WFAN 660 AM HD Is Off

[Barry]

Does anyone know if the HD signal on this station from New York is off permanently?
Personally, I would be glad if it is. Reception of classic country station WSM on 650 AM is once again possible at night from the New York metro area.

 

[L. DeForest]

Does anyone know if the HD signal on this station from New York is off permanently?
Personally, I would be glad if it is. Reception of classic country station WSM on 650 AM is once again possible at night from the New York metro area.

Sure hope so. Several AM stations have either dropped it all together or have gone daytime only. This is a very good thing. Ones of note: KDKA has been off for about 6 weeks. WHAM is daytime only right now. WWVA is off - I hope forever. This system is piss poor and needs to die and be forgotten.

 

[tomservo]

Agreed on the AM side of things. It needs to be dragged into the street and shot.

HD on a sports talk station was stupid to begin with. It adds little clarity to the audio and headaches to anyone trying to listen live to a sporting event AT the event, or with a TV feed.

 

[KB1OKL]

Agreed on the AM side of things. It needs to be dragged into the street and shot.

HD on a sports talk station was stupid to begin with. It adds little clarity to the audio and headaches to anyone trying to listen live to a sporting event AT the event, or with a TV feed.

Run over, dragged in chains, then shot.

 

[Casey]

Agreed on the AM side of things. It needs to be dragged into the street and shot.

HD on a sports talk station was stupid to begin with. It adds little clarity to the audio and headaches to anyone trying to listen live to a sporting event AT the event, or with a TV feed.

Run over, dragged in chains, then shot.

Then thrown in a river.

 

[K4WRF]

Carefully and methodically placed on the ground in the yard, then repeatedly run over with the lawn tractor.

Best regards,

w/

 

[nd2023]

There is no need for WFAN to have HD since it is simulcast on 92.3 Now's HD3

 

[L. DeForest]

There is no need for WFAN to have HD since it is simulcast on 92.3 Now's HD3

Reality is there's no need for digital radio at all and certainly no need (or consumer demand) for HD2, 3 or 4 or an other HD number iBiquity comes up with. Let me ask you a question if I may. Is radio any more successful now with than the onset of terrestrial digital radio?

 

[tomservo]

There is no need for WFAN to have HD since it is simulcast on 92.3 Now's HD3

Reality is there's no need for digital radio at all and certainly no need (or consumer demand) for HD2, 3 or 4 or an other HD number iBiquity comes up with. Let me ask you a question if I may. Is radio any more successful now with than the onset of terrestrial digital radio?

LOL NO.

But I don't think digital hastened that decline, either. Radio is in a decline because it, well let's be honest, overwhelmingly sucks. HD could In Theory Maybe Kinda Sorta change that, but it hasn't. Yet.

 

[radiogooroo]

Reality is there's no need for digital radio at all and certainly no need (or consumer demand) for HD2, 3 or 4 or an other HD number iBiquity comes up with.

Really? Let's consider this assertion in the specific context of WFAN.

Let's suppose you work in one of those high rises in Manhattan, on say, the 20th floor. You're in a giant steel structure, surrounded by fluorescent lights and there's a computer on your desk. Your employer has blocked streaming radio at the firewall. You're up too high to get a cell signal reliable enough for phone calls, much less streaming. You have an interior office or cubicle.

How are your going to listen to WFAN?

Without 92.3-HD3 you're not.

 

[Barry]

WFAN on HD3 does make sense, and apparently causes little if any interference.
But to have it also broadcasting HD on their AM signal seems superfluous. I'm glad to be able to hear the Grand Ole Opry again tonight on WSM 650 AM.
In New York, WNYC is a similar situation. WNYC AM is rebroadcast on WNYC HD3. HD was recently removed from their AM signal.
Perhaps WCBS and WINS will next to drop their AM HD signals, as those stations are also rebroadcast on HD3's. WOR has no FM counterpart, so I would expect them to continue using HD.

 

[L. DeForest]

Reality is there's no need for digital radio at all and certainly no need (or consumer demand) for HD2, 3 or 4 or an other HD number iBiquity comes up with.

Really? Let's consider this assertion in the specific context of WFAN.

Let's suppose you work in one of those high rises in Manhattan, on say, the 20th floor. You're in a giant steel structure, surrounded by fluorescent lights and there's a computer on your desk. Your employer has blocked streaming radio at the firewall. You're up too high to get a cell signal reliable enough for phone calls, much less streaming. You have an interior office or cubicle.

How are your going to listen to WFAN?

Without 92.3-HD3 you're not.

Anyone can come up with all kinds of crazy situations like that. Nice try. Standard AM and FM is extremely robust and the receivers are cheap and generally excellent. Have you ever use a $15 Sony SRF-59? It can run circles around any current digital radio produced today for shear ability to produce a usable, high quality signal under marginal and difficult conditions - both AM as well as FM. Your argument is flawed. The iBiquity variety of digital radio is essentially a money and spectrum grab sanctioned by a corrupt and heavily lobbied FCC. Fact is, extremely few people are using digital radios. Generally, the only ones using them are industry people pushing the stuff which I suspect you are. Right?

