Saving the AM band

[AMradiofan]

I think you just hammered it home.
Congrats on your "like" success!
Adapt. Engineer well.
Promote, promote, promote.

See, FCC? (and NAB) We don't need to move. We need good owner/operators!

 

[Kmagrill]

....Would we be 'dead' if we didn't have the translators or the internet stream- heck no.
Yes- it's easier now. I admit that.
But I write these things to remind myself that it wasn't bad before.

Although it is possible to be a successful AM broadcaster in some towns, this is not universal. Also, if an upstart FM station comes along doing a similar job, the AM, no matter how good of a job they're doing, eventually will have to seek a new unique programming option. I know at least two AM stations that do an exceptional job in their smaller communities and both make a living at it, but they survive by remaining unique local outlets. I also have a very good friend with a nice AM facility in a Florida top 50 city. He also makes a living by being live and local and by calling on businesses that cannot afford to advertise on the FM stations. He tells me it's very hard work trying to stay alive in his town. I recently heard him say that he was considering going dark and selling the 40 acres of land holding his DA to a housing developer because the property is worth millions more than the station. This guy's a lifetime broadcaster that's been in the business and making money at it for nearly 50 years.

So, with accolades to those of you who are still making ago of it on the AM band because you just love broadcasting, there are easier and (arguably) better ways to make a living than owning a stand alone AM station in most towns. Is AM dead? Maybe not everywhere, but it's certainly got big problems in most cities. So, aside from playing programming cat-and-mouse with the FM stations, is there a technical solution that has a prospect of really making a difference by addressing impulse noise and low fidelity?

 

[landtuna]

Complex digital technologies are best when the path is line-of-sight - VHF and above.

They aren't working too good this morning in windy Phoenix. Both KSAZ HD and SD are pixelating like crazy. HD = VHF SD = UHF

 

[Schuyler]

Can anything be done about my least favorite source of interference: the electric company?  Not the high-tension, high voltage lines -- just your garden variety wooden "telephone" poles with big ol' buckets of Reddy Kilowatt's friends leaking out of the electric cables.  Seems like this USED to be a problem mostly around 600 and 1200 kHz, but now it's all over the band.

(Oh, and the Exxon/Mobil Speedpass puts out a signal I can hear more than a quarter mile from the [gas] station.  Can't they just run wires over to the counter inside?)

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

The root problem is lack of enforcement as others have said here. Shame on the Commission as they ignore enforcing their own rules because it's hard and requires people that know what their doing while they continue their crusade to make sure every EAS test is logged and every paper is in it's appropriate place in a public file that (mainly) only their agents and station personnel ever look at. All of this, of course, while they are working overtime to figure out how to sell frequencies out from broadcasters... Shame on THEM for not serving the public interest by reducing and preventing interference, which is why they were created for in the first place.

 

[chriscollins]

***Sorry, wrote in the wrong thread***

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Funny that nobody mentioned programming. Put compelling, local programming on and people will listen regardless of the bands shortcomings. Happens every day in small and mid sized markets.

Will that be possible in five years? With the demographic problems that all AM stations already have and the still-tepid radio advertising market, I wouldn't be confident if I ran one of these currently-profitable AM stations.

 

[rrsounds]

<snip>
So, with accolades to those of you who are still making ago of it on the AM band because you just love broadcasting, there are easier and (arguably) better ways to make a living than owning a stand alone AM station in most towns. Is AM dead? Maybe not everywhere, but it's certainly got big problems in most cities.</snip>

AM may not be dead yet but to bluntly quote Monty Python "it was coughing up blood this morning."

What to do? For starters ... Encourage more use of DSP in receivers to remove QRM ... Stronger enforcement of interference laws ... Re-allocate the band, thin out the herd, reducing the need for expensive DA systems and the real estate they occupy ... Allow DRM as an option.

It's all probably much too little, much too late.

I don't know about the rest of you, but to me it's like watching a dear old friend suffer with a terminal illness.

David Reaves
Recklinghausen, Germany

 

[chriscollins]

I think AM will go away at some point. The only thing listenable on it is Talk. We have two AM's in our building. One is news, the other talk. It is a struggle to keep them going.

