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OT: AM antenna firm seeks minimum receiver standards.

K

KB1OKL

This is not HD related but could go far towards making HD even more irrelevant than it already is and restore AM to what it once was, including C-Quam, fidelity to 10 khz audio bandwidth, noise blanker AM antennas in all AM radios, parity with FM in receivers, and much more:

From Inside Radio:

"Founded in 1949, Kintronic Labs is the oldest continually operating AM antenna system provider in the U.S. And while president Tom King still believes AM is a “great national resource,” he says the declining position of AM radio can’t be ignored. So he’s pushing the FCC to adopt standards that receiver manufacturers meet minimum technical standards for both FM and AM radio — possibly as soon as January 2016."

"In a letter to AM owners, King says he plans to meet with FCC commissioner Ajit Pai and Audio Division chief Peter Doyle later this month to demonstrate a comparison of full-bandwidth AM and the typical AM receiver that’s now being integrated in most consumer electronics. King is pushing for a requirement to include an AM antenna in both car and home receivers. He’s also lobbying for other technology that would make AM reception less compromised by atmospheric noise as well as fixes that would make radio receivers more sensitive and selective to help listeners pick-up weak AM signals.

King is calling for AM broadcasters to contact Pai and Doyle to tell them how critical it is to put AM in a more competitive position with FM. “Working together, we can restore AM radio to provide the high-fidelity audio reception that the public listening audience demands,” King writes. The future of AM is sure to be a hot topic at this week’s Radio Show where both Pai and Doyle are slated to address broadcasters."

more at:

http://www.insideradio.com/Article.asp?id=2836397#.VA6sJfldV8E

read the whole 2 page letter here and it is very interesting:

http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/InsideRadio/Kintronic Letter_090414.pdf
 
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What are they going to use for the demo?
Sounds a bit like the Denon TU-680NAB, which is still a pretty darn good receiver.
We had a McKay-Dymek AM-5 around here someplace, but I haven't seen it since somebody "cleaned up".....they probably threw it out, since it was "old fashioned AM". (I had $50-60 in parts and a few hours of labor invested in that thing :(
).
 
The Carver and Denon NAB tuners with 15KHz audio I.F. stages and C-Quam are both great choices for the demonstration; in addition, the still in production Fanfare FTA-100P would show-off a more current model, readily available that meets AMAX stereo specs, but standard unit has 7.5KHz audio bandwidth, and it expensive, but a super tuner. I think Fanfare was looking into making a 15KHz audio bandwidth model for the Australian market, but may have backed-off since the DAB+ push down under.
There are CQUAM converter boards available from an outfit in Michigan and in Greece, and even a Delco UX-1 tuner from 1989 would show-off how good AM (stereo) can sound with decent bandwidth. I hope Pai isn't just taking-up space on the FCC board, but actually implements a decent improvement for the AM band - and not in 5 years, but within 6months, 1 year tops.
 
Here's a blurb from Tom Taylor on Kintronics' proposal to improve AM reception and sound:

He's talking about something many of us here have complained about: All the noise and interference to AM receivers which is illegal but not enforced by our limp FCC.

An AM quality manifesto from Tom King at Kintronics.

He’s pitching three key ideas, starting with a widespread problem that’s going to be very hard to put back in the bottle – interference from “the power distribution industry and [products sold by] the consumer electronics industry.” King says the FCC simply isn’t enforcing its existing rules, “resulting in a constantly worsening electromagnetic environment” for AM. Not only are lights and power lines a problem – so are computers and smartphones, which all contribute to the noise that makes AM reception scratchy.

2 more points at:

Scroll down to 2nd story

http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=78b390ff9f5b002e3f050238c&id=77217a0d3c&e=8a3d8a4de0
 
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