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WBT-1110 AM Stereo Transmission
- Thread starter Steve.Gates
- Start date
Very Interesting.. Steve....
I heard their digital carrier (no programming) down here in Naples. Very quiet. I'm going to try to listen again tonight. Maybe I'll hear some programming tonight. The hours are 1A-5A, BTW. I listened right at the start of things last night.
Thanks for the tip guys, pure digital with no analog. Guess they are doing some testing. Anybody know how much power they are running?
Went off the air at 1:53 AM Must be some interesting things going on down at Nations Ford Road.
Heard them shortly after 2AM with Coast to Coast AM. Very clean bit-reduced audio... except when it faded out. And by "faded out", I mean it vanished. That is the downside of digital radio, and for that matter TV. Either it is there or it is totally gone. No in between. That's where analog trumps digital.
Yes they went off a couple times. In rural NW Newberry County, SC the Saturday AM test was a bust. I got PSD and the HD light flashing. Right before 1 AM the analog was being buried by WTAM and KMOX's IBOC. Sunday AM was better. KMOX was very weak, and WTAM had the IBOC off. WBT's analog signal, though was weak and fluttery. This time I tried the Radio Shack original HD radio and it decoded about 30% of the time. Went back to the Sangean HDT-1 which after it is on a while quits.... got decoding about half the time with a signal that would be painful to listen to if it were analog.
It was solid here but I live in Charlotte.
FYI, I do not think WTAM has had HD turned on in several weeks as I have not heard it on, so it must have just been sky wave noise.
I caught the WBT digital test briefly about 2:30 AM saturday. The digital noise was wiping out 1090, 1100, 1120 and 1130. If the FCC starts letting AM stations use this flawed system, its certainly going to kill whats left of AM radio, its bad enough with what they're doing now. I live near York in south central PA. And WTAM doesn't run HD but has some interesting audio using a hint of reverb! Nothing wrong with 1972 audio!
Sorry I missed this, but their AM signal does not go West of the Catawba River at night. And I am in Greenville, SC. So doubtful I would have heard it, if their digital signal is directional like their analog. But are they considering adding IBOC, or just testing? It can be done, as WLW 700 in Cincy has a very good analog as well as IBOC signal.Ryder said:
I wish WBT would consider simulcasting on a WLNK HD-2 subchannel. The 107.9 signal would help reach the western areas, especially after dark. Another option because 99.3 may not clearly reach all areas. And regarding 107.9, I wish they would remove that null in their antenna to the west. Not as strong as 95.1, 96.1, or 105.3 in Greenville, SC. The old 107.9 antenna they replaced 8 years ago was more omnidirectional, and I wish they would go back to that pattern like the other stations. They used to have a very strong, clear signal in Upstate SC, and now the signal breaks up in the car. Used to be perfect. Although I can still get it clear with rabbit ears in the house, including the HD signal. But an omnidirectional pattern could still reach the Charlotte counties to the east, as well as more of Upstate SC and western NC like it used to. Their old signal was outstanding.test123 said:
It's 107.9, not 1110, that Tyler wants to fix.Powell E. Way III W4OPW said:
Exactly. Back when 107.9 had that omnidirectional pattern, they put out a very strong signal in Greenville-Spartanburg and even Asheville. Now it is spotty. Supposedly they wanted a strong signal east of Charlotte following HWY 74 into Union County. But an omni antenna from that tall tower seemed to accomplish this, so I don't know why they saw the need to change it. I know people here who like to listen to Bob and Sheri in the car, and now they complain of the problematic reception.vchimpanzee said:
I have two theories about why they want a strong signal to the east. Their tower is west of Charlotte, right? Myrtle Beach has a 50,000-watt station at 107.9 which could potentially cause problems, especially in the morning with the right weather conditions. But Greenville, North Carolina has a station with a 2000-foot tower. You know that station is capable of causing difficulties.tylerSC said:
You may be correct. But their old omnidirectional pattern reached to the counties east of Charlotte, including Union County. Their 2000ft tower allows for a strong coverage area with the right antenna pattern. But perhaps the other 107.9 signals were sometimes causing interference due to weather conditions as you suggest. But now I have that problem with the Atlanta 107.9 interfering with the Charlotte 107.9 in Greenville, SC. They used to have an outstanding signal, and now it is problematic in the car. And I would rather listen to Bob and Sheri in the mornings instead of Ricky Smiley. And I also flip over to Ace and TJ on 96.1 which usually comes in good.
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