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Reception problem

R

radioguy555

I've been having some reception issues with my HD Radio recently. On one of the AM stations I listen to - mainly during daylight hours - the station switches back and forth from an FM-sounding quality (the HD signal I assume) and the regular AM signal. Not only that, but the HD signal will be a couple seconds behind the other one, so hearing the audio go back and forth every few seconds both quality and time-wise makes for an incredibly annoying listening experience. At night, I only get the regular signal which is perfectly fine by me.

Anyone know why this happens and if there's anything I can do?
 
I was under the impression that the HD and anolog would be simelcasting the signal without any time shift ?
If tha'ts the case and you are listening on AM, shouldn't that mean the signal just switches between anolog and digital, but since both are broadcasting without any time shifting, there should only be a degragation in sound quolity.
John
Bensalem, PA
 
John Holcomb II said:
I was under the impression that the HD and anolog would be simelcasting the signal without any time shift ?
If tha'ts the case and you are listening on AM, shouldn't that mean the signal just switches between anolog and digital, but since both are broadcasting without any time shifting, there should only be a degragation in sound quolity.
John
Bensalem, PA
Click to expand...

The HD processing adds several seconds of delay. The term for it is called "latency" and it is a product of almost any digital process. The idea is to also delay the analog signal so it precisely matches the HD audio. It seems that delay time is a moving target and it is hard to keep it in alignment. Of course, some stations just figure that nobody is listening to HD anyway, so they don't bother to even try.

Some radios have an "analog only" function which locks it so the HD is never heard. You might explore your radio's menu screens to see if you can lock it out. I can certainly understand how shifting back and forth would be very irritating to listen to.
 
LasVegasRadioJunky said:
Couldn't this also be attributed to an antenna issue on the radio?
Click to expand...

Yes, if you want reliable AM HD reception* you need an outside antenna, maybe a 100' long wire to the nearest tree ala 1929 would help.




*if there is such a thing
 
LasVegasRadioJunky said:
Couldn't this also be attributed to an antenna issue on the radio?
Click to expand...

In a word, "no." Admittedly, your receiver’s antenna is a part of it, but what kind of antenna do you propose to put on your car? Your current version works fine in analog. At least on AM, HD is a half-assed system that really doesn't work very well. We deserve better.
 
Chuck said:
The HD processing adds several seconds of delay. The term for it is called "latency" and it is a product of almost any digital process. The idea is to also delay the analog signal so it precisely matches the HD audio. It seems that delay time is a moving target and it is hard to keep it in alignment. Of course, some stations just figure that nobody is listening to HD anyway, so they don't bother to even try.
Click to expand...

Latency on FM HD is about to increase to over 9 seconds in Exporter software v. 2.4.2. This is a side-effect of the extra buffering which is supposed to improve alignment stability -- but as the delay increases, listeners will become less tolerant of "dead air" when switching between multicast channels.

Some radios have an "analog only" function which locks it so the HD is never heard. You might explore your radio's menu screens to see if you can lock it out. I can certainly understand how shifting back and forth would be very irritating to listen to.
Click to expand...

I pulled the JVC HD radio out of my truck last weekend and replaced it with the original factory-installed Visteon radio. I moved the JVC to another vehicle (which requires the standard DIN chassis) to replace a ten-year-old Blaupunkt Digiceiver that failed.

While driving to a job yesterday, it dawned on me that I didn't miss HD at all -- it was actually more satisfying to hear a solid analog FM signal without the constant hiccuping back and forth. And the "highly touted" HD-2 channels -- in all their bit-rate-reduced glory -- weren't worth the bother of dealing with frequent dropouts.

The JVC has good FM analog performance -- which is why I'm keeping it for use in the other vehicle -- but I wish it was easier to lock in analog mode. RDS would be a nice addition as well.
 
I was back seeing my buddy at the Jaguar dealer last night. I asked, how many requests have you had for the super-duper entertainment package where interest was expressed by prospective buyers in HD Radio?

He chuckled, and said: "None."

OTOH: ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of HD-capable vehicles came back with radio complaints during the period HD was offered in Jag radios at this dealership. Every....single....one this dealer sold.

Guess Freebird's unsatisfactory experience with real-world car HD listening was typical.
 
Chuck suggested:

At least on AM, HD is a half-assed system that really doesn't work very well.
Click to expand...

Oh please say "it ain't so". Dang! I had such high hopes for this technology, too!

We deserve better.
Click to expand...

Has iBiquity had its public offering yet? I'm hoping the buy-in price during these tenuous times will be so low that I can afford to stock up on lots of it! But not if their AM HD system is half-assed! I guess I will have to keep reading the reception reports before I consider spending my hard-earned money.
 
Has anybody figured-out a way to keep their Directed Electronics HD radios from going into HD?
I wouldn't mind keeping the display active, but I don't want the reduced audio quality or analog/HD hand-offs all the time.

Anybody know where I could solder-in a jumper wire to do just that? I plan on installing a small blower in mine for heat this winter too!
 
A radio....which requires FORCED-AIR COOLING. Am I the only observer here who finds that absolutely, utterly ridiculous?

It's like having a toothbrush which requires obstruction lighting.

Any savvy consumer electronics designer and/or marketer watching the iBiquity HD debacle has to laughing his/her head off. The outlandish power requirements/waste heat of the HD chipset are so limiting and self-defeating. Even if the system performed properly otherwise, which as we all know, is not the case.
 
Savage said:
Any savvy consumer electronics designer and/or marketer watching the iBiquity HD debacle has to laughing his/her head off. The outlandish power requirements/waste heat of the HD chipset are so limiting and self-defeating. Even if the system performed properly otherwise, which as we all know, is not the case.
Click to expand...

Yeah, where are all those portable HD radios we heard were on the way?

Meanwhile, it's no problem to buy an HDTV tuner on a USB dongle. There are several choices out there; this one, which can demodulate NTSC, ATSC, and ClearQAM (cable TV standard), offers not only a high definition picture, but digital stereo sound (which really does sound good) and it also receives analog FM stations:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSi...PCTV+Analog_Digital+PVR/PCTV+HD+Pro+Stick.htm
 
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