NYC AM iboc bandscan

[LinoNYC]

http://www.sendspace.com/file/o5maqr mp3 @320k 11mb

Because we probably have some new readers (future victims) I decided to put up a current set of clips from the am-iboc stations here in NY.

I'am located a block from Central Park on the upper east side of Manhattan, the receiver is a Radio Shack Acurian with the supplied loop. The only enhancement was to edit out the long pause as I stepped from 880 to 1280 WADO.

Starting with WFAN-allways locks all weather, then WOR -same, WABC again, allways strong. Then my favorite; WNYC-am this 10K is allways solid except during electrical storms when it will revert to analog several times a minute.
After WNYC, it's on to WCBS-am which as is often the case didn't lock at all, strange since their signal eminates from High Island alongside WFAN, however their signal is appreciably weaker.

Finally we have WADO 1280, one of the best sounding but there is an approx 3db channel imbalance (L to R) in the digital signal.

Most of these stations sound decent but the spectral replication is noticeable when I replayed these files on a system using a Fairchild monitor amp and ADC speakers a combo that tends to be bright and unflattering to SBR, your system will sound different.

The main purpose here is to point out that with the exception of WCBS-am, all the AM iboc signals are receivable here in the heart on the city.

Lino

 

[Mike Walker]

WARNING...SARCASM ALERT!: WOW, 50kw clear channels are actually audible less than 10 miles from their towers! IMPRESSIVE!

Sorry, but that shouldn't be interesting...that NY stations lock on in Manhattan! It should be unusual if they DON'T! To me, tha fact that EVERY station doesn't lock on under most EVERY condition is an indication of how "well" AM HD DOESN'T work! Unlike FM HD, which works quite well, and not just in 5-10 miles from the tower of the most powerful stations!

 

[Savage]

AMEN, Brother Michael! Say Halleleujah!!

"Put your hands on the radio." If it's HD-AM equipped, place sufficient force on the front of the radio until it goes out the window. Or into a dumpster. Or the equivalent.

 

[R.F. Burns]

Wait a second here. Unless anyone is familiar with the effects of tons of steel and concrete on AM signals one shouldn't be out of the box judging any RF system. I think it's important to make a comparison with how strong the analog signals are at the ame location before stating success or failure. I can state for a fact that WCBS' & WFAN's analog signals, all diplexed 50 kilowatts, are inaudible on the west side highway in the lower 60's to upper 50's (street). It isn't caused by strictly swamping of the front end by other signals. It's due to the very tough terraine, which constitutes, Manhatten. Hey, inside 57th street, the building from which WCBS AM broadcasts, you can not receive the station's 50 KW signal, analog or digital. Having said that, drive into Conneticut or Westchester county and WCBS comes booming in. WCBS, WFAN & WABC (from Rt 17. Lodi N.J.) are all non directional. WOR effectively puts more than 50 KW of RF into Manhattan, as does WADO (50 KW day) and WNYC puts over 10 Kw from its diplexed array (It shares with WMCA) in New Jersey. When I first bought my Receptor, I brought the radio into NYC. The building I am talking about is a major broadcast facility which is sheilded to prevent RF interference from outside getting in. With all of our computer equipment, any analog AM signal is filled with noise. Using the supplied loop, which is provides less signal than using a proper ferite antenna, I had no trouble locking into WOR, WNYC & WADO. WABC at the time was not operating in IBOC mode. WFAN & WCBS could not be heard, analog or digitally. I've taken the Receptor more than 30 miles from Manhatttan and had no trouble with WFAN or WCBS's signal. AM IBOC isn't perfect but unless you understand NYC's particular RF circumstances, you can't judge what it can and can't do when compared with its analog band mate.

 

[LinoNYC]

AMEN, Brother Michael! Say Halleleujah!!

"Put your hands on the radio." If it's HD-AM equipped, place sufficient force on the front of the radio until it goes out the window. Or into a dumpster. Or the equivalent.

Bob! Those Halleleujah-s will come in handy....keep practicing!

Lino

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

Bob! Those Halleleujah-s will come in handy....keep practicing!
Lino

How kind of you to remind us of the impending shopping spree for big AM stations around the country by the ministry of Joel Osteen.

I think Bob is safe though, since the ministry seems to have cast it's envious eyes upon WWKB in that area.

 

[LinoNYC]

"How kind of you to remind us of the impending shopping spree for big AM stations around the country by the ministry of Joel Osteen."

I expect that your comments were meant tounge-in-cheek but they point to a grim future for the AM band.

To those who complain about iboc "ruining" the sound on their goofy superradios, the reality that a huckster such as Osteen could buy once-major facilities such as WWKB should be a stark reminder of where the medium is headed.

The fact is that AM is in the final years of it's last generation of listeners.

The only thing that can turn the tide for AM is technology that improves the audio to a standard that younger listeners will accept.

If these efforts fail the gloating DX'ers will have a short lived and pyrrhic victory, within a decade there will little but this garbage to listen to, AM will be given the sort of regard reserved for slums and whorehouses.

Lino

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

"How kind of you to remind us of the impending shopping spree for big AM stations around the country by the ministry of Joel Osteen."

I expect that your comments were meant tounge-in-cheek but they point to a grim future for the AM band.
Lino

Correct. The joke was to imply that Joel Osteen wouldn't bother with a "minor" (relatively speaking) station like Bob's 1040 WYSL.

You're right in that AM will keep slip-sliding away without some sort of technical "rescue mission", not to mention content worth listening to.

Digital Audio Broadcasting is the future...no brainer there. The sticking point, however, is that this particular flavor of digital for our US AM band just doesn't work all that well. It was mentioned in another thread that the Europeans are in the development process for a hybrid version of DRM for the AM band.

I certainly hope thier flavor of digital works better for AM than ours does. AM's future......if it's to have a future......may depend on it.