The best promotion for HD radio

[nd2023]

Low powered analog translators!

A long-gone alternative rock station, WHFS, was resurrected for the third time on the 97.5 translator in Baltimore. People love that it's back on the air, but hate the weak signal that only comes in within the I-695 loop surrounding Baltimore. They're advertising the fact that HFS can be heard in a larger area on 106.5-HD2 in Baltimore and 94.7-HD2 in DC on an HD radio. Some people actually bought an HD radio to hear the station better, although most just stream it on their phones. But I'm sure the number of HD radios in active daily use in Baltimore multiplied when HFS returned.

So it would be a great idea for HD Radio to get a translator license in major cities, and simulcast a different HD2 every week on them to advertise that those formats can be heard all the time in a larger area if you get an HD radio (or the TuneIn.com app). The current ads for HD radio that are an unrealistic dialog of a customer at Best Buy don't tell us exactly what is available in the local area on HD2/HD3. A translator license could end up cheaper than airing all those HD Alliance ads on every station, and every station that opts in to the promotion could pay a portion of the cost. Since the translator's signal is worse than the HD signal of a full power station, there should be few complaints about dropouts. Even if people just stream the HD2s online, once they are popular enough to sell ads, HD Radio gets a cut of the ad revenue. And finally, if HD Radio wants to get out of this promotion, there is no shortage of churches that love to gobble up translators. People already subscribe to Sirius XM for formats that are available on HD, so they would drop satellite if they knew they can hear it on HD radio with no monthly fees.

 

[local oscillator]

No, actually it's a shame that the Commission is allowing these HD sidechannels to receive analog life support from translators. They are only marginally prolonging the inevitable death of HD, which needs to happen ASAP. What a destructive distraction to a once-great medium.

 

[diymedia]

Wait, churches are renting their translators to commercial broadcasters.

If the endgame of HD is supposed to be all-digital, how does appropriating even more spectrum to feature its programming in analog advance this?

The warping of the translator rules is a can of worms in and of itself.

 

[local oscillator]

Even worse, translator operators are leasing HD sidechannels from full power stations to legitimize separately programming their translators. Then, to make things worse, Arbitron is listing them in the ratings as WXXX-HDX instead of W2NNXX, implying that the it's the HD sidechannel that has listening, not the translator!

 

[Savage]

Wait a minute, L-O!! Are you suggesting there are practices regarding HD Radio which are LACKING IN CANDOR ??!!?? :

 

[local oscillator]

I know it's hard to believe that those pillars of truth, justice and the American Way could even consider such things. But . . . ;D

 

[JohnnyElectron]

All out of town churches sucked-up every freaking translator here in my town; WTF do they need 5 towers in town when they already have 2 AM and one FM?
So one church traded one of their translators to a commercial (Cumulus) station for their 1500W AM, and now Cumulus runs an FM HD-2 signal thru the FM analog translator! That's bending the rules around a wee bit, wouldn't you say? A bad trade IMO, as 1.5KW on AM goes a whole lot further than 82watts on an FM translator.

 

[Chuck]

now Cumulus runs an FM HD-2 signal thru the FM analog translator! That's bending the rules around a wee bit, wouldn't you say?

The FCC seems to think that is perfectly OK. Depending on the height of the translator's antenna, 82 watts on FM may not be that much worse than 1.5 KW on AM.

 

[tomservo]

And more importantly, it's on FM, while many younger folks apparently don't even know AM exists anymore.

Recently in the Birmingham market, Clear Channel put alt. rock back on via the HD-2/translator combo. Only they also added one of the area's best AM signals, with 5 kW day and night. The AM simulcast must have lasted less than a month, now it's back to relaying the FM news/talker in town. AM just doesn't get much traction anymore, especially with music.

 

[spunker88]

And more importantly, it's on FM, while many younger folks apparently don't even know AM exists anymore.

