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WDRC-AM loud hum on stream

I just checked out this stream with my Sennheiser headphones. There is indeed a loud hum. Sounds like a ground problem, likely a ground loop. You won't hear it on a sound system with zero bass response.

This is an easy fix.
 
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We're at the 6-month anniversary of my original post and the loud hum is still there! In fact it sounds louder than ever.

It's amazing that station personnel haven't noticed.

I guess nobody listens which would explain why nobody has complained.

As Harvey_Dogg points out, it's an easy fix.

But if nobody's listening, who cares?

Sad.
 
wadio said:
OK, clarification:

Sheesh!
Click to expand...

Or if they complain, they complain on message boards like this one instead of someone who works at the station.

There are people who complain about talk show hosts who spend time using or promoting social media. But social media is a way to engage with actual employees at the station. So if hosts at WDRC use social media, that would be a way to communicate with them about the hum. I looked at the station's twitter page and I see lots of Gary Byron tweets, and no replies frorm people complaining about hum on the stream.

I then went to the station's web site and saw something I almost never see at any station site: A place for "STREAMING HELP."

Streaming Help

If you are having trouble streaming our station from your desktop here are some suggestions. Make sure that your web browser has the latest updates installed. Click the name of your browser in the navigation bar then
www.talkofconnecticut.com www.talkofconnecticut.com

So this station is trying to help people like you.
 
I saw that too, but the point is the stream is unlistenable.
So this station is trying to help people like you.
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People like me? Really? You don't know anything about me. I suggest you don't make public assumptions. It doesn't look good.
 
wadio said:
People like me? Really? You don't know anything about me. I suggest you don't make public assumptions. It doesn't look good.
Click to expand...

People like you who are complaining about the hum. Am I wrong about that?

  1. If none of the above steps worked for you then submit a help request to our streaming engineers by clicking here.
Click to expand...

Have you ever sent them a help request? This will put you in touch with the actual company that handles their stream.
 
TheBigA said:
Then you wonder why nobody does anything about it. If you want something done, you have to complain.
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He'll also waste time over and over on here bringing it up, but doesnt care enough or want to waste the time to contact the station.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
He'll also waste time over and over on here bringing it up, but doesnt care enough or want to waste the time to contact the station.
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Yep. All you have to do is contact them. Last week their sister station - 102.5 Hartford's R&B station was off the air for more than 8 hours. (102.5 is the translator for 1470-AM WBOM), I sent a private message on Instagram to Amy Grey the PD of Full Power Radio to let her know and within 3 hours of me sending her the message 102.5 was back up an running. (It was just 102.5 that was off, The stream plus 1470-AM were still on).
 
You folks don't get it.

This is a forum to discuss things, not to report them. If I wanted to report it I would do so directly.

I'm just proving a point, and each month that goes by help do that.

No need to lash back.
 
wadio said:
I'm just proving a point, and each month that goes by help do that.
Click to expand...

The only point you're proving is that you don't care enough do anything about it.

You say "nobody cares," and we all see that you're part of that nobody.

The stream exists for your convenience, not theirs. They probably make zero money from it.
wadio said:
No need to lash back.
Click to expand...

If you can't stand the heat...

You're making observations, and we're free to make observations about your observations.
 
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wadio said:
You folks don't get it.

This is a forum to discuss things, not to report them. If I wanted to report it I would do so directly.

I'm just proving a point, and each month that goes by help do that.

No need to lash back.
Click to expand...
Is your point that management should assign someone to monitor the stream? In any case, until the problem is rectified, online listeners could simply hum along.
 
I don't have a dog in this fight, but reading this six-month-old thread got me to throw on my own phones (a pair of bluetooth JBL's with respectable frequency response and sensitivity) and pull up WDRC's website. When I started the stream, the 60 hz buzz was unmissable to anyone who hasn't spent their working life testing jet engines.

I then pulled up KSFO's (San Francisco, the market where I live) website and stream, and that sounds crystal clear, no discernable hum. Then KABC out of L.A., same thing. Keep in mind, that's Cumulus in both cases, not exactly the poster boy for excellence in crudblasting.

Then I went back to 'DRC and the hum was back.

So whatever else is fair game to criticize wadio about, an audio problem that has existed on the stream of a legacy commercial Hartford station for half a year shouldn't be one of them. IMO it is absolutely fair game to criticize ownership/management/engineering/I.T. for not doing de minimus of quality control on their digital distribution platform for (if wadio's timeline is accurate) at least six freakin' months...

Also, I see the point that it's not his (or yours or my) responsibility to report a problem that would have been noticed on air in fairly short order. That responsibility squarely belongs to station and/or ownership group staff. But I would also say, to anyone who has added their thoughts in this thread, why haven't you?

I don't care all that much either, but this has gone on for too long and I'm going to see if a DM gets any response. I'll let you know...
 
I don't have headphones and I can't discern a hum at all. I do have a hearing loss, but it's all in the high range, so I figure I should be able to hear a 60 Hz hum, right? Do you also hear a hum on any of Full Power/Red Wolf/John Fuller's other Hartford stations' streams: WDRC-FM, WMRQ or Bomba FM?
 
Weiserguy said:
I would also say, to anyone who has added their thoughts in this thread, why haven't you?
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Fair question: Like you, I tuned in, and didn't hear the hum. Then again, I listen on a small tablet, not headphones. However I empathize with a small local owner that's trying to help listeners by offering a free stream. I also give them credit for providing users of that service with contact information to convey individual issues and concerns. As I noted, not many stations provide that kind of information. The fact that they do that tells me that they DO care about their listeners. It bothers me when observers equates hum on an outside stream with a broadcaster not caring. They care about the area for which they're responsible. I think we can all understand that.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
He'll also waste time over and over on here bringing it up, but doesnt care enough or want to waste the time to contact the station.
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Amen! :) As I stated some time ago, when my own LPFM radio station and now stream, are having issues, I'm always on top of it since I live next to the studio building itself. I keep up with both sources of the broadcast, on a daily basis. I even leave my radio on at night, when I'm sleeping, so I can make sure we're still on.

Dan <><​
 
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