WHAS IBOC Noise Gone Again

[KR4BD]

I noticed WHAS was off-the-air for some time after 1 AM this morning. This morning, I noticed they were back on the air sans all the IBOC interference. I hope they leave the noisemaker off for good this time.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

I noticed WHAS was off-the-air for some time after 1 AM this morning. This morning, I noticed they were back on the air sans all the IBOC interference. I hope they leave the noisemaker off for good this time.

Couldn't ask for any better New Year's gift than that! I wonder if their licensing fee ran out at the end of 2010?

 

[KyDXIn]

The more I read on this board, it seems HD is dying. I wish they would bring back AM stereo!

 

[KR4BD]

AM stereo WAS NICE and really sounded good, too. Unfortunately, the radios were scarce and there were too many competing techniques. I still have a Sony Walkman with AM Stereo in it. One good thing about AM Stereo, it sure did not muck-up the AM band with interference like IPOX does.

 

[KyDXIn]

What other technology could improve the quality of the AM band? Seems like a format could be agreed upon, and resume production of receivers. Problem solved

 

[KR4BD]

I'd drink to that!

 

[greg.hahn]

..... Seems like a format could be agreed upon.............

One would think so. But there is a long history of disagreement over that. In 1982 there were 5 viable AM stereo systems that different groups were pushing to become "the standard". The FCC waffled on the decision and "let the marketplace decide."

The marketplace never did decide, because even though the Motorola system became the defacto standard, Leonard Kahn and the backers of the Kahn system never gave up the fight.

So when IBOC came around, the FCC adopted it as the standard. But it has some technical issues. And believe it or not, Leonard Kahn is still fighting for his stereo system.

Agreement doesn't seem to be looming any time soon.

 

[KyDXIn]

..... Seems like a format could be agreed upon.............

One would think so. But there is a long history of disagreement over that. In 1982 there were 5 viable AM stereo systems that different groups were pushing to become "the standard". The FCC waffled on the decision and "let the marketplace decide."
Agreement doesn't seem to be looming any time soon.

So they can decide on an HD format, but not on a superior AM Stereo format? Is the reason because of who was FCC chairman at the time of the decision?

 

[KR4BD]

Or....Was it a case of "FOLLOW THE MONEY" ??????

 

[radiorob2.0]

..... Seems like a format could be agreed upon.............

One would think so. But there is a long history of disagreement over that. In 1982 there were 5 viable AM stereo systems that different groups were pushing to become "the standard". The FCC waffled on the decision and "let the marketplace decide."

The marketplace never did decide, because even though the Motorola system became the defacto standard, Leonard Kahn and the backers of the Kahn system never gave up the fight.

So when IBOC came around, the FCC adopted it as the standard. But it has some technical issues. And believe it or not, Leonard Kahn is still fighting for his stereo system.

Agreement doesn't seem to be looming any time soon.

The AM stereo standard happened in 1979 when the FCC adopted a system developed by Magnavox. However, Leonard Kahn started a revolt because his system wasn't chosen.

The "Let the marketplace decide" decision three years later was part of a deregulation attitude of the FCC. The problem was stations that were ready to go stereo held off because there was a three in four chance of the exciter being a door stop. Meanwhile Khan continued his Don Quixote fight going as far as threatening anti-trust charges if AM stations in a market were to "decide" on a format.

Motorola had an advantage in the "Let the marketplace decide" decision since they supplied parts for transmitters and receivers, especially car radios. Kahn stomped his feet even further claiming Motorola was somehow cheating. Eventually the Motorola system was adopted by the FCC as the standard in 1993 but it was too late as music left the band. Leonard Kahn tried to play the sympathy card with his "corporate America is out to get me" but those like me who worked in AM radio in the eighties and early nineties wished he had just accepted the loss and moved on.

AM radio greatest demon is noise and there is lots of it these days that makes AM radio listening a challenge. Plus manufacturers have adopted narrow band radios as standard because reducing the bandwidth means fewer radios are returned for "noise on the AM band". A few years ago there was talk of a DSP chip from Motorola call "The Symphony Chip". It had noise canceling for both AM and FM along with C-QUAM. I believe a 2004 Mustang I rented for a trip had this chip in its factory radio. The AM sounded like an air monitor and was stereo on the few remaining signals transmitting C-QUAM. During the trip I was looking forward to hearing 1530 WSAI play oldies in wideband but disappointed to hear the telephone line quality as they were a test station for IBOC, pitty.