AM can and does go to 9 kHz and a bit beyond. The "barrier" is 10 kHz. If a station is running HD, then it may limit audio to 5 kHz or 6 kHz, but few AMs are running HD anymore.
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WBT-FM Returns To Class C 107.9
- Thread starter Schroedingers Cat
- Start date
I remember the "stone wall" filters that AMs had to put in late last century. Every AM station I heard that installed one have a negative decline in audio.
I usually used the air monitor for my headphones. I am glad I was working FM at the time.
Do we know if the HD signal for 107.9 is at full authorized power? And should the FCC allow a power increase for HD signals in general to better match the analog coverage area? For example, in fringe areas on my home radio I can get a lock on 107.9-HD with rabbit ears, but riding in the car the HD will drop in and out to analog. And the shark fin antenna on my current vehicle may not pull in weaker signals as well as the brown wires in the rear window on the car I had previously.
Yeah even around Gaffney listening to 107.9 I hear very slight static blips in the background very annoying even compared to the other full power talk station at 98.9
I believe they are running -14db. I am not sure if they can run -10.
Can't speak for the HD, but WBT-FM on 107.9 has a decent signal here in northeast Richland County on a car radio, if you can get somewhere that has shielding from the LPFM on 107.9 (18 watts) over in Lexington County. I'm wondering if WBT-FM could have actually increased their power (or other factors) with the transition to news/talk.
I have a TEF6686 radio here under the Christmas tree that I'm waiting to open, and see if it can pick up WBT-FM. I've even got a 75 ohm to SMA adapter on order so that I can connect an outdoor antenna. The Televes DATBOSS would be great if not for the FM trap that they have installed in the amplifier.
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These static blips become stronger in Spartanburg County and definitely in Greenville County. I am curious as to the cause of this interference. I do not here the static glitches on 95.1 which transmits from a similar location near 107.9. Possibly because the 107.9 antenna is more side mounted on the Charlotte side of the tower than 95.1?
Interesting thread
I know this is slightly OT, but where did you buy your TEF6686? I've been looking for one from a reliable US based seller.
Most likely what you are hearing is picket fencing, where the signal level drops momentarily due to obstructions between the driver and the transmitting antenna (hills, ridges, and buildings). You will notice it more on spoken word formats, while compressed music tends to mask it. The heavy processing on 99.3 was probably an attempt to make up for this, given its distance from much of the population in the Charlotte metro.
I got it on Amazon for the good price ($84), free shipping on Amazon Prime, and easy return if it didn't work. I tested it out just enough to make sure it worked, and then wrapped it and put it under the tree. Christmas can't get here soon enough.
But isn't the fun of Christmas getting to open at least one Christmas present early!
As David E would say Richland County is out of the Charlotte market and therefor not useful to WBT or its advertisers.
The HD signal rides on both sides of the main carrier. Too much of a HD signal creates hiss on radios receiving the main FM carrier.
We're doing "Christmas lite" this year, and that is my only major gift. It can wait until either Christmas Eve or the day itself. It's just a few days.
107.9 has always had the best CLT signal in the market or at worst a close 2nd. You have the two FMs on the coast and the signal up in Salem, SC but the other closest is WNCT.
I wouldn’t be surprised if WFNZ adds a simulcast on 1110. Even though AM is not well-listened to now I’m sure Charlotte FC and the Hornets would enjoy being on a better signal. Charlotte FC often had conflicts with UNC and/or Hornets and they were shuffled off 92.7 out to WBT or even 107.9.
I wouldn’t be surprised if WFNZ adds a simulcast on 1110. Even though AM is not well-listened to now I’m sure Charlotte FC and the Hornets would enjoy being on a better signal. Charlotte FC often had conflicts with UNC and/or Hornets and they were shuffled off 92.7 out to WBT or even 107.9.
Aren't most MLS fans -- and American soccer fans in general -- in the younger demos that don't use AM anymore?
I don't think they have enough transmitter to do neg 10 inside the box. The main is a GatesAir Flexiva FLX and the Alt Main is a Nautel GV40.
That's probably exactly what will happen, just as with WCBS/WHSQ in NYC. I'd be surprised for there to be any other outcome.
Nevertheless I have tuned in 107.9 in the car in parts of Richland County and the HD can even lock on at various locations. One of them at the Columbiana Mall along I-26 where I have shopped because they have a big Belk men's dept, and there is a Rush's burger joint in the neighboring shopping plaza. But as you get closer into Columbia there is indeed a LPFM religious station that will interfere. So you can tune to 1110 as an option to fill the gaps in the fringe, which is why I wish they would continue the simulcast.