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WBZ on FM

K

K6JHU

I was asked by a friend in Boston if WBZ-AM is on an FM channel. I suggested that it might be on HD but considering the current state of HD and that fact that I am 2000 miles from Boston, this board might be the only way to find out. I was not about to suggest doing a band scan considering Boston traffic :)
 
Usually, Wikipedia has the info on HD Radio. You can look up where WBZ's subchannel is located. The Infobox and second paragraph on WBZ's page both list the subchannel.
 
Maybe some station sites have this info; and for those who do tune in, there are station IDs for WBZ that say things like "WXKS-FM HD2" (not that it gives the frequency).
The HD radio site has info too though there are inaccuracies!

https://hdradio.com/stations/ (somehow mine gets set to "Boston")
Dealing with the FM dial at least and working backwards

WXKS 107.9 HD 2--WBZ Newsradio
WAAF 107.3 HD 2--WEEI sportsradio
WMJX 106.7 HD 2--Christmas
WROR 105.7 HD 2--Men From Maine bits (site incorrectly says The Bone)
WWBX 104.1 HD 2--WAAF
WWBX 104.1 HD 3--Tomorrow's Hits Today
WODS 103.3 HD 2--Channel Q
WODS 103.3 HD 3--The Cove

WKLB 102.5 HD 2--Classic country
(WBWL 101.7 is not listed on HD radio site but they have a gay-lesbian station on HD2)
WZLX 100.7 HD 2--WRKO talk (site STILL incorrectly says Mojo all blues)
WBZ-FM 98.5 HD2 --Sports Hub (podcasts)

No HD2 is listed for WKAF 97.7--anyone know?
WBQT 96.9 HD 2--Irish Channel
WJMN 94.5 HD 2--The Breeze (site incorrectly says Bloomburg)
WEEI-FM 93.7 HD 2--WAAF
WBOS FM 92.9 HD 2--Bloomburg (site incorrectly says "playing Boston's best bands")

WERS 88.9's HD2 is Broadway. WGBH 89.7 has WCRB classical on HD2, and WCAI Cape-Islands public radio on HD3

I have picked up some other HD stations like the one for WHEB 100.3 in Portsmouth NH, here in Beverly. Wiki. lists the HD2 as Dance.
 
Thanks and yes, couldn't recall name of the 101.7 HD2. I think under Entercom 97.7 may have had WEEI-FM on an HD2 for awhile just as they did, and do, with WAAF 107.3...no longer of course, iHeart now owns WKAF.

Was just picking up 90.1 HD2, ME Public Radio from Biddeford (some kind of NPR news). Not just the HD1 but the HD2, here in Beverly
 
Oh OK, yes I was wondering--scanning HD dial this morning and whatever they're playing sounded new not classic. I hadn't really listened to it, just noted in past it was some sort of country on the HD2.
 
CTListener said:
Wouldn't they show up with the "stream" numbers for those stations, or does "stream" only mean online streaming?
Click to expand...

HD is treated separately (and encoded separately in PPM markets) by Nielsen.
 
DavidEduardo said:


HD is treated separately (and encoded separately in PPM markets) by Nielsen.
Click to expand...

So, a station like WBZ can tell who is listening on Analog AM, HD-FM, and the stream.

Could they tell if someone is listening over the air to analog AM or AM-HD?
(Moot case, but just wondered.)

I suppose it would be possible to encode the AM analog and the AM-HD differently.
 
Wimmmex said:
So, a station like WBZ can tell who is listening on Analog AM, HD-FM, and the stream.

Could they tell if someone is listening over the air to analog AM or AM-HD?
(Moot case, but just wondered.)

I suppose it would be possible to encode the AM analog and the AM-HD differently.
Click to expand...

The AM, the HD it is on, and a stream are separately encoded. However, if they are 100% simulcasts, they may be, at the station's option, combined. A station can order a special report on where the listening is coming from.

For FM the analog and the HD(1) channel that simulcasts it are treated identically, encoded identically. Same for AM HD. They must be 100% simulcasts as the technology automatically folds back to analog with a digital signal dropout.
 
Wimmmex said:
I am assuming that the larger AM stations that dropped HD, like WBZ, knew how many people were hearing it in HD, and thence their decision to turn it off.
Click to expand...

Seems to me the issue with WBZ's HD is it was interfering with KDKA when they were both owned by CBS.
 
Wimmmex said:
I am assuming that the larger AM stations that dropped HD, like WBZ, knew how many people were hearing it in HD, and thence their decision to turn it off.
Click to expand...

Alot of Crawford Broadcasting's AM's run HD.. their engineering staff has drunk the HD koolaid. I've heard a few of their AM's in HD and it sounds like digital artifact laiden crud.. hissy analog sounds better
 
Wimmmex said:
I am assuming that the larger AM stations that dropped HD, like WBZ, knew how many people were hearing it in HD, and thence their decision to turn it off.
Click to expand...

There is no separate encoding of the AM HD audio or of the FM HD-1 because both are system-required simulcasts. HD-2, HD-3 and beyond must be separately encoded.

I think I was unclear in the previous post: an AM that simulcasts on an HD-2 or HD-3 channel of an FM and which also streams will be separately encoded on each, but they may elect to have all three (or two of the three) combined if they are total simulcasts.

The biggest issue with AM HD is the requirement to restrict the analog audio bandwidth to 5 kHz. While most AM receivers start rolling off at just above 4 kHz, stations believed that they were hurting the analog signal to create a digital signal that pretty much sucked.
 
Wimmmex said:
I am assuming that the larger AM stations that dropped HD, like WBZ, knew how many people were hearing it in HD, and thence their decision to turn it off.
Click to expand...

The WBZ AM HD, while being run only in the daytime for its last few years, was completely shut off shortly after the ownership change from CBS to iHeart. CBS seemed to be more proactive toward AM HD than iHeart is.

That said, you may be right that if iHeart had some indication that many people were listening to the AM HD they may have kept it on in the daytime.
 
TheBigA said:
Seems to me the issue with WBZ's HD is it was interfering with KDKA when they were both owned by CBS.
Click to expand...

I think that was only a nighttime issue though, so CBS had WBZ’s HD shut off at sunset every night for the last few years they ran it. Shortly after WBZ was bought by iHeart the HD was shut off completely.
 
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