[BC] AM and FM HD Radio

[Mark Humphrey]

On 1/18/06, Kent Winrich, K9EZ <kwinrich at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> The problem as I see it is that the HD signal does not carry as far as I
> thought it would.  Is that an issue with the receivers?  Or is it an
> issue with the low power of HD signal?  Audio wise I am impressed with
> the HD signal even when stations run HD2.



This is precisely my concern, having worked for several stations with
challenged signals.  I had hoped that the transition of "conventional"
broadcasting to digital transmission would not only reduce "hiss" and
eliminate the need for pre-emphasis limiting,  but also provide a needed
opportunity to fill in gaping coverage holes, improve building penetration
(so people in the growing "service industry sector" can listen at work next
to their computers), and reduce tropo and E-skip interference.  I was
constantly reminded of these three problems in frequent phone calls and
emails from members of the public who wanted our program content and simply
needed to hear it!

Multicasting is suddenly the hot killer app -- although, as I recall, it was
Mike Starling and his very capable crew at "taxpayer supported" NPR who had
to sell this to the rest of the industry -- but keep in mind there will be
no analog backup for those extra channels, so when the listener enters a
dead spot, it's gonna be "The Sound of Silence."

I'm also disappointed that the digital system we chose still doesn't resolve
the AM daytimer problem...  but I've been told it's too late to make a
change, so I'll stop my griping.

Mark