[BC] Overcrowding & noise floor on AM

[WFIFeng@aol.com]

In a message dated 03/18/2007 6:26:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
thebeaver32 at gmail.com writes:

> I'm still puzzled by how the AM band is so "overcrowded", when I can travel
>  a hunded fifty miles of highway here in Mississippi, and find listenable
>  stations on about 10 (out of 200) channels.

Ah, but that had to have been mid-day. Try the same thing again around 
midnight. Whole different ballgame.

Several folks, including myself, have discussed the idea of moving the 
"graveyard" stations to a new band. We have all kicked that idea around many 
times... and it is an excellent idea, too bad it won't happen due to foolish 
politics. The best possible scenario for the "Mom and Pop" stations would be to move 
to a VHF band, like below 88Mhz, by vacating TV 6 and 5 and re-assigning those 
frequencies to FM service specifically for the displaced AM's. 

If given sufficient power to serve the same area their daytime 1Kw signals 
served, they'd have that same coverage 24/7 rather than just during the day, 
when the thousand or so other stations' nightime signals weren't pounding down on 
them.

The idea of "refarming" the AM band only has merit if the band is preserved 
for long-range "clear channel" (and regional) style analog services, and the 
smaller stations are given useful allocations in an expanded FM band.

If wishes were horses.

Willie...






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