KSAN-HD2

[Mark Roberts]

Yep, there is such a thing, which I encountered today, simulcasting KSFO. Audio was, much to my surprise, in both channels instead of just the right channel.

 

[Radiopaw]

Been for a few months, can’t remember when it started. KNBR-FM doesn’t even broadcast the any data for their HDR on their main channel (HD1(, they don’t have any ticker or data sent for the station logo, so glad to see KSAN doing BOTH an amazing job with HD1 and HD2 given *something.*

 

[Mark Roberts]

KNBR-FM doesn't broadcast in HD. Nor does KGMZ. Both are in mono, too.

 

[Weiserguy]

Anybody done a dial scan of the SFBA stations and their HD subchannels lately? It would be interesting to know who still has active (as opposed to zombie) HD2's or HD3's pumping out some programming. (I'd volunteer, but it's hard to do when you don't have a functioning HD radio.)

 

[e-dawg]

I have Sangean HD Portable Radio. This is what I can pick up around downtown SF.

88.5 KQED HD1 NPR News/Talk BBC-WS HD2
93.3 KRZZ HD1 Regional Mexican
94.9 KYLD HD1 CHR/Pop (Top-40)
96.5 KOIT HD1 Adult Contemporary HD2 AAA HWY 1 Radio
97.3 KLLC HD1 Hot AC HD2 Channel Q
98.1 KISQ HD1 Soft AC
98.5 KUFX HD1 Classic Rock HD2 AAA HWY 1 Radio
98.9 KSOL HD1 Regional Mexican HD2 TUDN Radio
99.7 KMVQ HD1 CHR/Pop (Top-40) HD2 Dance Pulse Radio
100.3 KBRG HD1 Spanish AC HD2 TUDN Radio
101.3 KIOI HD1 Hot AC HD2 Dance
102.1 KRBQ HD1 Classic Hip-Hop
102.9 KBLX HD1 Urban AC HD2 Urban Oldies HD3 Praise: Urban Gospel
103.7 KOSF HD1 Classic Hits HD2 Bloomberg Business Radio (Simulcast KNEW 960 AM)
105.3 KITS HD1 Alternative
105.7 KVVF HD1 Spanish CHR HD2 5 seconds delay of HD1
106.1 KMEL HD1 Hip-Hop
106.9 KRFC HD1 News (KCBS 740 Simulcast)
107.3 KLVS HD1 K-LOVE HD2 Air 1
107.7 KSAN HD1 Classic Rock HD2 Simulcast of KNEW 560 AM

91.1 92.7 94.1 95.7 104.5 doesn't have HD Signals on. I'm not sure about others since I can't pick up their HD signals.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I'll amend this with what I'm able to get at my Oakland location (about 1390 feet up from sea level). I was also in San Leandro yesterday, and can add a few notes from there.

I have Sangean HD Portable Radio. This is what I can pick up around downtown SF.

88.5 KQED HD1 NPR News/Talk BBC-WS HD2

91.1 KCSM HD1 Jazz
92.3 KSJO HD1 +HD2 through HD4, can barely get in Oakland, could get in San Leandro but nothing identified clearly

93.3 KRZZ HD1 Regional Mexican

I believe KRZZ is a relatively recent addition to HD broadcasting

94.9 KYLD HD1 CHR/Pop (Top-40)
96.5 KOIT HD1 Adult Contemporary HD2 AAA HWY 1 Radio
97.3 KLLC HD1 Hot AC HD2 Channel Q

97.7 KJLV HD1 Air1 HD2 Air1 w/ ~10 sec days HD3 K-Love 90's HD4 Radio Nueva Vida

98.1 KISQ HD1 Soft AC
98.5 KUFX HD1 Classic Rock HD2 AAA HWY 1 Radio

Can't get 98.5 in Oakland

98.9 KSOL HD1 Regional Mexican HD2 TUDN Radio
99.7 KMVQ HD1 CHR/Pop (Top-40) HD2 Dance Pulse Radio
100.3 KBRG HD1 Spanish AC HD2 TUDN Radio

Can't get 100.3 in Oakland

101.3 KIOI HD1 Hot AC HD2 Dance

HD2 is "Pulse" - iHeart's form of dance/LGBTQ+++ programming

102.1 KRBQ HD1 Classic Hip-Hop
102.9 KBLX HD1 Urban AC HD2 Urban Oldies HD3 Praise: Urban Gospel
103.7 KOSF HD1 Classic Hits HD2 Bloomberg Business Radio (Simulcast KNEW 960 AM)
105.3 KITS HD1 Alternative
105.7 KVVF HD1 Spanish CHR HD2 5 seconds delay of HD1
106.1 KMEL HD1 Hip-Hop
106.9 KRFC HD1 News (KCBS 740 Simulcast)

106.9 is KFRC-FM

107.3 KLVS HD1 K-LOVE HD2 Air 1

+HD3 K-Love 90s

107.7 KSAN HD1 Classic Rock HD2 Simulcast of KNEW 560 AM

91.1 92.7 94.1 95.7 104.5 doesn't have HD Signals on. I'm not sure about others since I can't pick up their HD signals.

