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Brian Gregory · January 22nd 16, 12:56 AM posted to rec.radio.broadcasting

On 15/03/2015 15:53, wrote:
On Wednesday, January 22, 2003 at 9:48:02 AM UTC+11, Mel3k wrote:
I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but why does AM radio in
Europe/Asia tune in 9khz steps while North American AM goes by steps
of 10khz? Also, why did some countries like Australia switch from
10khz to 9khz steps some years back?

Thanks for your insights

I think it's because of America's geographic position. Because it is locate
d between Europe and Asia the AM band has a tendency to cause interference
with other stations, which is why there is a lot of noise in the background
, so to overcome this problem they had to use different frequencies. If Ame
rica had switched to 9khz like the rest of the world it would be a mess bec
ause you would hear radio stations broadcasting from Europe and parts of As
ia.

No. Definately No.
There would be less interference if all stations were on the same channels.
A weak interfering signal 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 kHz away from what you are
trying to listen too is much more of an annoyance than the same signal
would be on the same frequency because you hear a loud 1, 2, 3, 4 or
5kHz whistle rather than just quiet sound of the other station in the
background.

--

Brian Gregory (in the UK).
To email me please remove all the letter vee from my email address.