Recently in the Birmingham market, Clear Channel put alt. rock back on via the HD-2/translator combo. Only they also added one of the area's best AM signals, with 5 kW day and night. The AM simulcast must have lasted less than a month, now it's back to relaying the FM news/talker in town. AM just doesn't get much traction anymore, especially with music.

The AM band doesn't get much respect anymore. For many new radios AM is an afterthought so antennas are made too small and bandwidth is set too narrow. Theres also a lot of unavoidable interference in today's electronic world which can make listening to AM in a car annoying.

 

[radiomonkey2]

The AM band doesn't get much respect anymore. For many new radios AM is an afterthought so antennas are made too small and bandwidth is set too narrow. Theres also a lot of unavoidable interference in today's electronic world which can make listening to AM in a car annoying.

I recently bought a 2009 Chevy Cobalt. Nice little car, but the AM radio is total junk. When did GM quit putting AGC in their AM radios? That's bad enough, but aside from the really marginal sound quality, the Cobalt uses electric power steering and when you turn the wheel, hash appears on several discrete AM frequencies, such as 880, 1280, and 1500. It got so bad the local 50kW on 1500 was getting blown off the dial. GM replaced the radio twice and finally discovered something loose in the antenna. Even though the noise is greatly reduced, its still there particularly on 880, where I like to listen to a weak station in the next state. To listen to that particular station, I have to drive my '98 Transport van (almost 200k miles but radio works great). BTW, I drove a couple of 2010 Cobalt rental cars while my radio was being fixed, and they also have the steering noise problem, so I assume it's designed in. Apparently, if it works good enough to get the local stations, that's as far as the design goes.

 

[hipporadio]

The AM band doesn't get much respect anymore. For many new radios AM is an afterthought so antennas are made too small and bandwidth is set too narrow. Theres also a lot of unavoidable interference in today's electronic world which can make listening to AM in a car annoying.

I recently bought a 2009 Chevy Cobalt. Nice little car, but the AM radio is total junk. When did GM quit putting AGC in their AM radios? That's bad enough, but aside from the really marginal sound quality, the Cobalt uses electric power steering and when you turn the wheel, hash appears on several discrete AM frequencies, such as 880, 1280, and 1500. It got so bad the local 50kW on 1500 was getting blown off the dial. GM replaced the radio twice and finally discovered something loose in the antenna. Even though the noise is greatly reduced, its still there particularly on 880, where I like to listen to a weak station in the next state. To listen to that particular station, I have to drive my '98 Transport van (almost 200k miles but radio works great). BTW, I drove a couple of 2010 Cobalt rental cars while my radio was being fixed, and they also have the steering noise problem, so I assume it's designed in. Apparently, if it works good enough to get the local stations, that's as far as the design goes.

After insisting on retaining my beloved 2000 GMC Jimmy [complete with a VERY GOOD radio, BTW], I bought a new 2009 Pontiac Vibe to get better fuel economy on jaunts that didn't require a larger payload. The AM section of the stock radio in it is AWESOME—one of the best since the Alpine I purchased in 1983. I suppose auto radio agility is akin to MPG ratings – YOUR mileage may VARY! In most cases, the culprit is the unavoidable reality, that as vehicles become more computer-intensive, so does the potential for pesky E.M.I. – we all know what the "best friend" of AM reception is, right? I have found that many illusive noise issues are best resolved by those who specialize in selling and INSTALLING auto sound components [that eliminates your neighborhood Best Buy]. AM reception in my GMC Jimmy started-off with a noise problem that was finally eliminated by a competent auto sound installer. Your auto dealer's service department is more concerned with alternators than AM radio – especially AM HD RADIO

 

[Savage]

WELCOME BACK HIPPO! It's been a coon's age since we've heard your dulcet tones here in text. Thanks for the Laff-O-The-Day: talking to a service tech about HD-AM radio! Now there's one sure to get the "golden retriever cocked-head" expression on someone's face....

 

[KB1OKL]

I've got an 09 G8 with a stock Blaupunkt system in it, the AM section is quiet qand sounds pretty good except it's got one of those narrow filters which doesn't allow much highs through.