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Author Topic: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio  (Read 1617 times)

N8FNR

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FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« on: October 29, 2020, 07:55:16 AM »

https://swling.com/blog/2020/10/fcc-authorizes-am-radio-stations-to-operate-using-all-digital-broadcast-signals/
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/200439/fcc-approves-voluntary-digital-operation-for-am/
https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/digital-radio/fcc-approves-all-digital-option-for-am

There are 273,000,000 vehicles in the US and I bet that 90% of AM listening is done in cars. How many people do you think will replace their car radio to get HDradio? I bet that figure will be very low as few will want to go the trouble and expense of doing that. Everyone here is a serious radio enthusiast. Now let me ask if you will replace your vehicle radio with a HDradio? I will not spend money on this for our 2013 van. I have never met anyone who put a HD receiver in their car when HDradio was being promoted in the past. Most people who listen to AM do that in their cars during their drive time. If their favourite news station were to go all digital I bet that most would say the hell with getting a new radio and just listen on their phones. It might be cheaper to stream rather than buy new radios.

It does look as if half of all cars made after 2019 do have HDradio built in BTW, http://www.insideradio.com/more-than-half-of-new-cars-now-equipped-with-hd-radio/article_055842a0-3f18-11e9-af44-abb5c736f701.html

Zack N8FNR
« Last Edit: October 29, 2020, 08:12:42 AM by N8FNR »
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N8FNR

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2020, 08:31:46 AM »

Even though DRM would likely be superior it does make sense for the FCC to pick HD Radio as apparently half of all cars now sold in the US are equipped with HD Radio receivers.

http://www.insideradio.com/more-than-half-of-new-cars-now-equipped-with-hd-radio/article_055842a0-3f18-11e9-af44-abb5c736f701.html

Here are the brands; https://hdradio.com/get-a-radio/new-cars/
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K6AER

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2020, 11:09:53 AM »

Big problem wit digital AM in the broadcast band.

The AM band has a station signal band width of 10 KHz max. The signal to noise ratio needed for that digital bandwidth will be about 23 dB above the noise. Most AM listeners never hears that signal level unless the station is in your home town.

This looks like a solution in search of a problem.
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K0OD

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2020, 08:55:15 PM »

What does this change mean for my old classic AM receivers? How long before stations totally stop broadcasting in AM?
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HFCRUSR

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2020, 09:55:17 PM »

This sucks for me as I love MW DXing and actually utilize it to fall asleep to music out of Reno, Pocatello, Window Rock and Modesto to name off some. Heck I use the two big HF roof antennas for this more than for HF. This is because MW music doesn't exist here in San Francisco-even FM blows here.
What does that do to weaker adjacent stations? Because those ones I mention mostly are alongside locals and I have to put the PBT walls up.
Also, ya think this means they ALL will switch over or just some?
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Not a ham, but an avid hobbyist in HF world. All things, short of transmit happen in this shack.

KD6VXI

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2020, 08:53:31 AM »

This is being done to increase the amount of revenue for stations.

With digital, you can have multiple streams on each station.  Like digital terrestrial TV did for us.

Now, you can sell commercials to multiple "channels".  More sales = more revenue!

Nevermind the fact that radio is dying.  I work on multiple job sites and ONE person uses a radio.  He only listens to extreme right wing conservative talk shows.

Not one other person, out of the multiple job sites spread across the state use a radio.  The stream off their phones.  I admit, I do the same thing.  15 bucks a month and I don't have to listen to a single commercial.  When I don't have signal on the phone I can still listen to the music I've marked for offline listening.

As the radio listening public ages and dies, less and less people will want to even listen to AM radio.  It's a dying demographic.

Wonder what happened to the buggy whip manufacturers years ago?


--Shane
KD6VXI
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W9FIB

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2020, 09:35:16 AM »

Have to admit using IHEARTRADIO for free on my phone is far better then an actual radio. Plus I can get stations from all over.
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73, Stan
Travelling the world one signal at a time.

KM1H

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2020, 10:10:05 AM »

My flip phone is still in the dinosaur age so Im forced to use a real radio....BUT I havent broken that phone or dropped it in the toilet yet as so many do with these big clunky PITA versions.

I also dont listen to a radio when Im around HV, machine tools, under a vehicle, climbing ladders and towers, etc so that just leaves me radios sitting all over the house, garages, trailers out back, etc when my feet are on the ground. Cheap enough for nice ones at yard sales or my collection of restored boatanchors and wooden consoles with PP tube audio.
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RENTON481

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2020, 05:52:06 AM »

MW listening in the US is 30% car, 30% home and 30% at work.

