WCBS 880

[recto101]

Strange question...

When WCBS airs special reports and hourlies from CBS Radio, there's often a sound I can only describe as a 'chirp.' Is that the sound of the automation signal, or am I slowly beginning to lose my mind?<P ID="signature">______________
Joe Salzone
Host, "World View with Joe Salzone" on WGBB 1240 every Sunday night at 7 ET.</P>

I noticed on KCBS 106.9 FM I don't hear the Chirp when the CBS News Update shows up but KCBS 740 does. I thinks its the AM Signal that ampifies the Chirp sound. But I hear the CBS tune very well.

 

[RadioMan203]

This article from 2009 may give you the background you seek:

CBS News Radio Goes Chirpless

 

[Stormdesk]

I remember as a young kid listening to the old "WEEI Newsradio 590" in Boston, and hearing the 3 boings leading up to a chirp and almost instantly into the final louder BOING, then into CBS News.
From the first moment I heard that "chirp" as a kid, I have always thought of that sound as an Alka-Seltzer plopping into a glass of water! LOL!
It always seemed way cooler than that old Mutual Radio News twin beeps!

 

[BobRoss]

> I was told the CBS ''Bong'' at the top of the hour was set
> to GMT..I always set my watch to it

Uh. The CBS Bong {1} goes off at exactly 00:00, though you actually get it a split second later due to the time it takes the signal to travel to the affiliate stations.

Actually, this may not be true anymore in certain markets, specifically places where news/talk is being moved to the FM dial. Recently happened in my area, where a longtime AM is now being simulcast on FM. But I noticed the FM side is several seconds behind the AM side. Someone explained to me that the FM side is purposely delayed because the station is also broadcast in HD Radio. Unfortunately, the HD encoding process delays the audio by 7-8 seconds; that's just the way it is, currently no way around it. While the original analog signal doesn't "have" to be delayed, many stations purposely delay it to match the HD side, so that people listening on HD (theoretically) won't miss anything if their radio cuts back and forth between HD and analog.

 

[luperm]

AM stations (like WCBS and WINS) that broadcast in HD also suffer from the encoding lag. The TOH tone is actually about 8 seconds late.

 

[butchfm]

I set my VCR to the toh tone of KYW 1060 Philadelphia FWIW.

Further proof that this is a very old thread... :

Hey hey, in 1980 i played a Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep before Mutual news....maybe that's how the chirp was born...Thanks alot MAC & KATIE KISSOON!