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WBT-1110 AM Stereo Transmission

Hello Board,

I purchased a AM/FM Tuner that said it would support AM-Stereo, but today I cannot get 1110-WBT In Stereo on it. However, I must admit WAVO sounds Phenominal on this Tuner! (even in non-AM Stereo) ..... :)

Does anyone know how WBT does its AM-Stereo Transmission? :)

Thanks,

Steve.
 
I’m guessing it’s an old receiver being that it supports AM Stereo. However since it does, I’m guessing its bandwidth is pretty good. It may be even be as good as the old GE Superadio that had 10 kHz of bandwidth in the “wide” mode. That is probably why WAVO sounds so good. Its audio processing is set up for music broadcast with a lot of EQ and openness. It’s probably the best sounding AM station in the market and sounds great on a decent AM receiver.

I always thought that Lenard Kahn’s stereo should have been the de facto system, not Motorola.
 
test123 said:
WBT used the Kahn system. It has been turned off for many years.

hh

Thanks for answering that, although I must admit it's a bit disappointing. In my case the point is moot though - this Tuner has CQUAM made by Motorola so there are actually 2 reasons it's not coming in Stereo for me. Steve.
 
A lot of HD radio chipsets have C-Quam built in. If BT played music it might be a worthwhile up grade.

He has the gear to go IBOC for both his Harris and Nautel transmitters. Not sure if the feed would be stereo or not. I know WFNZ and WBCN are not stereo on their HD.

hh
 
mp3RadioGuy said:
I’m guessing it’s an old receiver being that it supports AM Stereo. However since it does, I’m guessing its bandwidth is pretty good. It may be even be as good as the old GE Superadio that had 10 kHz of bandwidth in the “wide” mode. That is probably why WAVO sounds so good. Its audio processing is set up for music broadcast with a lot of EQ and openness. It’s probably the best sounding AM station in the market and sounds great on a decent AM receiver.

I always thought that Lenard Kahn’s stereo should have been the de facto system, not Motorola.

Yes from 1989. It does have an IF Band (Wide/Narrow). It also has AM-De-Emphasis. In the AM part of the manual it states: This radio has the capability of sounding like a FM Set.

Next up it has a 12db gain button, which really makes WAVO come alive from a "1" to somewhere between a 3 and a 4. Next up is a Noise Limiter for both AM and FM. FM also has Multipath Reduction.

When I use all of the above in a combination, it does make WAVO sound like it is transmitting in Mono FM. Sweet music to my ears! 8)

Steve

Update: It actually goes up to 15 kHz in Wide AM Mode.
 
There were many debates on CQUAM Vs Kahn. WAYS, and WSOC-AM used CQUAM and WBT while Kahn. There were advantages and disadvantages to each. CQUAM had what was called platform-motion on weak signals (sound bouncing from on channel to the other), Kahn didn't have as much stereo separation as the CQUAM system.

Both sounded good when they were adjusted properly. WBT's Kahn system got out of adjustment once and it sounded horrible. They turned it off and Leonard Kahn himself had to come down to fix it.

The problem with both systems was not technical though. Much like HD radio the mass public either didn't know or didn't care about it.
 
You are correct sir! In fact if memory serves WAYS started with Belar and WSOC started with Harris, both switched to Motorola when it became the standard. There were only small differences between Motorola, Belar, Harris and Magnavox. On my Sony portable there was one switch setting for them and the other was for Kahn, which was far different than the others.

One advantage of the Kahn system was you could use two radios, one tuned slightly above and one slightly below the main carrier frequency and get a slight stereo effect.
 
I wish WBT would broadcast an HD Radio signal. When I was in Lexington, Kentucky I could pick up WLW-700 from Cincinatti and the HD locked on, and it sounded very good.
 
WBT is set up for IBOC. IBOC would then be on 1100 where WTAM is and on 1120 where KMOX is. Unfortunately for me some 80 air miles from WBT, WTAM's and KMOX's IBOC is on 1110. GRRR! At least I am close enough to listen to WBT-FM (Chester, SC )


Powell
 
Yes, but they will likely never go HD (Hybrid-Digital). I understand why, that is why I was hoping I could still get them on an old AM-Stereo Receiver.

Looks like they don't care about Stereo at all - no Surprise seeing the actual state of 1110 WBT these days, I guess...

Steve.
 
Powell E. Way III W4OPW said:
WBT is set up for IBOC. IBOC would then be on 1100 where WTAM is and on 1120 where KMOX is. Unfortunately for me some 80 air miles from WBT, WTAM's and KMOX's IBOC is on 1110. GRRR! At least I am close enough to listen to WBT-FM (Chester, SC )


Powell
I get WBT on 99.3-FM here in northern Greenville, SC. And the HD Radio signal usually locks in. Using a set of RadioShack rabbit ears in the house. Car reception is spotty due to interference from a station down in Georgia. They should simulcast WBT on 107.9 HD-2 channel which they do not use. Since they have the AM reception problem west of the Catawba River after dark.
 
You have to live on the top of a hill to be getting HD Radio Signals from Charlotte --- Where I'm at I haven't put up any outside antennas yet and my TERK Inside Antenna often has trouble locking onto 104.72. I actually have multiple TERK Antennas and multiple Tuners to work around it. :) Steve.
 
HD does not stand for Hybrid Digital. It stands for .............. nothing as stated by Ibiquity. For HD on MW, you have to have a very strong signal with NO interference whatsoever on both sidebands. For reception via one sideband the signal has to be exceptionally good. That's how I used to get WLAC on skywave, but it was only about 80% when the signal was overpowering. I never hear WBT-FM on HD. There isn't enough signal and I have a close 1st adjacent.

Powell
 
test123 said:
A lot of HD radio chipsets have C-Quam built in. If BT played music it might be a worthwhile up grade.

It isn't that CQUAM is built in as much as IBOC uses a similar transmission method as CQUAM so some receivers decode because of this anomaly. The problem is even though these radios will decode CQUAM the analog bandwidth is narrow so it really defeats the purpose.
 
Most newer receivers are software-defined. The IF is fed into a DSP and is decoded by whatever algorithm matches the incoming signal - be it AM, FM, CQUAM, IBOC, DRM and so on, so it's just a matter of programming the DSP to demodulate the different types. A demodulator for IBOC only will not decode CQUAM.
 
WBT digital only mode AM IBOC test tonight (Friday) at midnight and again Saturday night. NAB test. You will hear no analog signal.
 
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