Hi Steve.

So all my 11 analog radios are now "junk"? Will we now be "forced" to buy a
HD radio and the price of even the best analog equipment not sell as high as
they used to? Analog is soon to be dead??

Lucky

Lucky
"Steve" wrote in message
s.com...
On Sep 10, 1:31 pm, "Lucky" wrote:
Hi guys, Long time no talk.
I hope all is well. I haven't been following this HD radio subject
so I have a question about it.
Will I still be able to pick up the same stations with my old analog
radios
if they go HD?

Hi again
Lucky

So long as the stations aren't too far away, but expect to hear a lot
of digital hash along with the signal.

On Sep 10, 2:00 pm, "Lucky" wrote:
Hi Steve.

So all my 11 analog radios are now "junk"? Will we now be "forced" to buy a
HD radio and the price of even the best analog equipment not sell as high as
they used to? Analog is soon to be dead??

Lucky

Lucky"Steve" wrote in message

s.com...



On Sep 10, 1:31 pm, "Lucky" wrote:
Hi guys, Long time no talk.
I hope all is well. I haven't been following this HD radio subject
so I have a question about it.
Will I still be able to pick up the same stations with my old analog
radios
if they go HD?

Hi again
Lucky

So long as the stations aren't too far away, but expect to hear a lot
of digital hash along with the signal.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Oh I don't know about that. For one thing, I don't think HD AM is
going to be around for too long. I suspect it'll go the way of AM
stereo, so you might just have to wait it out.

On Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:00:59 -0400, "Lucky"
wrote:

Hi Steve.

So all my 11 analog radios are now "junk"? Will we now be "forced" to buy a
HD radio and the price of even the best analog equipment not sell as high as
they used to? Analog is soon to be dead??

Analog doesn't allow conditional access. Digital is the first step to
all ''Pay Radio''.

On Sep 10, 2:00 pm, "Lucky" wrote:
Hi Steve.

So all my 11 analog radios are now "junk"? Will we now be "forced" to buy a
HD radio and the price of even the best analog equipment not sell as high as
they used to? Analog is soon to be dead??

No, your radios are not junk. Your analog radios will still pick up
stations. The only problem is that if you have a hi-fi radio (like a
Tivoli Model 1 or something similar), the local AM stations will sound
like junk (clipping and "hissy") and distant stations will be blotted
out by the IBOC sideband hash.

If you're listening on a pocket radio, however....you may not notice
anything.

With FM stations, the local stations' sound isn't affected, but their
IBOC sidebands will still block out first-adjacent out-of-town
signals.

Stephanie Weil
New York City, USA

Your old radios will still work; the high-definition (HD) signal
that's currently in use is compatible with good old-fashioned AM
receivers. This is because the digital information is placed (in
frequency) above and below the analog signal. There are couple of HD
stations here in the Washington DC area, and on any AM receiver I've
used so far, including my antique tube radios, this digital "hash" has
not bleed through to the audio stages. When accurately tuned to an HD
station, the voice and music sound just as it always has.

The Ibiquity website has information on how this all works, and at one
time, you could download a couple of conference papers describing how
the HD signal is formatted. Go to the following link and start
fishing around:

http://www.ibiquity.com/hd_radio/hdr...w_does_it_work

There's concern that HD signals cause interference because the digital
information is placed in what are often referred to as "guard bands,"
essentially the blank space on the dial between local stations.
Indeed, when you tune across an HD signal you hear hash, then clean
audio, then hash again. Consequently, to date the FCC has only
allowed HD signal to be broadcast during daytime when AM radio signals
travel shorter distances. However, this restriction may have been
lifted recently. Perhaps other posters can comment on this.

Personally, I'm indifferent as whether HD radio is here to stay or
ultimately proves to be a wash. If it does gain a foothold, and the
public enthusiastically buys new receivers to hear it, then it could
breathe new life back into AM radio, which has been moribund for
years. Right now, I'm not inclined to cough up $200 for a new AM
radio, but if the price were a third of that, I might be interested.

