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Hubbard Testing All-Digital AM on WWFD

tested said:
The all-digital signal in DC is an interesting experiment and I would love to hear how it sounds on an HD radio.
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While WWFD is licensed in the Washington metro, it is a very suburban signal. Its 10 mV/m does not leave far-off Fredrick Country, covering about 120,000 persons in a market of 5.8 million. Its 5 mV/m barely nudges Montgomery County.

But, to make the point, all-digital AM sounds every bit as good as analog FM.
 
DavidEduardo said:


While WWFD is licensed in the Washington metro, it is a very suburban signal. Its 10 mV/m does not leave far-off Fredrick Country, covering about 120,000 persons in a market of 5.8 million. Its 5 mV/m barely nudges Montgomery County.

But, to make the point, all-digital AM sounds every bit as good as analog FM.
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I've only heard the video that's on YouTube of someone playing the station through their little Sangean portable, and it sounds terrible. Like RealAudio circa 1994. I'd really like to hear a line-out tap of the audio direct from a good receiver, but I don't think it's going to sound good at all no matter how careful the audio is treated.
 
tomservo said:
I've only heard the video that's on YouTube of someone playing the station through their little Sangean portable, and it sounds terrible. Like RealAudio circa 1994. I'd really like to hear a line-out tap of the audio direct from a good receiver, but I don't think it's going to sound good at all no matter how careful the audio is treated.
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I have heard the pure digital AM demo at NAB, and it does sound as good as analog FM.
 
I don't have a recording, but I was sitting at LAX waiting on a flight in the terminal. I picked up a couple of HD AM stations with my Sangean HDR-14. The kick over to digital made a huge difference in the listening experience. It sounds much better.
 
rbc said:
I don't have a recording, but I was sitting at LAX waiting on a flight in the terminal. I picked up a couple of HD AM stations with my Sangean HDR-14. The kick over to digital made a huge difference in the listening experience. It sounds much better.
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I did not know that there were still "a couple of" AMs with HD in the LA market.

KSUR may be in HD, but in the areas I have been in LA lately, there was not enough signal. KFWB was in HD, but I understand that they turned it off shortly after going Spanish as La Mera Mera.
 
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Kelly A said:
Too bad their demo was through a crap radio.
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Well, the Sangean HDR-14 wasn't exactly intended as a product for audiophiles. It was meant to be portable. I have one, and I think they have pretty decent sound for their size. Just use headphones if you want a better quality sound out of that radio.
 
From: https://www.radioworld.com/the-wire/nautel-announces-january-webinars
[...]
On Wednesday, January 30, Chuck Kelly will be joined by guests Dave Kolesar (Hubbard/WWFD), Ruxandra Obreja (DRM Consortium), Joshua King (Kintronics) and Philipp Schmid (Nautel) to discuss “All Digital AM in the Real World.” The group will discuss considerations for putting an all digital AM signal on the air and observations drawn from real-world transmission including WWFD’s year-long test.

All Webinars begin at 12:00 Eastern time. To register, visit www.nautel.com/webinars.
[...]
 
Hi...how is this different than the IBOC AM signals currently on the air? Will the lack of the analog audio make the digital signal more robust? I wonder how the fringe area reception will be affected? If there is no improvement to the reception of the HD radio signal they should have kept the analog for the 99% of radios that can’t receive the digital.
 
By removing the analog signal, the entire power and spectrum budget can go to the digital signal. The digital signal will have a wider reach and there will be less interference to adjacent radio stations. The hybrid analog/digital signal uses 30 kHz of spectrum. A digital-only signal uses 20 kHz.
 
rbc said:
By removing the analog signal, the entire power and spectrum budget can go to the digital signal. The digital signal will have a wider reach and there will be less interference to adjacent radio stations. The hybrid analog/digital signal uses 30 kHz of spectrum. A digital-only signal uses 20 kHz.
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I was just down that way earlier this week (and had a very nice visit to the WWFD site - more coming in my podcast later today)

In analog, that 820 signal was only usable within about a 20-25 mile radius of Frederick. The stock radio in the Camry I was driving was getting it locked in in digital north of Harrisburg PA and south of La Plata MD. It was solidly usable driving through downtown Baltimore and along the DC Beltway. And that's all with a transmitter that isn't working 100% perfectly with the all-digital modulation scheme; the expectation is that when the new Nautel goes in later this month, the signal will lock even better in more places.

