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HD stations

lanceventa said:
iHeart has made an HD subchannel adjustment in New York. 710 WOR's simulcast has moved to 103.5 WKTU-HD2, while 104.3 WAXQ-HD2 is now stunting with a ticking clock and brief teasers in preparation of the official launch of "iHeart TikTok Radio" this weekend.

Before anyone asks why, I have been told that iHeart conducted research that found there was listener confusion when there are similarly formatted stations on a primary signal and their HD subchannels. That is why Pride Radio was removed from WKTU-HD2 at the end of 2025 and Tik Tok is mostly going to air on the subchannels of Country, Rock, and Hip Hop stations across the country.
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This post from the New York board may explain why they are making changes in LA as well.
 
K.M. Richards said:
I am tempted to say it doesn't matter, given the relatively low HD listenership.
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Actually it's good news to me! I'll now be able to hear the Dodger games on FM without constantly losing the signal as I did on 98.7. The KYSR signal from Briarcrest Pk above Coldwater CNYN has to travel sideways through nearly 15 miles of the SM Mountains to get to me in the far SW corner of the Valley. KBIG's mile-high Mt Wilson gangbuster signal is much better! Yes, this is almost a blessing as the AM section in my car radio hasn't worked in a log time!!
Of course K.M. I realize that I'm only one of the 5 known "HD" listeners!
 
I’m hoping ATT network gets better in the afternoon. Network congestion sucks in Sd sometimes my streaming drops. It’s annoying. I use a lot of data when driving for Uber. That’s why I would listen to HD radio. It was nice to have that option.
 
@HighStandards I am sorry I made you first sad and then angry, but reality rules.

HD does not have the level of consumer acceptance that it needs to in order to be a truly viable service.

In a lot of markets, HD channels are being used to feed analog translators. Perhaps your sadness and anger should be directed at those.
 
K.M. Richards said:
@HighStandards I am sorry I made you first sad and then angry, but reality rules.

HD does not have the level of consumer acceptance that it needs to in order to be a truly viable service.

In a lot of markets, HD channels are being used to feed analog translators. Perhaps your sadness and anger should be directed at those.
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Were the HD side channels allowed to transmit at the power of the primary HD1 channels, and if the audio quality wasn't as compressed as it often is on those side channels, the likelihood of public acceptance would presumably be higher. However, those limits are in effect due to FCC mandates and technical capacity factors, so elevated consumer acceptance is indeed not attainable.

In effect, the industry has found more success with low-power FM translators. In fact, I assume KRKE's listenership is predominantly via 93.7 FM (a mere 250 watts) in the immediate Albuquerque area vs. the originating 1100 AM signal for the station. Is that correct?
 
Preempting KM Richards (and feel free to correct me). "In fact, I assume KRKE's listenership is predominantly via 93.7 FM (a mere 250 watts)" But that 250 watts is approximately 5000' above Albuquerque and about 10 miles from downtown. I'll bet there are a lot of FM stations that would hope to do as good.
 
K6JHU said:
Preempting KM Richards (and feel free to correct me). "In fact, I assume KRKE's listenership is predominantly via 93.7 FM (a mere 250 watts)" But that 250 watts is approximately 5000' above Albuquerque and about 10 miles from downtown. I'll bet there are a lot of FM stations that would hope to do as good.
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You are correct, sir, and it is indeed the fact that we can operate with the maximum ERP from Sandia Crest that puts a good signal over the ABQ metro. (I don't even know if anyone in the market even knows about the daytime simulcast on 1100.)

Of course, we're not the only translator up there on Watermelon Mountain, and we all have coverage that I am sure a lot of stations with essentially inferior signals in other markets would be envious of.

Albuquerque has a topography that works in a way that would be difficult to replicate almost anywhere else.
 
fybush said:
And for stations using the higher HD power levels that are now allowed by the FCC, HD coverage is pretty much comparable to 60 dBu analog coverage these days.
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The unanswered question then becomes how many people tried HD in the early years, found the reception less than desirable, and would therefore be hard to convince to try again ...
 
fybush said:
It's all one bit stream carrying the whole HD signal, whether it's HD1 or 2 or 3.

And for stations using the higher HD power levels that are now allowed by the FCC, HD coverage is pretty much comparable to 60 dBu analog coverage these days.
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You make an important point: analog power is not the same as digital power. In other words, for the non-techies among us, the HD "signal" (whether used for 1 or 2 or 3 separate streams) will cover the same area with much less transmitter power.

I have used the comparison of the HD signal to a taxi. In most places, one, two or three passengers pay the same. So the HD signal can have its "space" allocated in the amount the licensee wants to each usage of the HD service.
 
K6JHU said:
Preempting KM Richards (and feel free to correct me). "In fact, I assume KRKE's listenership is predominantly via 93.7 FM (a mere 250 watts)" But that 250 watts is approximately 5000' above Albuquerque and about 10 miles from downtown. I'll bet there are a lot of FM stations that would hope to do as good.
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Yep. That is an adequate signal.

The first FM I built in Ecuador only ran about 300 watts into the antenna. But the antenna was at about 13,000 feet AMSL and about 3500 feet above the city of license. We never had any signal complaints, even from folks who had weekend homes in the adjacent lower valley.

One advantage of the low power is that we only needed a small emergency generator and that, in turn, only needed small fuel reserves. Since the drive up was a whole bunch of fold-backs on the side of the mountain, that was a major concern.
 
Being one of the five HD2 listeners of KLAC :) --

I noticed on my 43.7 mile (but who's counting?) commute today, the KBIG-HD2 signal wasn't particularly good on the Westside and was surprisingly spotty as I approached Downtown LA, issues I didn't have with the KYSR-HD2 signal. The latter faded a bit in certain parts of the East San Gabriel Valley, but overall 98.7 FM HD2 was more consistent than 104.3 FM HD2.

Also, I was picking up a subtle "crackling" sound this morning during Dan Patrick, was that just me?
 
ayoda said:
I noticed on my 43.7 mile (but who's counting?) commute today, the KBIG-HD2 signal wasn't particularly good on the Westside and was surprisingly spotty as I approached Downtown LA, issues I didn't have with the KYSR-HD2 signal. The latter faded a bit in certain parts of the East San Gabriel Valley, but overall 98.7 FM HD2 was more consistent than 104.3 FM HD2.
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That makes sense, Alan, presuming from your narrative that you were south of the Santa Monica Mountains on your commute (the Westside being a brick-to-the-head clue). KBIG would get some terrain shielding from those hills, whereas KYSR is still at the same site atop those hills as it was when 98.7 signed on in 1948 as KMGM.
 


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