WSB-AM 50KW Atlanta tried HD for I believe less than a month. They didn¹t
like it all for several reasons and immediately discontinued its use.
Good decision IMO, as they still reach 38 states at night clear channel in
the continental U.S.
I don¹t have all of the facts, but HD introduced problems with the normal
top notch quality reception to those of us without HD radios. Although
simulcasting on FM now, their AM powerhouse remains one of the cleanest AM
signals around.
On 10/24/15, 9:41 PM, "Cliff Benham" <opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx on
behalf of flyback1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 10/24/2015 7:31 PM, Albert Manfredi wrote:
I didn't say anything about "license." I'm talking technical realities
here, not the usual make-believe. Everything in that report downgrades
the usefulness of the actual AM signal. It makes the quality of AM
reception worse than it is, it encourages more interference at night, it
wants to allow use of less efficient AM antennas, for less coverage, and
overall it makes up for the loss in AM usefulness by promoting more use
of FM translators. So it's another example of FCC pretense, along the
same lines as the way we all pretend that OTA broadcast stations own the
high value conglom content. Let's pretend this predominantly FM
broadcaster is actually an AM broadcaster, and let's devalue the AM
signal even more than it already is.
The addition of HD radio signals to the AM band has rendered it
practically useless.
I can no longer listen to WLW, Cincinnati, and other power house and
previously CLEAR CHANNEL stations because the HD digital noise from
adjacent frequencies blankets the clear channel frequencies.
Even with a 110 ft longwire antenna and an antenna tuner, reception that
was once quite usable
is now mostly unlistenable.
The FCC wants only to get rid of standard AM broadcasting so it won't
have to deal with the technicalities involved in directional signals
[because there are more lawyers at the FCC than there are competent RF
engineers] and AM broadcasters want to make the coverage of AM stations
smaller so there is no way listeners can hear a signal outside of their
local markets.
Advertisers may have a hand in this also. And the ratings companies as
well.
So slowly but surely the AM broadcast band is being made completely
unusable if not killed
completely by Washington and the advertising and ratings industries.
I own several HD radios both AM and FM and although I live no more that
20 miles from the edge of the Philadelphia market, I cannot receive but
one or two weak crappy signals, even with
a roof mounted antenna.
I truly believe all this is a ploy to restrict broadcast coverage to the
immediate metropolitan areas nearest Philadelphia [and most other
metropolitan areas around the country, NO DOUBT] so
that the ratings and the advertising dollars can be tied into nice, neat
SMALL bundles
and easily digested for the industry.
Who cares about listeners who live half way between two major markets
and who can't receive usable signals from EITHER ONE because of HD radio?
I also believe the ploy to make HD radio the law of the land is just to
sell more useless receivers and get rid of conventional AM receivers all
together.
Too bad the FCC is now all about the money instead of serving the public
with needed information.
Cliff Benham
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