[BC] AM Stereo and Leonard Kahn

[Dana Puopolo]

Kahn stereo had in excess of 10% harmonic distortion at 100 Hz-and more at 50
Hz. I know it, because  I measured it. None of the others had distortion that
low. The FCC didn't just grab Magnavox out of thin air-they had a decision
matrix that was 100% public-EVERYONE could see it, including Leonard Kahn. Let
me ask you a question David-what would have happened to FM had Powell Crosley
been as petulant as Leonard Kahn was? After all, Crosley's FM system only had
a 6 db SNR penalty-compared to the 23 db system we wound up with and was 
technically a much BETTER system then the one adopted in 1961. What would have
happened to color TV had CBS challenged in court the FCC's decision to drop
the CBS color wheel (AFTER they adopted it as the standard) and go with RCA's
NTSC system? Both of these technologies would have been delayed for YEARS-just
like AM stereo was thanks to Kahn. 

The FCC approved Magnavox in the summer of 1980. If the broadcast industry had
had any sense they would have IMMEDIATELY moved ahead-that way AM stereo would
have been firmly in place by 1982, when AM still had parity with FM on music.
Instead, AM stereo didn't become "popular" until almost 1990, FAR too late for
it to be relevant any more.

And HD on AM? Don't get me started! Do you know of ONE AM station that has
gone music because of HD? I sure don't know any. Today's AM is now EXACTLY
what the broadcasters have made it-a low quality speech only medium whose
listeners are getting a day older each and every day.

And that's not only completely unnecessary, it's also pathetically sad.....

-D

From: David Reaves <rrsounds at aol.com>

Dana,
A lot of people think that Kahn introduced his AM stereo system at the same
time as his competitors, in 1980. If I recall correctly, AM stereo was
developed and successfully demonstrated by Kahn roughly concurrently with FM
stereo (circa 1960), but the FCC decided to only approve FM stereo in order to
promote FM listenership, which at that time was a very small fraction of AM's.