There are probably enough HD radios in new cars to provide an audience. The problem is that those newer radios also have bluetooth, streaming capability, etc., which are probably more popular than a digital AM station -- or even an FM station, for that matter...

The new rule won't change anything for the vast majority of stations, which, right now, are probably hoping they can stay on the air due to economic conditions, much less worry about buying new digital broadcast equipment. Maybe in 20 years we'll see a handful of digital AM stations nationwide, maybe a couple hundred analog AM stations, and the rest will be static.

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K0IFT

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2020, 08:01:48 PM »

I do use AM radio for listening to talk radio and for sports. It costs too much to listen to my sports teams on their web site or through MLB.com. I need AM radio.
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W7XTV

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2020, 08:19:46 PM »

I do use AM radio for listening to talk radio and for sports. It costs too much to listen to my sports teams on their web site or through MLB.com. I need AM radio.

MLB Gameday Audio is $20 per season for all teams and all games, with no local blackouts.  TuneIn Plus is $7 per month, and includes MLB Gameday Audio as well as most major college football and basketball.  The IHeart and Radio.com are free.  Basic TuneIn is also free.

NHL games are free on each team's flagship station or via TuneIn.  AFAIK, the NBA games are free via their own app.  The NFL has always been problematic.  And greedy.  They used to be on TuneIn Plus but not this year.
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RENTON481

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2021, 11:13:05 PM »

According to a survey a month or so ago, almost 30 percent of US adults were having trouble paying for necessities.

It makes free, over-the-air radio look even more appealing. Doesn't mean HD radio will benefit, of course, at least until the overall economy improves.
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KK4CUL

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #12 on: January 07, 2021, 04:03:21 PM »

I've got a fairly basic car -- VW Jetta diesel with the "Premium" package, which just means alloy wheels instead of steelies, sunroom, heated seats, and a Fender branded (but actually a Panasonic) head unit.  Hell it's even a manual transmission, so definitely not a luxury sedan or anything like that.  2013 model year.  It has HD radio, no GPS nav or Apple / Android audio.  Yes, it can pick up digital AM station already.  Not sure if it's WBZ in Boston or WTAM in Cleveland, but in the winter and with good enough conditions I've definitely seen the HDRadio logo light up and a noticeable difference in audio quality.  It's still not quite FM broadcast band levels, but way clearer than standard AM!  The good part?  It rides on top of the currently existing analog AM signal so if the HD lock is lost, it falls back just the way it was before!  Unless this is a new type of MW AM compression technique, it seems that maybe it was already being piloted by current stations and is just now getting accepted as some sort of standard?
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RENTON481

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2021, 09:08:23 PM »

This is being done to increase the amount of revenue for stations.

With digital, you can have multiple streams on each station.  Like digital terrestrial TV did for us.

Now, you can sell commercials to multiple "channels".  More sales = more revenue!

Nevermind the fact that radio is dying.  I work on multiple job sites and ONE person uses a radio.  He only listens to extreme right wing conservative talk shows.

Right now, most FM's with HD channels have no commercials on their HD channels whatsoever -- the exceptions being FM's which are simulcasting AM sister stations on one of their HD channels. So, even with that 'multiple channel' HD option that FM stations have had for at least ten years now, it just hasn't turned out to be a big moneymaker, commercial-wise.

Also, the jury's out as to whether all-Digital AM's could have multiple channels, without present-day HD AM receivers having to have their software updated. On another forum some station engineers discussed the probability of HD2's on AM HD and the general consensus would be that it would be difficult to implement for various reasons.

So, the idea that AM radio is aiming for HD to sell commercials to "multiple channels" is a non-starter. If an AM stations goes all-Digital, they will just have the one channel to work with.
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W9WQA

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Re: FCC Authorizes All Digital (HDRadio) AM Radio
« Reply #14 on: January 12, 2021, 09:44:06 AM »

This is being done to increase the amount of revenue for stations.

With digital, you can have multiple streams on each station.  Like digital terrestrial TV did for us.

Now, you can sell commercials to multiple "channels".  More sales = more revenue!

Nevermind the fact that radio is dying.  I work on multiple job sites and ONE person uses a radio.  He only listens to extreme right wing conservative talk shows.

Not one other person, out of the multiple job sites spread across the state use a radio.  The stream off their phones.  I admit, I do the same thing.  15 bucks a month and I don't have to listen to a single commercial.  When I don't have signal on the phone I can still listen to the music I've marked for offline listening.

As the radio listening public ages and dies, less and less people will want to even listen to AM radio.  It's a dying demographic.

Wonder what happened to the buggy whip manufacturers years ago?


--Shane
KD6VXI

"He only listens to extreme right wing conservative talk shows."

can uou name just  ONE??
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