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KYW
- Thread starter JH_Radio
- Start date
KYW 1060 AM is analog mono. They shut off C-Quam AM Stereo back in the late '90s and HD Radio some time last year.
but but.. the radio nerds need to hear the imaging and sounders in stereo on AM 1060.. how dare they shut off AM stereo lol
The MA1 version of HD that really took hold around 2009-ish had some flaws, namely that it was very fragile to interference (especially compared with the MA3 standard, and also that it caused a lot of interference, too. KYW decided that the benefits were not worth the trouble. In my experience, the MA1 HD sounds a bit tinny at times (not unlike SXM, 🤣) . Now KYW might decide one of these days to go to the all digital standard (MA3), which travels farther than MA1, causes less interference, and actually sounds good! The only catch is a biggie: KYW would have to turn off their analog, which is sure to alienate audiences.
That's right! Speaking my language over here! lmao
I've heard HD on AM sound very tinny.
I've never heard a Ma3.
Nobody broadcasts in digital only on AM around here do they ?
Speaking of analog, the people I know of that would turn on KYW have no idea of its FM simulcast, and know the jingle as "KYW Newsradio 1060."
My uncle and aunt were up here from FL, had on KYW for traffic on the AM, and when I pointed out the FM, they didn't know it was even a thing, even though KYW says it at every opportunity and the FM is their branding now.
These are people who next time I know would just resort to the Am. its memory and its ingrained.
They actually need to keep the AM analog for one other reason I think.
That being the FM doesn't really travel far.
My uncle and aunt were up here from FL, had on KYW for traffic on the AM, and when I pointed out the FM, they didn't know it was even a thing, even though KYW says it at every opportunity and the FM is their branding now.
These are people who next time I know would just resort to the Am. its memory and its ingrained.
They actually need to keep the AM analog for one other reason I think.
That being the FM doesn't really travel far.
The only one I'm aware of in the northeast is WWFD in the D.C. market.
Don't forget 650 WSRO and 1230 WFAS!
Since this thread is titled, simply, "KYW" without more specificity (though I'm sure the title was designed as click bait), I believe discussion of anything KYW is appropriate to this thread.*
Like Malcolm Poindexter III, who did the midday traffic reports today and yesterday. This is the first instance of me hearing MP3 do traffic outside of early Sunday mornings.
*Except maybe pertaining to when "KYW" was used in Chicago and Cleveland. That stuff can be discussed on those RD boards.
Like Malcolm Poindexter III, who did the midday traffic reports today and yesterday. This is the first instance of me hearing MP3 do traffic outside of early Sunday mornings.
*Except maybe pertaining to when "KYW" was used in Chicago and Cleveland. That stuff can be discussed on those RD boards.
CBS was an early investor in the HD technology. So they mandated it on all their stations. That was over 20 years ago. One by one, they all dropped out for various reasons. Some of the AMs were interfering with each other (I think KDKA and WBZ had that issue). But once the stations were sold to Entercom, there was no attachment to HD any more.
There are some classic AM stations' frequencies that just stay in some of our old heads. Whenever we travel by car to Chicago and I want the local news, I tune to AM 780 for WBBM. I know they have some FM broadcast too, but as long as 780 is still a blowtorch - it's good enough for me.
I suspect the same thing would happen if I ever drove back to Philly. If I wanted news, I'd hit up the AM dial and go straight to 1060.
Down here in Florida, the FM side of the "news" station, WDBO, is somewhere up in the nether reaches of the band. I can't get it here, so its the old 580 all the way.
I suspect the same thing would happen if I ever drove back to Philly. If I wanted news, I'd hit up the AM dial and go straight to 1060.
Down here in Florida, the FM side of the "news" station, WDBO, is somewhere up in the nether reaches of the band. I can't get it here, so its the old 580 all the way.
Sadly, as long as people buy Teslas and other electric cars, getting a blowtorch AM signal will be less easy than before.
No, not click bait.
the AM comes in better than the FM in some portion of KYW listening area.
Take Quakertown, PA.
Gotta protect B104 WAEB-FM.
WDBO is on FM still?
I remember it being on 96.5 after it was Classic Rock, but then it went to some kinda spanish music format.
I was under the impression that it never left 580 and didn't go on FM anywhere else.
the AM comes in better than the FM in some portion of KYW listening area.
Take Quakertown, PA.
Gotta protect B104 WAEB-FM.
WDBO is on FM still?
I remember it being on 96.5 after it was Classic Rock, but then it went to some kinda spanish music format.
I was under the impression that it never left 580 and didn't go on FM anywhere else.
KYW thinks 350 watts on FM is full power. Nope! Hence the 50kw signal will get out farther. If only KYW would've payed attention to WBBM/WCFS, as well as WSB. Bow there's a good AM/FM pair. Also, it is just the nature of the mediumwave band (not necessarily AM, but the frequencies in which it resides) to come in better overall over longer distances.
There are 290 million cars on the road in the US. There are just over 1 million Teslas. That is about 0.3% of all vehicles.
The situation was very different in Chicago. WBBM did the simulcast to better compete with an incoming FM news station owned by Merlin. There is no such competition in Philadelphia. The AM signal was still attracting very good ratings at the time of the deal for the FM. If Audacy feels it needs a stronger FM signal for KYW, they own at least one underperforming station that could be flipped for that purpose.
And in Atlanta, WSB's signal is ragged in the outer counties of the MSA, so an FM was needed to fully cover those areas.
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