It's a very intriguing development.
 
fybush said:
In analog, that 820 signal was only usable within about a 20-25 mile radius of Frederick. The stock radio in the Camry I was driving was getting it locked in in digital north of Harrisburg PA and south of La Plata MD. It was solidly usable driving through downtown Baltimore and along the DC Beltway. And that's all with a transmitter that isn't working 100% perfectly with the all-digital modulation scheme; the expectation is that when the new Nautel goes in later this month, the signal will lock even better in more places.

It's a very intriguing development.
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That's been my experience way back when we were installing a test Harris IBOC system on the KIXI DX-50. Just for grins we ran the station in digital-only mode during testing period after midnight, just driving around comparing the IBOC vs. all digital modes. The digital-only signal appeared much more robust and noise free for a much wider reception distance than hybrid mode.

That's why I've always said; if the AM HD naysayers could actually experience the reception comparison of analog to only digital, they might have a change of heart about the opinion that there isn't anything wrong with analog AM.
 
MarioMania said:


Digital will work for FM, Not AM

There alot of factors, Lighting, LED, CFL's, TV, Interfrence

Leave Analog AM alone, Focus on FM
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Something that bothers me are AM stations that have moved their audiences to their FM translators, while only keeping their AM signal running enough to justify their license. Personally, I think that broadcasters letting their AM facilities fall into decline are making a mistake in the long run. They may save some money now, but I think those listeners won't come back to AM. Those broadcasters will wind up competing for FM spectrum with incumbent FM broadcasters. The more marginal players will get pushed out of the business.

Digital AM is more future proof and finally becoming a reality. New radios more commonly have AM HD now, particularly in cars. My pitch is that AM license holders should take advantage of translators as a bridge to pilot digital AM and build that audience. Just skip the hybrid digital, and go digital-only like WWFD-AM did. It will save the AM spectrum allocations from getting shaken up too much.

On the other hand, if AM station owners want to stick to analog, I don't have any issue with that. Fact is they should be "loud and proud" about it, running full power within their license limits and having solid radio engineering behind their signal and programming. Running marginal AM stations just to keep the translator in business is bad for AM band broadcasters overall.
 
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rbc said:
Digital AM is more future proof and finally becoming a reality. New radios more commonly have AM HD now, particularly in cars. My pitch is that AM license holders should take advantage of translators as a bridge to pilot digital AM and build that audience. Just skip the hybrid digital, and go digital-only like WWFD-AM did. It will save the AM spectrum allocations from getting shaken up too much.
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It's said that about half the new cars being sold in the US now have HD. That means that it would take a decade or more to get just 25% HD in-car penetration. Practically no non-car radios have HD.

And whether an AM is digital or analog does nothing for the fact that most larger market AMs have seen their signal be thoroughly outgrown by urban sprawl, so they don't cover their market in any mode. And the large percentage of AMs that are daytimers have the additional problem of a restricted operating schedule.
 
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DavidEduardo said:
It's said that about half the new cars being sold in the US now have HD. That means that it would take a decade or more to get just 25% HD in-car penetration. Practically no non-car radios have HD.
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For those stations that have their audiences mostly on the analog FM translators, I'm not sure it matters. I think it would have more to do with their desire and ability to invest on building a new audience around digital AM band radio. Amplitude modulation has had a good run, but I think its utility is fading.
 
rbc said:
Amplitude modulation has had a good run, but I think its utility is fading.
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Fading? That fade started back in the 80's. Those who still see the value in AM these days are either over 55, DXer's, or who are licensees of AM stations.
 
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