IBOC sidebands JAM DFW's airport station

[SmokeRing]

And so you guys, posting on a radio board, are bitching about the radio station's actions, and not about the info service broadcast...Is that correct?

They are bitching about IBOC's interference on adjacent channels. Doesn't matter which station--the airport's or otherwise--is being affected by the interference. In this particular instance, the airport station happens to be the victim.

My suspicion is that, when it adopted IBOC, Corporate Radio had no idea this would be a problem. It's typical of the many "surprises" Corporate Radio suits must run into on a daily basis.

That's not to say that IBOC wasn't aware of the problem. But Corporate Radio rarely asks the right questions.

 

[SmokeRing]

So 1700 insists on broadcasting HD, when there is absolutely no need - except for stereo musical beds and stereo commercials. And in the process - takes out 1680.

The issue isn't mono vs. stereo. If 1700 was staying within its licensed bandwidth, it wouldn't matter if it was broadcasting in mono, stereo--or quad!

But, Bruce, you probably should file a complaint with the FCC. Everyone supporting you on this board should. The facts are on your side, and there's a public interest here.

If anything, IBOC needs to pay some consequences for its sloppy engineering.

 

[davideduardo]

So 1700 insists on broadcasting HD, when there is absolutely no need - except for stereo musical beds and stereo commercials.

HD on AM is not just about stereo. It's about quality that exceeds that of present day analog AM, making listening clear, more enjoyable, etc.

Stereo on talk is an advantage... there is dimension when there is more than one host, and it benefits advertisers. Of course, that is secondary since even on FM most listening is not in stereo anyway.

 

[VERITAS DE VOCE]

Lovely... not only does FCC find a way to get more money out of us with HD radio receivers, btu now we have pirated "poor man's, wanna-be" HD radio on AM to deal with?

Guaranteed, DFW doesn't even know about this issue. That frequency is important... look at all the people in here gripping about it.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

HD on AM is not just about stereo. It's about quality that exceeds that of present day analog AM, making listening clear, more enjoyable, etc.

Stereo on talk is an advantage... there is dimension when there is more than one host, and it benefits advertisers. Of course, that is secondary since even on FM most listening is not in stereo anyway.

David - I've actually heard HD AM. It is TERRIBLE - compression artifacts, phase shifts - it is listener fatigue guaranteed after a few minutes.

As far as stereo talk - I had a discussion with the great Ron Chapman about it one time. They experimented with full L-R for different people, it sounded annoying. They then tried various blends down to 60/40 - all were annoying. Straight mono works best with talk. So on KLUV - straight mono on the hosts. BTW on sports formats - stereo fan cheering is new level of annoying. Stereo white noise would be preferable.

 

[Chuck]

I was within a couple of miles of DFW Airport yesterday, and couldn't get any TIS signal from them on my car radio. I used to be able to pick it up for miles. Now, it's just a lot of interference. Have they switched off the Airport Info stations? If they did, I think that is a huge loss for the traveling public.

 

[Robert Bass]

BTW on sports formats - stereo fan cheering is new level of annoying. Stereo white noise would be preferable.

I happen to like the stereo crowd noise, especially when you can hear the ref's whistles in the appropriate channel based on where they are on the field. It adds realism. I'm hoping we'll be able to try the same thing with some of our high school football coverage.

R

 

[johnsummers]

Some time ago, when the expanded AM band was not so crowded, a good friend of mine who lived somewhere in Kansas at the time, told me that at night, he could actually hear that DFW Airport station on a semi-regular basis. He's a pretty reliable type not prone to hyperbole so I believe him. I think that's an amazing thing.

 

[davideduardo]

Some time ago, when the expanded AM band was not so crowded, a good friend of mine who lived somewhere in Kansas at the time, told me that at night, he could actually hear that DFW Airport station on a semi-regular basis. He's a pretty reliable type not prone to hyperbole so I believe him. I think that's an amazing thing.

In fact, as the X Band developed, Argentina had a number of early stations that were widely heard in the US. Of course, 1610 to 1700 are getting pretty close to shortwave frequencies, and low power propagates very well on an empty channel.

 

[Chuck]

When I lived in Dallas, my home was a little east of Love Field near Midway Road. I had no problem getting the airport stations on my car radio in my driveway. I'm certain that it is between 10- 15 air miles away. At one time, the stations had excellent coverage. It was very convenient, especially when DFW was forced to take down their signs indicating gate information.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Some time ago, when the expanded AM band was not so crowded, a good friend of mine who lived somewhere in Kansas at the time, told me that at night, he could actually hear that DFW Airport station on a semi-regular basis.

Here in Houston, we could hear both 1680 and the now defunct 1640 signal from DFW at night, back in the mid 90's. Some of the first X-band signals I recall receiving here. The 1680 signal is now blocked by local HAR transmitters, as well as all the other stuff on the frequency.

The old 530 TIS station at DFW airport got out amazingly well in the 80's. Groundwave signal went over 100 miles.