BONUS: KPFA (94.1) has Punjabi Radio USA on a 92 kHz subcarrier!

 

[Radiopaw]

KNBR-FM doesn't broadcast in HD. Nor does KGMZ. Both are in mono, too.

Interesting, my car radio tells me they do as well as Radio Locator.

 

[Weiserguy]

91.1 KCSM HD1 Jazz

Based on my experiences overnight (~2am) and a half hour ago, I suspect KCSM either had their HD off or was completely off the air. I was receiving 90.9 KXJZ from Sacramento absolutely clear, in glorious stereo, no HD sideband hash. I often get the station, but KCSM usually destroys KXJZ's stereo here (Redwood City hills).

 

[Mark Roberts]

Based on my experiences overnight (~2am) and a half hour ago, I suspect KCSM either had their HD off or was completely off the air. I was receiving 90.9 KXJZ from Sacramento absolutely clear, in glorious stereo, no HD sideband hash. I often get the station, but KCSM usually destroys KXJZ's stereo here (Redwood City hills).

It's on this morning, though the station ID is given as "HD", as it has been for some time.

Full-disclosure: this is on the Sangean SG-108, much lesser known than the HDR-14, but which is identical to it except that the case is white rather than black!

 

[Mark Roberts]

Interesting, my car radio tells me they do as well as Radio Locator.

KNBR-FM hasn't run stereo since the switchover from KFOG. See photos - if there is an HD signal, this radio will force locking onto that signal. Radio Locator might as well be a daily horoscope as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Weiserguy]

So, to summarize the non-HD1's that @e-dawg and @MarkRoberts found to be currently (7/21/23) on the air and feeding programming (mainly to consolidate the data):

88.5 KQED-HD2 -- BBC World Service
92.3 KSJO-HD2/HD3/HD4 -- [unidentifiable]
96.5 KOIT-HD2 -- AAA Hwy 1 Radio
97.3 KLLC-HD2 -- Channel Q
97.7 KJLV-HD2 -- Air 1 w/ ~10 sec days
97.7 KJLV-HD3 -- K-Love 90's
97.7 KJLV-HD4 -- Radio Nueva Vida
98.5 KUFX-HD2 -- AAA Hwy 1 Radio
98.9 KSOL-HD2 -- TUDN Radio [Univision sports in Spanish]
99.7 KMVQ-HD2 -- "Pulse" (dance/LGBTQ+)
100.3 KBRG-HD2 -- TUDN Radio
101.3 KIOI-HD2 -- "Pulse" (dance/LGBTQ+)
102.9 KBLX-HD2 -- Urban Oldies
102.9 KBLX-HD3 -- Praise: Urban Gospel
103.7 KOSF-HD2 -- Bloomberg Business Radio [Simulcast of 960/KNEW-AM]
105.7 KVVF-HD2 -- 5 seconds delay of HD1
107.3 KLVS-HD2 -- Air 1
107.3 KLVS-HD3 -- K-Love 90's
107.7 KSAN-HD2 -- [Simulcast of 560/KSFO-AM]

In addition, 91.1/KCSM, 93.3/KRZZ, 94.9/KYLD, 98.1/KISQ, 102.1/KRBQ, 105.3/KITS, 106.1/KMEL and 106.9/KFRC [KCBS] simulcast their analog audio on HD1 but have no subchannels.

Very little worth paying the price of an HD-capable radio, the exceptions possibly being Hwy 1, Urban Oldies or the BBR simulcast.

Thank you, guys.

 

[408listener]

Can anyone fact-check the claim on Wikipedia that 107.7 HD2 used to have KNBR (as in 680 not 1050)? I'm surprised 1050 didn't get an FM HD2 simulcast on 107.7 given both stations are licensed to San Mateo.
Will the addition of an HD2 signal lead to significant long-term ratings for KSFO, or will it be an extra cost with little return? KSFO has not had a truly local show since Sussman retired (A&G don't count since they're based in Sacramento and are syndicated all around the nation).

 

[landtuna]

SF BA used to be a radio hotbed. Really sad what it is now.

OTOH, is KRBQ now owned by Arby's?

 

[michael hagerty]

Will the addition of an HD2 signal lead to significant long-term ratings for KSFO, or will it be an extra cost with little return? KSFO has not had a truly local show since Sussman retired (A&G don't count since they're based in Sacramento and are syndicated all around the nation).

There's not much cost involved in putting KSFO on 107.7 HD-2. There won't be any return.

 

[408listener]

SF BA used to be a radio hotbed. Really sad what it is now.

OTOH, is KRBQ now owned by Arby's?

A lot of factors involved: Concentration of media ownership, corporate media owners not wanting to spend a lot of money on programming, high cost of living, and competition with the Internet.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Can anyone fact-check the claim on Wikipedia that 107.7 HD2 used to have KNBR (as in 680 not 1050)? I'm surprised 1050 didn't get an FM HD2 simulcast on 107.7 given both stations are licensed to San Mateo.

