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Only 1 San Antonio AM Station Broadcasts In HD?

T

texquad

How many San Antonio AM stations are broadcasting in HD?
I recently installed a HD radio in my car, but I've had issues with the AM reception using the factory antenna so I purchased an inexpensive replacement antenna on ebay. Now I'm receiving all the AM stations but only 1 in HD KTKR 760. I've seen these San Antonio stations listed as broadcasting in HD KTSA, KRDY, WOAI & KCOR. So are they no longer broadcasting in HD or is my radio/antenna just not picking them up in HD?
Thanks in advance!
 
When BMP bought KTSA, they shut off the HD signal, which I don't understand why. I was never able to pull in 760's HD signal, sometimes 1160 I was able to pull in. I do wish HD would go to full signal coverage around here. It'll make it a LOT easier to receive the signal. For the most part I have my HD signal here disabled unless I listen to Mega.
 
jras20 said:
When BMP bought KTSA, they shut off the HD signal, which I don't understand why. I was never able to pull in 760's HD signal, sometimes 1160 I was able to pull in. I do wish HD would go to full signal coverage around here. It'll make it a LOT easier to receive the signal. For the most part I have my HD signal here disabled unless I listen to Mega.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that information. What's Mega?
 
Dance on 103.5 HD-2
 
Good thing the ebay antenna was super cheap (less than $4) and I didn't waste my time doing a permanent installation. I'll probably go back to my Y antenna adapter and listen to AM on the stock radio and give up on the HD tuner for the AM band. HD seems to be going the way of AM stereo!
 
fredcantu said:
Does AM Hybrid Digital make the same sideband hash/interference that FM HD has?
Click to expand...

The AM HD sidebands extend 5-15KHz either side of the carrier. For 760, that means the HD sidebands would be 745-755 and 765-775KHz. Depending on the bandwidth of your receiver, that means one or two channels either side of the HD signal contain interference.

Probably the bigger problem is that since interference on AM is additive*, this noise can interfere with many stations at a considerable distance. A spin through the clear-channel part of the AM dial (roughly 640-1220) at night will probably show a number of channels that used to contain a station but are now buried in noise. Around here (Nashville), 690 & 710 (due to WLW) and 1090-1130 (due to WTAM and KMOX) are examples.

* FM has a "capture effect" which means that weak to modest noise on a channel is completely inaudible to the listener. On AM, any level of noise is audible.
 
mmnassour said:
In the HD section of this same board, they'll tell you that interference is 10 times worse.
Click to expand...

Yeah and most of them over there are anti HD people. I love to see HD work, but I just wish the reception was just as good as analog.
 
texquad said:
Now I'm receiving all the AM stations but only 1 in HD KTKR 760. I've seen these San Antonio stations listed as broadcasting in HD KTSA, KRDY, WOAI & KCOR. So are they no longer broadcasting in HD or is my radio/antenna just not picking them up in HD?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I'm very surprised WOAI is not broadcasting in HD because they(Clear Channel) are very pro HD radio.
 
Is anyone doing a pilot study of full power full bandwidth FM HD radio? I recall the market manager of Emmis Austin telling me that if an FM station devoted its full bandwidth (no analog main signal) to digital, that you could have NINE channels. I would love to see what building penetration and long range reception would be like with full power HD. Maybe they could do this test overnight. They used to call that "experimental hours."
 
gabigley1 said:
I'm very surprised WOAI is not broadcasting in HD because they(Clear Channel) are very pro HD radio.
Click to expand...

WOAI's sidebands are very strong in the West part of Houston. I can occasionally decode HD on WOAI. Not that it makes any difference because the format is talk. Now if KONO 860 would switch to a better signal, and broadcast HD - a lot of people in Houston would be very excited because we don't have that format locally. As it is, we KONO listeners in Houston have to null out a useless Spanish language signal on 850 to get KONO. I'd love to see that format on 550, 630, especially 680, 720, 760, or 1200 because we have a clear shot at those frequencies. A good oldies signal from SA would probably show in the Houston ratings, there are so many disenfranchised listeners here.
 
rbrucecarter5 said:
As it is, we KONO listeners in Houston have to null out a useless Spanish language signal on 850 to get KONO.
Click to expand...

Useless? It's a legacy Spanish language station in Houston with decades in the format.
 
BTW-- HoustonPress.com selected KEYH it's Best Spanish-Language Radio Station in 2003 saying in part, "We're not big fans of overly formatted radio, and that's why we love KEYH. Neither a Tejano nor a strictly regional Mexican station, KEYH plays the music of the Caribbean islands and the east coasts of Central and South America, from Matamoros down to Colombia. Salsa, cumbia, sonidero and merengue are just some of the genres you'll hear every hour, making the station as much of a treat for the ears as a trip to the Gulfton Fiesta is for all the other senses."
 
The problem with HD on AM is this.
It splatters all over the band.
For those who do not have an HD receiver the analog audio quality is significantly and noticeably degraded. On top of that, it reduces the useful analog range of an AM station.

I believe HD on AM should simply be stopped. It doesn't work well enough.
However, HD on FM works pretty good, and should be tweaked to make it even better.
 
fredcantu said:
BTW-- HoustonPress.com selected KEYH it's Best Spanish-Language Radio Station in 2003 saying in part, "We're not big fans of overly formatted radio, and that's why we love KEYH. Neither a Tejano nor a strictly regional Mexican station, KEYH plays the music of the Caribbean islands and the east coasts of Central and South America, from Matamoros down to Colombia. Salsa, cumbia, sonidero and merengue are just some of the genres you'll hear every hour, making the station as much of a treat for the ears as a trip to the Gulfton Fiesta is for all the other senses."
Click to expand...
Maybe a treat to somebody, but I don't speak foreign. They are NOT a good neighbor to KONO. They splatter all over it - even on radios with good selectivity and using directional antennas. There are so many Spanish language stations in Houston they are over saturating the market. Spanish language took over legacy Houston rock station KLOL. I'd rather KLOL be silent so I'd have a decent shot at KONO FM. A dozen Spanish language or more, and the only oldies are KONO 860 under severe attack from first adjacent KEYH, KVNS Brownsville when it isn't under attack from useless KKLF on KLIF's second frequency - as if 570 didn't go far enough. And there is a super weak KHVL 1490 from Huntsville. KONO is a heritage station of its own, and probably serves a larger audience than KEYH if you look at the ratings in SA for KONO and Houston for KEYH. And I remember KEYH when it was news instead of Spanish language. Personally, at night, I'm happier listening to 850 when KOA comes in.
 
texquad said:
Good thing the ebay antenna was super cheap (less than $4) and I didn't waste my time doing a permanent installation. I'll probably go back to my Y antenna adapter and listen to AM on the stock radio and give up on the HD tuner for the AM band. HD seems to be going the way of AM stereo!
Click to expand...

Well, turns out there are 3 San Antonio AM stations currently broadcasting in HD:KTKR (Ticket 760), WOAI & KRDY (Radio Disney 1160). I tried another cheap ebay antenna ($5) along with another that was given to me by a radio engineer friend and none worked well enough to consider making a change. So I'm back to the stock antenna which works great with HD FM, just not AM with the HD tuner. In my tests the best HD AM reception was KTKR, the second was KRDY and the worst was WOAI. I thought WOAI would have been the best!
 
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