Finally, if HD radio becomes a permanent presence on the AM band, I
imagine it will be decades before a completely digital version is
adopted, if at all. AM broadcasting has been with us since 1922 and
there are millions of analog-only receivers out there. I therefore
imagine broadcasters much favor the current backward-compatible HD
format, because adopting it won't mean shutting out entire audiences.

-Dave Drumheller

On Sep 11, 5:09?pm, wrote:
Your old radios will still work; the high-definition (HD) signal
that's currently in use is compatible with good old-fashioned AM
receivers. This is because the digital information is placed (in
frequency) above and below the analog signal. There are couple of HD
stations here in the Washington DC area, and on any AM receiver I've
used so far, including my antique tube radios, this digital "hash" has
not bleed through to the audio stages. When accurately tuned to an HD
station, the voice and music sound just as it always has.

The Ibiquity website has information on how this all works, and at one
time, you could download a couple of conference papers describing how
the HD signal is formatted. Go to the following link and start
fishing around:

http://www.ibiquity.com/hd_radio/hdr...w_does_it_work

There's concern that HD signals cause interference because the digital
information is placed in what are often referred to as "guard bands,"
essentially the blank space on the dial between local stations.
Indeed, when you tune across an HD signal you hear hash, then clean
audio, then hash again. Consequently, to date the FCC has only
allowed HD signal to be broadcast during daytime when AM radio signals
travel shorter distances. However, this restriction may have been
lifted recently. Perhaps other posters can comment on this.

Personally, I'm indifferent as whether HD radio is here to stay or
ultimately proves to be a wash. If it does gain a foothold, and the
public enthusiastically buys new receivers to hear it, then it could
breathe new life back into AM radio, which has been moribund for
years. Right now, I'm not inclined to cough up $200 for a new AM
radio, but if the price were a third of that, I might be interested.

Finally, if HD radio becomes a permanent presence on the AM band, I
imagine it will be decades before a completely digital version is
adopted, if at all. AM broadcasting has been with us since 1922 and
there are millions of analog-only receivers out there. I therefore
imagine broadcasters much favor the current backward-compatible HD
format, because adopting it won't mean shutting out entire audiences.

-Dave Drumheller

Did you notice that WTWP has had their IBUZZ exciter off for days ?
Now, I can hear WTRI without buzzing again !

On Sep 11, 6:57 pm, IBOCcrock wrote:
Did you notice that WTWP has had their IBUZZ exciter off for days ?
Now, I can hear WTRI without buzzing again !

Yeah, I've heard the buzz on some of the DC stations, but thought is
was probably due to some noise source local to my neighborhood.
There's lots of stray noise on the AM band these days, so I simply
ignored the buzz as best I could. If a station was (or stations were)
responsible for this, shame on the engineers running the equipment.

-Dave Drumheller

On Sep 11, 8:45?pm, wrote:
On Sep 11, 6:57 pm, IBOCcrock wrote:

Did you notice that WTWP has had their IBUZZ exciter off for days ?
Now, I can hear WTRI without buzzing again !

Yeah, I've heard the buzz on some of the DC stations, but thought is
was probably due to some noise source local to my neighborhood.
There's lots of stray noise on the AM band these days, so I simply
ignored the buzz as best I could. If a station was (or stations were)
responsible for this, shame on the engineers running the equipment.

-Dave Drumheller

The IBUZZ is from 630 and 980 AM. - tune 10 and 20Khz away from the
main channels, to see what I mean...

On Sep 11, 5:45 pm, wrote:
On Sep 11, 6:57 pm, IBOCcrock wrote:

Did you notice that WTWP has had their IBUZZ exciter off for days ?
Now, I can hear WTRI without buzzing again !

Yeah, I've heard the buzz on some of the DC stations, but thought is
was probably due to some noise source local to my neighborhood.
There's lots of stray noise on the AM band these days, so I simply
ignored the buzz as best I could. If a station was (or stations were)
responsible for this, shame on the engineers running the equipment.