We have a good owner too... The News one was built from scratch. Great ground system, Nautel TX, Digital STL. He also built a new tower for the other one, so that was another new ground system, etc...

They get out great, it's just a dying format.

Since we are dreamers somewhat in this thread, I wish we could allocate enough FM spectrum, above or below the current band and migrate AM to that expanded FM band.

Then, maybe someone would find a great use (there may already be one I don't know about) for the abandoned AM band. I bet most AM owners would be happy to get a 6KW FM in their current COL. Keep them all at 6KW, and you wouldn't need to make as much 'new' FM space.

 

[Tom Wells]

Can anything be done about my least favorite source of interference: the electric company? Not the high-tension, high voltage lines -- just your garden variety wooden "telephone" poles with big ol' buckets of Reddy Kilowatt's friends leaking out of the electric cables. Seems like this USED to be a problem mostly around 600 and 1200 kHz, but now it's all over the band.

(Oh, and the Exxon/Mobil Speedpass puts out a signal I can hear more than a quarter mile from the [gas] station. Can't they just run wires over to the counter inside?)

I'm sure Exxon/Mobil have enough money to pay some FCC fines for rf pollution.

The power company does not produce noise.
They do sell electricity to people who use devices that slam the current draw on and off continuously when in operation.
This puts a LOT of stress on transformers and capacitors used in electrical power transmission systems.
It would be in the best interest of all if the power company would disconnect the customers who use electricity to
create massive amounts of noise, and send it back up the line destroy the radio reception of untold thousands.
Power companies have no responsibility to report noisemakers to FCC.
The FCC seems to have no means or intent to stop the manufacture and importation of devices which are destroying
wireless communications of all kinds.

 

[kenglish]

The power company may not be in the business of producing noise, but the power poles that have not been replaced in nearly a century, and the old wiring and dirty insulators sure do make a racket.

Driving in each morning, I find more and more areas where bad lines and equipment are causing RFI.
Of course, the junk that customers hang on to those lines doesn't help matters much. They should require a huge filter on the side of every customer's building, just to keep the computers, TV sets and switched-mode power supplies from back-feeding the power lines.

 

[boiseengineer]

Power companies have been fined for RF interference. Interesting read the NOVs/NALs.
Starting in my pre-teens I had Idaho Power climbing poles all over the neighborhood fixing loose connections.
Ever since CableOne went digital they have flooded the RF spectrum with unbelievable noise.
Mostly because they never upgraded their old aluminim trunk lines.
FCC is never around here long enough to show them the hot spots that wipe AM reception along major streets. In my neighborhood 20 to 200 MHz is a mess.

 

[re8]

Of course the Government can't recall these devices. They CAN stop the manufacture of them. After a few years, the old, noisy devices would be out of service.

CFL & LED bulbs are the ones being promoted by the government; it is illegal to make regular high-power filament bulbs. BTW, I've never heard LED bulbs being "noisy"? Have links for proof please?

IMHO it would be better to simply recycle the old broadcast TV channels to something like internet-based streaming.

 

[cough]

I think AM will go away at some point. The only thing listenable on it is Talk. We have two AM's in our building. One is news, the other talk. It is a struggle to keep them going.

We have a good owner too... The News one was built from scratch. Great ground system, Nautel TX, Digital STL. He also built a new tower for the other one, so that was another new ground system, etc...

They get out great, it's just a dying format.

Since we are dreamers somewhat in this thread, I wish we could allocate enough FM spectrum, above or below the current band and migrate AM to that expanded FM band.

Then, maybe someone would find a great use (there may already be one I don't know about) for the abandoned AM band. I bet most AM owners would be happy to get a 6KW FM in their current COL. Keep them all at 6KW, and you wouldn't need to make as much 'new' FM space.

do these stations stream? i would like to listen to them....

 

[kenglish]

Of course the Government can't recall these devices. They CAN stop the manufacture of them. After a few years, the old, noisy devices would be out of service.

