KCBS CHANGES LEGAL I.D.

[w9wi]

KABC also does this, with some combination of "KABC-AM" and "KABC-HD". Of course, there is no such thing as KABC-AM, and if the AM is in HD, how would KNX be AM and HD? :

From a strictly technical standpoint, it is perfectly possible for the AM and HD signals to carry two different programs.

(that's not currently legal, but there is no technical reason why it couldn't be done. Except that it would blend to the wrong program if the HD went out...)

Anyway, so a case could be made that the station is in fact AM and HD at the same time, two different signals, that just happen to both be carrying the same program. Just like the WDMP AM & FM example, just with the second signal HD on 780 & 800kHz instead of FM on 99.3.

As for the legality of IDing as "KABC-AM"... if they say "Los Angeles" before they say "KABC-AM" then "AM" isn't "inserted" into the ID, and thus is perfectly legal. In just the same way as "From Los Angeles, KABC Fruitcake" would be legal.

If they say "Los Angeles" after they say "KABC-AM" - well, the station's frequency is a legal insertion - and it doesn't say how specific you have to be about the frequency...

 

[SFStatic]

There is another non-technical reason not to run an HD-2 on am...the bandwidth would be so low for each HD channel, it would be less than present analog am quality...not much above phone line quality.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

...if they say "Los Angeles" before they say "KABC-AM" then "AM" isn't "inserted" into the ID, and thus is perfectly legal. In just the same way as "From Los Angeles, KABC Fruitcake" would be legal.

Don't think so. At the risk of starting yet another "what makes a legal ID legal?"
thread, Scott Fybush copied in the part 73-whatevers in an above reply where
it stated call letters followed by location (plus a seemingly ever-growing list of
stuff that can be inserted between the calls and COL) constitutes a legal ID, not
location followed by calls.

 

[w9wi]

Don't think so. At the risk of starting yet another "what makes a legal ID legal?"
thread, Scott Fybush copied in the part 73-whatevers in an above reply where
it stated call letters followed by location (plus a seemingly ever-growing list of
stuff that can be inserted between the calls and COL) constitutes a legal ID, not
location followed by calls.

Shoot. You're right: 73.1201 does specify the order in which the ID must be given - "...call letters immediately followed by the community..."

_________________________________________________

Posted by: SFStatic
There is another non-technical reason not to run an HD-2 on am...the bandwidth would be so low for each HD channel, it would be less than present analog am quality...not much above phone line quality.

I wasn't talking about running an HD2 on AM - I was talking about having the HD1 carry a program different than what's on the analog. Both on AM and FM, it is technically possible to do that - for the HD1 and the analog to carry different programs.

(though again, it's contrary to FCC regulations and will break the "blend to analog" feature)

 

[LibertyNT]

I'm not sure when they changed the voice-drop, but at 5:59:50 this morning,
I heard the legal I.D., "KCBS, and KCBS-HD, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose"
on AM 740...

Funny thing is, here in the North Bay, the HD on 740 won't kick in - the
Samsung HD receiver I have can't receive the HD signal when on night pattern.

HD on AM, as mentioned elsewhere on the Web, is a waste of time, anyway...
--jay

Thats Because they're not allowed to run their HD at night....
Thank god they make stations turn them off.. IBOC would be devastating to AM at night...

 

[SFStatic]

Actually yes, they are. HD at night was approved months ago. A number of large stations tried it, and found it made a hash of things, and turned the fool thing off. It is indeed, devistating at night.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

SFStatic chimed in a bit ahead of me with the correction, however
I'll leave my post intact as it has some specifics...

Thank god they make stations turn them off.. IBOC would be devastating to AM at night...

They don't...and it is.

The wise men (wise guys or other less flattering terms might be
more appropriate) at the FCC approved nighttime I-CRAP as of
09/14/07.

Some groups (Citadel among them) subsequently turned it off
at night due to first- and second-adjacent channel interference.

I thought CBS was still going full-bore with I-CRAP at night,
unless it's at the individual station's discretion. CBS even created
their own mess with KDKA 1020 Pittsburgh and WBZ 1030 Boston
slamming into each other at night with hash, not to mention the
problems it's causing for low-powered WYSL 1040 Avon, NY (near
Rochester)--bad enough for WYSL to have filed a complaint with
those geniuses : at the FCC.

 

[DavidKaye]

KABC also does this, with some combination of "KABC-AM" and "KABC-HD". Of course, there is no such thing as KABC-AM, and if the AM is in HD, how would KNX be AM and HD? :

The FCC has allowed (encouraged?) IDs such as "KAAA AM and FM, Calumet City", even though the "AM" callsign suffix technically does not exist. I'd assume that it's okay to do it with AM and HD.

 

[LKellerIII]

I noticed yesterday that KFRC's top of the hour ID is "KFRC and KFRC HD1, San Francisco". So perhaps they are now required to ID the two (one analog, one HD) separately. (?)

 

[paulsecic]

...I heard the legal I.D., "KCBS, and KCBS-HD, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose"
on AM 740...

Required by FCC regulation. HD stations are now required to ID as such.

Are you sure AMs are required to do this? Don't they have only one
digital signal which mirrors (simulcasts, if you will) the analog broadcast?

OTOH, FMs in digital dupe their analog on HD1 and typically run alternate
programming on HD2 (which is IDed separately on HD2). Thus, a newly
revised over-the-air ID on 94.5 in my radio market:

"KOOL-FM and KOOL HD1 Phoenix."

Paging Scott Fybush...

Meanwhile, I'll have to check one of the local AMs that runs I-CRAP
at the next TOH.

KGO doesn't say anything about this HD fraud. I never bought an AM Stereo radio, nor will I buy this. I buy Ccraine products.