[BC] Skywave dying

[Scott Fybush]

Paul Smith W4KNX wrote:
> I just dont see the advantage to AM HD IBOC.  If you could run separate
> programming on the HD then it would have some value.  I have listened to it,
> and it has very high listener fatigue, like XM radio does.  The static and
> other noise on analog has to get real bad for me to tune out

And indeed, if you watched the FCC hearing online, the commissioners' 
questions focused almost exclusively on the FM multicasting aspects of 
HD. That's where all the action is, and as long as AM can't multicast, I 
have a hard time believing many more AM stations will be rushing to add HD.

Particularly in the case of someone like Paul and WABV, I don't see this 
as much of a threat at all. If other stations on 1590 go HD, it won't 
affect his station at all, since all that HD noise is on the adjacent 
channels. Nobody has significant night authority on 1580 in the US to 
cause much HD splatter on to 1590 from below, and so one would have to 
assume that any powerful class B signals on 1600 would go HD in order to 
come up with any potential interference to WABV. I don't see it happening.

s