 

[radiogooroo]

Anyone can come up with all kinds of crazy situations like that. Nice try. Standard AM and FM is extremely robust and the receivers are cheap and generally excellent. Have you ever use a $15 Sony SRF-59? It can run circles around any current digital radio produced today for shear ability to produce a usable, high quality signal under marginal and difficult conditions - both AM as well as FM. Your argument is flawed. The iBiquity variety of digital radio is essentially a money and spectrum grab sanctioned by a corrupt and heavily lobbied FCC. Fact is, extremely few people are using digital radios. Generally, the only ones using them are industry people pushing the stuff which I suspect you are. Right?

Crazy situation? There aren't a lot of people in Manhattan working in high rises? The big companies that office there don't have IT departments that block superfluous drains on their IT infrastructure and internet bandwidth?

Or are you saying AM radio works great in big, steel framed office buildings with lots of EMI? Of course it does...

Don't own a Sony Walkman currently of any type, but I do own the Insignia HD pocket radio and it works splendidly. I listen to my favorite AM stations via HD3 channels on their sister stations occasionally while at the gym.

Yes, I'm an "industry person." I'm an engineer in a top 10 market. Aside from my own use of HD Radio, which I'll admit is somewhat limited, my primary interest in coming here is watching you guys go bonkers when news like the Toyota announcement happens.

 

[icybluelake]

I live in a Manhattan high-rise, and the quality of WFAN's and WCBS's signals are poor. I have only one radio that can receive WFAN. But there is another alternative for me, which I use frequently -- listening via internet.

You can hear it from their site, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/category/sports/, or via iTunes.

 

[KB1OKL]

Reality is there's no need for digital radio at all and certainly no need (or consumer demand) for HD2, 3 or 4 or an other HD number iBiquity comes up with.

Really? Let's consider this assertion in the specific context of WFAN.

Let's suppose you work in one of those high rises in Manhattan, on say, the 20th floor. You're in a giant steel structure, surrounded by fluorescent lights and there's a computer on your desk. Your employer has blocked streaming radio at the firewall. You're up too high to get a cell signal reliable enough for phone calls, much less streaming. You have an interior office or cubicle.

How are your going to listen to WFAN?

Without 92.3-HD3 you're not.

 

[KB1OKL]

It's off again tonight and it's great to be able to listen to WSM once again without WFAN's whooshy noise covering it up.

 

[LibertyNT]

In Dallas as long as I'm near a window the AM's generally come in just fine.
Not sure if its the same way in New York, theoretically it shouldn't be that hard considering most of the NYC AM's are 50 kW or high powered.

 

[Tom Wells]

Carefully and methodically placed on the ground in the yard, then repeatedly run over with the lawn tractor.

Best regards,

w/

AM iboc:
After all other meausres have been implemented, do not forget strategic placement of a wooden spike.

A toast to Sine waves and the mysterious ether!

The very nature of all waves, information and knowledge, elude and abuse those who would use them selfishly!

It's like watching the wicked witch melt in the Wizard of Oz. Just takes longer.

 

[L. DeForest]

Anyone can come up with all kinds of crazy situations like that. Nice try. Standard AM and FM is extremely robust and the receivers are cheap and generally excellent. Have you ever use a $15 Sony SRF-59? It can run circles around any current digital radio produced today for shear ability to produce a usable, high quality signal under marginal and difficult conditions - both AM as well as FM. Your argument is flawed. The iBiquity variety of digital radio is essentially a money and spectrum grab sanctioned by a corrupt and heavily lobbied FCC. Fact is, extremely few people are using digital radios. Generally, the only ones using them are industry people pushing the stuff which I suspect you are. Right?

Crazy situation? There aren't a lot of people in Manhattan working in high rises? The big companies that office there don't have IT departments that block superfluous drains on their IT infrastructure and internet bandwidth?

Or are you saying AM radio works great in big, steel framed office buildings with lots of EMI? Of course it does...

Don't own a Sony Walkman currently of any type, but I do own the Insignia HD pocket radio and it works splendidly. I listen to my favorite AM stations via HD3 channels on their sister stations occasionally while at the gym.

Yes, I'm an "industry person." I'm an engineer in a top 10 market. Aside from my own use of HD Radio, which I'll admit is somewhat limited, my primary interest in coming here is watching you guys go bonkers when news like the Toyota announcement happens.

No offense but I'm an engineer as well and when talking to fellows like you I have to keep in mind the disclaimer stated below - "n fact many of the views expressed here are just plain wrong."

 

[tomservo]

I gotta side with gooroo on this one. I've played with enough radios in electronics stores and mall Radio Shacks, and stayed in enough high rise and bunkered hotels to know that AM, for the most part, simply does not work well inside these structures.

Putting HD on an AM signal will NOT help that situation, but putting the AM on an FM HD subchannel is better than doing nothing. I've had FM HD punch through where the analog stereo FM is a mess and AM is overcome with buzzing TVs and hash from other noisemakers.

But then I've also had FM HD not work when I'm looking right at the broadcast tower, so YMMV. 8)