CFL & LED bulbs are the ones being promoted by the government; it is illegal to make regular high-power filament bulbs. BTW, I've never heard LED bulbs being "noisy"? Have links for proof please?

IMHO it would be better to simply recycle the old broadcast TV channels to something like internet-based streaming.

Try a Google Search on "rfi from led lights"....there are plenty of instances there. Most of the noise from LED Lighting is due to power supply noise.

 

[bossbill]

Give the AM band to the hobbyists, the nostalgics, the pirates, etc. Everytime a major broadcaster wants to upgrade their FM, or perform a move-in procedure, they should be required to give up an AM in the process.

 

[AMradiofan]

No, Bill. That won't solve anything, and it hurts legit, good broadcasters who are successful and serving their communities, employing people, and having fun! Am does not have to appeal only to the "nostalgic." Many times, (AM) it's all a town has, and many have modern programming, known local announcers, and a lively and productive staff. Yes, there are some! Let alone the "big sticks' that are part of the fabric of big cities! Your signature would imply that you are working hard to keep local radio alive, am I correct?

I have suggested however, that the FCC intervene, and not allow the HUGE corporate owners to throw AM's into a 'Trust' when they own too many (stations in a market) after a purchase, then hold it and claim "nobody will buy it." Small operators would love to own these, and they're the ones (not the big corporate stations) that are putting out REAL radio because they are responsible to themselves and their communities, NOT to stockholders and overpaid corporate presidents. Instead of trusts, it would be good to aid small owners in acquiring these!

The bottom line is this, AM needs owners that care, and programming which appeals to its target audience. Not a move, not throwing the band aside, and not intervention by the FCC. It is at its highest and best use, has long-reach! People listen for content, npt choosing their entertainment because of the medium on which the content is presented.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

The bottom line is this, AM needs owners that care, and programming which appeals to its target audience.

So, what is the implication? That owners like Clear Channel and Cumulus don't care to make back their mutli-million dollar investments in their facilities? That news/talk programming doesn't appeal to men 45+?

 

[davideduardo]

I have suggested however, that the FCC intervene, and not allow the HUGE corporate owners to throw AM's into a 'Trust' when they own too many (stations in a market) after a purchase, then hold it and claim "nobody will buy it." Small operators would love to own these, and they're the ones (not the big corporate stations) that are putting out REAL radio because they are responsible to themselves and their communities, NOT to stockholders and overpaid corporate presidents. Instead of trusts, it would be good to aid small owners in acquiring these!

There are so few stations in trusts that this would not make a significant difference.

The reason the stations went into trusts was not that "nobody wanted them" but that it would take a long time to sell them and it would hold up the overlying transaction. In fact, many of them were inferior facilities that came with group purchases. Further, those that went into trusts after 2007 were tremendously impaired by the recession and qualified, well financed buyers were not available.

It's more complicated than just giving a few trust-held stations to nice community groups or independent broadcasters.

 

[AMradiofan]

Yes, on the large companies de-valuing their AM's.

They're too busy constantly re-branding their FM's and trying to compete on the band they THINK has the only value (FM) every time the station across town changes format and affects their ratings! Some buy up smaller clusters which include an AM, then relegate the AM to satellite delivered junk while they spin it into a trust, to avoid FCC regs of having too much ownership. Then, they cry that they 'can't sell it" and because they have a louder voice than the small operator, they get the FCC, Government, and public to believe that AM contains nothing worthwhile and the station is not sellable.

Some (large corporations) have even shut them down and bulldozed the property then sold the land because they can cash in on the real estate. They then try to look like heroes by donating the license to some non profit which has to take on all the expense of a full rebuild, which may or may not happen. Obviously the big guys with money to throw at a market DO sometimes devalue AM's. Mechanical upkeep can be one reason for selling as stations get older, but obviously in these examples, they DON'T care about small AM's and concentrate only on the almighty acquisition.

PT, Where you get the news-talk reference I don't know. There's no mention of that here. But, since you asked, how many "experts" does the American public need talking AT them to try to sway their opinions?

Again: Interesting programming + owners that actually care = an AM band which IS viable, IS entertaining, IS contributing to its community.