Looks like KYW 1060 has turned off the IBOC digital auido

[Jul]

i hope for good.

 

[Irishfl]

Agree. Never understood why An AM station that is already being broadcast on an FM HD subchannel, would have that iboc hash. Obviously anyone with an HD radio can just listen to 94.1 HD2, so no need for AMHD.

 

[Jul]

it went back on last night.

 

[Tom Wells]

it went back on last night.

Yes it was... Listened a bit to WHO 1040 Des Moines, and couldn't tell whether it was WBZ or KDKA was throwing
the most hash on 1040. It was not pretty.

WBZ was the stronger one of the two, and I'll bet it was antother nasty sounding night in Rochester for WYSL.

KDKA was pretty darn buried in mush.

Stop this madness!

 

[athegymtday]

I agree CBS turn off your HD AM's! Anyone with an HD radio is smart enough to listen to the same product on FM. The only time it ever made sense was when the Phillies were exclusively on 1210, the novelty has worn off!

 

[luperm]

I enjoy AM HD. In the NY area, the daytime AM HD coverage (on the 50kW stations) is better than the FMs. We have 660, 710, 880 and 1010 with HD, and it sounds pretty darn good in my car.

 

[rdcuffpa1]

I enjoy AM HD. In the NY area, the daytime AM HD coverage (on the 50kW stations) is better than the FMs. We have 660, 710, 880 and 1010 with HD, and it sounds pretty darn good in my car.

I wonder if there's any way to put out AM IBOC digital audio using reduced kW? This would enable local audiences to benefit from the enhanced audio fidelity, but would limit the adjacent-channel damage that vexes out of town listeners?

Richard in Allentown

 

[nd2023]

I enjoy AM HD. In the NY area, the daytime AM HD coverage (on the 50kW stations) is better than the FMs. We have 660, 710, 880 and 1010 with HD, and it sounds pretty darn good in my car.

You must not drive under overpasses, power lines, or during thunderstorms. My Sony XDRF1HD located between NYC and Philly, the best HD radio ever made, has only decoded 1 AM station in HD ever. It took a miracle for it to get an AM station in HD. Last night it was decoding FM stations in HD from Boston to DC during a strong tropo opening.

 

[luperm]

I pulled in some RDS display info last night, but no HD. The little indicator on the radio lit up saying there was HD, but probably not strong enough to decode.

As for AM HD, it does cut in and out a bit here and there, but for the most part it's pretty solid on 880 and 660 where I am. 1010 is a bit more challenging.

 

[musichead1029]

My Sony XDRF1HD located between NYC and Philly, the best HD radio ever made, has only decoded 1 AM station in HD ever. It took a miracle for it to get an AM station in HD. Last night it was decoding FM stations in HD from Boston to DC during a strong tropo opening.

Nick, what are you using for an AM antenna on the Sony?

I'm 6 miles north of Philadelphia with the same radio connected to the C.Crane powered Twin Coil Ferrite antenna, and due to interference from other equipment in close vicinity, I'm unable to get any AM HD reception from KYW 5 miles away or WPHT, 20 miles away, both 50kW flamethrowers. Previous to the introduction of the interfering equipment, HD reception of those signals under these extremely favorable conditions was about 95% reliable.

AM is AM. Whether digital or analog encoding is used, it's interference prone. Short of a noise-free environment and a well-designed receiver, nothing can save it from the effects of every-day interference, least of all HD.

 

[nd2023]

I just use the loop antenna that came with it. There's interference from the computer and TV in my DX shack. The FM has no interference because it's connected to an outdoor FM antenna, and I got that radio specifically for FM DXing. But still, you would think an HD radio should be able to get AM stations in HD out of the box. The conditions required for AM HD decoding would also ensure perfect AM Stereo reception. If there's noise on the AM signal, HD won't clear up that noise, it'll just not decode.

HD radio is flawed, and only the DXers that complain about HD radio are listening and buying the HD radios.

 

[musichead1029]

HD radio is flawed, and only the DXers that complain about HD radio are listening and buying the HD radios.

HD's legacy for us DXers will be the improvements in receiver design that resulted in impressive units like our Sony. Hopefully affordable high performing DSP units like the Sony will be available for our hobby long after cobbled-together HD has been abandoned in favor of internet distribution as a supplement to OTA, leaving the ubiquitous FM band with glorious, battery-efficient analog audio and an AM band that's at least serviceable for powerful stations.

 

[Kent T]

The Sony HD tuner is good, but it is not the best. Best would be McIntosh or Day-Sequerra which are many thousands of dollars more.

 

[musichead1029]

The Sony HD tuner is good, but it is not the best. Best would be McIntosh or Day-Sequerra which are many thousands of dollars more.

Certainly there are better tuners than the Sony XDRF1HD, especially with regard to sound quality.

I own a Kenwood T-8300, a Pioneer TX-9500, a Fanfare FM Tuner and several vintage Onkyo Tuners that equal or nearly equal the RF performance of the Sony and clearly sound superior. But those, and the cream of the crop McIntosh and Day-Sequerra units you mention, are either hard to find, expensive or need modification to maintain their abilities. The Sony was available new for less than $100 and digital signal processing units like the portable Tecsun PL390, which I also own thanks to stellar reviews on these boards, are available for less and are as good or better than most of the best vintage gear at DX performance. This is a recent (last 5 years) phenomenon that I hope continues on despite the contemporary reality that mediocre FM radio tuners are rarely accorded a slice of the chip space on smartphones and competent AM units are even rarer.