hosts!" (Apologies if these last comments would better suited for another thread")







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[Tincap]

There's just no point in picking up an HD radio, for me (at least for HD broadcasts...some HD radio offers excellent analogue FM properties), in spite of living along the Canada/US border.

The only broadcaster offering up anything of interest, within my analogue reception range, is Vermont Public Radio with its BBC World Service on HD-2, but unless the FCC changes its 1% rule, I can never hope to pick that up. I believe WJNY Watertown may offer HD, but even they are too far for HD reception, plus their HD-2 is an oldies format...not worth investing into an HD radio for.

~BG

 

[Andrew K]

Here in northeast Ohio, there is a lot of HD radio. The following FM stations I can receive an HD signal... WKRW, WKSU, WCPN, WAPS, WKRK, WZAK, WAKS, WKDD, WNCX, WGAR, WMMS, WDOK, WQAL, WMJI, WHLK, WRQK, WNWV, and WENZ. Many of these don't even have an HD2 subchannel, but WKSU 89.7 has an HD2, 3 and 4 subchannel, which I listen to a lot. There was some HD on AM... WTAM and WWMK, but those both ended their HD.

 

[ftballfan]

HD on AM doesn't make any sense at all. On an HD radio, do the sidebands still show up?

Where I spend my summers, the only HD radio reception would be WPNE, and only during decent tropo. Where I go to school, many of the stations are in HD.