Shouldn't make a difference except for legal IDs. All the programming is coming out of downtown San Francisco anyway

Will the addition of an HD2 signal lead to significant long-term ratings for KSFO, or will it be an extra cost with little return?

Minor expense since the HD facility was already there, and it might get a few extra in-car listeners, since cars are where most HD receivers are these days, but not much effect otherwise.

 

[powers]

Paraphrasing from

Weiserguy's list:​

96.5 KOIT-HD2 -- AAA Hwy 1 Radio

97.7 KJLV-HD2 -- Air 1 w/ ~10 sec days

98.5 KUFX-HD2 -- AAA Hwy 1 Radio

99.7 KMVQ-HD2 -- "Pulse" (dance/LGBTQ+)

101.3 KIOI-HD2 -- "Pulse" (dance/LGBTQ+)

105.7 KVVF-HD2 -- 5 seconds delay of HD1

A couple of questions that maybe someone in the know may have the answer to...

I understand about the simulcasts of selected AM stations on FM HD. I also understand about Highway 1 Radio being simulcast on an SF and a San Jose station to increase the potential signal range due to the distance between the two areas. What I don't understand is using the same format on multiple HD stations in the same area, i.e. the Pulse format being on both 99.7 and 101.3 which ideally serve the same area. Is there any advantage to running a multiple simulcast on the same band? Seems like a waste of energy to me. Also, what is an advantage to having a 5 or 10-second delay on a secondary or tertiary HD channel? They have since turned it off altogether but a couple of years ago when I was visiting my hometown of Monterey, iHeart was running a Hot AC format called "Star" on country KTOM-HD2 with a 5 or 10 second delay of "Star" on the HD3. It made zero sense to me. When I was there a couple of months ago, "Star" was gone. In fact, I'm not sure there is anything now but KTOM-HD1. I think when iHeart purged their extra HD stations in several markets a year or two ago, this was one of the casualties.

 

[pjc1961]

KMVQ-HD2 is indeed "Pulse" from Bonneville (previously Entercom until September 2018).
KIOI-HD2 is the similarly formatted "Pride Radio" from iHeart.

 

[Weiserguy]

Paraphrasing from

@Weiserguy's list:​

Credit where it's due. It was really @e-dawg and @Mark Roberts who compiled the list, all I did was clean up the formatting so future readers would have less difficulty following it. In order for me to even hear any HD's, I have to steal my wife's Prius. My car's radio doesn't have HD and I don't own any table-top HD radios. (I can make you a deal on a Sony Walkman SRF-42 with AMax stereo and lots of dust. )

There was more interesting programming on the HD subchannels until recently, though in the vast majority of cases they were automated jukeboxes or satellite-fed formats. It's only in the last few months that many of the subchannels have done dark, in what's been speculated as a cost-cutting move by the various group owners -- eliminating unnecessary licensing fees and such. I wouldn't be surprised if it's all gone by the end of the year, except where a third party is paying to lease an HD2 or HD3, or they're using one to feed a translator.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Credit where it's due. It was really @e-dawg and @Mark Roberts who compiled the list, all I did was clean up the formatting so future readers would have less difficulty following it. In order for me to even hear any HD's, I have to steal my wife's Prius. My car's radio doesn't have HD and I don't own any table-top HD radios. (I can make you a deal on a Sony Walkman SRF-42 with AMax stereo and lots of dust. )

There was more interesting programming on the HD subchannels until recently, though in the vast majority of cases they were automated jukeboxes or satellite-fed formats. It's only in the last few months that many of the subchannels have done dark, in what's been speculated as a cost-cutting move by the various group owners -- eliminating unnecessary licensing fees and such. I wouldn't be surprised if it's all gone by the end of the year, except where a third party is paying to lease an HD2 or HD3, or they're using one to feed a translator.

While the SRF-42 was one of the few true AMAX receivers, it really was kind of an awful radio. It was hard to tune and the FM side of it was even worse than the typical Sony FM Walkman of the late 1980s and 1990s. Pro tip - if you want a good Sony FM Walkman, go on eBay and find an SRF-40W, which was the first FM Walkman model (1981). They're much less prone to front-end overload than subsequent models and have good, but not exceptional, sensitivity. They appear to be relatively plentiful and not that expensive.

Bonneville seems to be willing to provide at least some support to their HD channels. Audacy was the one that stopped, except for the Channel Q service. Cumulus has been inconsistent about HD channels. Several years ago, KFOG had a "10 @ 10" HD channel - and even promoted it - but weeks would go by when all you heard on KFOG-HD2 was dead air. KNBR-FM does not run any HD at all, due to the delay that's imposed. Likewise for Audacy's KGMZ. Any ID data you see on those stations is coming from RDS. Both are also in mono.

Answering a question upthread, I don't think there was a KSAN-HD2 for the longest time. The KSFO simulcast may be recent; I don't know for sure because I don't care much for either of those stations and so don't tune them in that often.