-Dave Drumheller

DD - The Engineers are doing the best that they can with
the IBOC Transmission Scheme; which uses reduced
Analog Bandwidth and Extended Digital Side Bands.

It is the IBOC Technology that is the Problem especially
when you are using an Analog AM/MW Radio to listen to
and Analog Signal coming from an "HD" {IBOC} AM/MW
Radio Station that also has an "HD" {IBOC} AM/MW
Radio Station on both Adjacent Channels : one 10 kHz
above; and one 10 kHz below. You will notice the Digital
Hash. When this happens and it will for many AM/MW
Radio Listeners in the future. Your 'choices' are :
1 - Tune to a different AM/MW Radio Station
2 - Change to FM Radio Listening.
3 - Buy an "HD" {IBOC} Radio and then Listen to your
Favorite AM/MW Radio Station in "HD".
The AM/MW Radio Stations using the IBOC Technology
'hope' that you will do # 3.

FWIW - A couple of the posts that I have read else where
have basically said that when the Poster had the Digial
Hash problem with their favorite AM/MW Radio Station;
and went out and bought a "HD" Radio; the "HD" Radio
reception was as good as and usually better sounding
than the 'old' Analog AM/MW Radio Station prior to IBOC.
- - - Sounds like back to Square-One at a higher cost.

For the common {average} AM/MW Radio Listener :
at Home; in their Car; or at Work in an Office. Who
lives in an Urban Area with good Signal Levels : IBOC
as a Mass Media Technology may provide a better
Radio Listening Experience.

But for those AM/MW Radio Listeners in the Suburbs
and Rural Areas with limited Listening Choices and
weak Signal Levels : IBOC as a Mass Media Technology
may prove to be a Radio Listening Experience they
find lacking.

FM "HD" Radio and the FM Radio Band Plan are a
different matter. For the common {average} FM Radio
Listener : IBOC and "HD" FM Radio should provide
them a better Radio Listening Experience in all areas :
Urban; Suburban and Rural as IBOC is fully adopted
and the HD Signal Level is increased to fill-in the
Gaps of the Digital Broadcast Signal Coverage.

that's my assessment ~ RHF

RHF wrote:
On Sep 11, 5:45 pm, wrote:
On Sep 11, 6:57 pm, IBOCcrock wrote:

Did you notice that WTWP has had their IBUZZ exciter off for days ?
Now, I can hear WTRI without buzzing again !
Yeah, I've heard the buzz on some of the DC stations, but thought is
was probably due to some noise source local to my neighborhood.
There's lots of stray noise on the AM band these days, so I simply
ignored the buzz as best I could. If a station was (or stations were)
responsible for this, shame on the engineers running the equipment.

-Dave Drumheller

DD - The Engineers are doing the best that they can with
the IBOC Transmission Scheme; which uses reduced
Analog Bandwidth and Extended Digital Side Bands.

It is the IBOC Technology that is the Problem especially
when you are using an Analog AM/MW Radio to listen to
and Analog Signal coming from an "HD" {IBOC} AM/MW
Radio Station that also has an "HD" {IBOC} AM/MW
Radio Station on both Adjacent Channels : one 10 kHz
above; and one 10 kHz below. You will notice the Digital
Hash. When this happens and it will for many AM/MW
Radio Listeners in the future. Your 'choices' are :
1 - Tune to a different AM/MW Radio Station
2 - Change to FM Radio Listening.
3 - Buy an "HD" {IBOC} Radio and then Listen to your
Favorite AM/MW Radio Station in "HD".
The AM/MW Radio Stations using the IBOC Technology
'hope' that you will do # 3.

FWIW - A couple of the posts that I have read else where
have basically said that when the Poster had the Digial
Hash problem with their favorite AM/MW Radio Station;
and went out and bought a "HD" Radio; the "HD" Radio
reception was as good as and usually better sounding
than the 'old' