• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

HD Radio updates only

stevenNOLA said:
Yes, as KIOL, but it was incredibly spotty unless you were east of downtown and reached almost into Lake Charles going east. I do not recall 97.5 ever being in HD prior to Gow picking it up.
Click to expand...
97.5 was running HD for awhile, during the "Supertalk" days. It seems like it was shut off in the transistion to ESPN, or shortly thereafter. My God, that's been nearly 20 years now! 🤦‍♂️
 
stevenNOLA said:
Yes, as KIOL, but it was incredibly spotty unless you were east of downtown and reached almost into Lake Charles going east. I do not recall 97.5 ever being in HD prior to Gow picking it up.
Click to expand...
KQQK 107.9 still has HD which is actually solid in and around NW Harris County. Haven’t heard sibling KTJM 98.5 in HD in quite a while, though I’ve wondered if the first adjacent translators on both sides are blocking the IBOC sidebands.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
KQQK 107.9 still has HD which is actually solid in and around NW Harris County. Haven’t heard sibling KTJM 98.5 in HD in quite a while, though I’ve wondered if the first adjacent translators on both sides are blocking the IBOC sidebands.
Click to expand...

This would make sense, especially if KQQK received the digital power increase that was later authorized (1% to 10% I think?). It's very noticeable for stations that do not have the upgrade since there will be a big difference between the analog and digital footprints whereas after the upgrade, the digital footprint more closely resembles the 'listenable' analog footprint.
 
stevenNOLA said:
This would make sense, especially if KQQK received the digital power increase that was later authorized (1% to 10% I think?). It's very noticeable for stations that do not have the upgrade since there will be a big difference between the analog and digital footprints whereas after the upgrade, the digital footprint more closely resembles the 'listenable' analog footprint.
Click to expand...
FCC allowed -20dBc (1%) HD power levels to begin with. They later approved -14dBc (4%) for all HD stations, which most stations immediately did if equipment was capable of the increased power level. Anything above -14dBc requires applying to the FCC with a showing that the increased power will not cause interference. The FCC is currently seeking comments to allow -10dBc (10%) HD power levels without requiring a showing and allowing asymmetrical HD sidebands if needed for interference protection.
 
rfburns said:
The FCC is currently seeking comments to allow -10dBc (10%) HD power levels without requiring a showing and allowing asymmetrical HD sidebands if needed for interference protection.
Click to expand...
Increasing the power to 10% of the total ERP has been talked about for such a long time. If it were going to happen, it should have been done a long time ago. An attempt to salvage the technology comes a little too late now that so many people have moved on from terrestrial AM/FM. The rollout of the technology was botched by both broadcasters and radio manufacturers.

I got a rental vehicle that had HD Radio last week and had a difficult time trying to tune into the subchannels. Instead of going to the next subchannel, the tune button would just take me to the next frequency. I checked all the presets and the first and last preset were programmed for 87.9 and only one tuned into a local station (which tells me customers weren't bothering with the radio). On the other hand when I tried to pair my phone, I found that the radio's memory couldn't handle a new device. I was forced to delete other people's Bluetooth devices before I could pair mine. If that isn't a sign of the future of radio, then I don't know what is.

Broadcasters need to start finding more ways of squeezing money out of their dying terrestrial licenses rather than trying to salvage them at this point. Cutting down costs (like dropping HD Radio fees if subchannels aren't profitable) needs to a be a priority. It's time to squeeze every drop possible out of this carcass before passing the dial off to religious and educational broadcasters.
 
stevenNOLA said:
Yes, as KIOL, but it was incredibly spotty unless you were east of downtown and reached almost into Lake Charles going east. I do not recall 97.5 ever being in HD prior to Gow picking it up.
Click to expand...
When you’re a rimshot in to Houston like KHJK is, and there are probably a lot of people where the HD signal drops and switches to analog (and vice versa), it may have been better to stick to analog only. If the timing and volume aren’t exactly synced it can get irritating having the signal constantly bounce between HD/analog.
 
101tm said:
When you’re a rimshot in to Houston like KHJK is, and there are probably a lot of people where the HD signal drops and switches to analog (and vice versa), it may have been better to stick to analog only. If the timing and volume aren’t exactly synced it can get irritating having the signal constantly bounce between HD/analog.
Click to expand...
I will say KQQK HD has been amazing. It could be because nothing is on 108.1 but I still get their HD even when a station like KIXS Victoria is coming in strong.
 
BamaTX said:
.... Instead of going to the next subchannel, the tune button would just take me to the next frequency....
Click to expand...
Often, the vehicle tuner menu must be accessed to enable tuning to each HD subchannel, which is another silly barrier for HD broadcasting. My settings menu says, "HD Switching" and toggles On or Off.
 
Mrtejano said:
KAMA HD 4 has around a 30 second delay vs the translator of 106.1.

Makes it seem like KAMA HD4 is translating the Translator. 😂
Click to expand...
Reminds me of this station that used to be on KKBQ HD3. Something like “Powerful 105.3”.
 
KLTN HD1 PTY went from Top 40 to Country for some reason. Haven’t checked RDS
 
Since the late night of the 10th, KBXX HD is off. I feel like it might be temporary because KMJQ HD was off for a few hours the afternoon of the 9th.
 


Back
Top Bottom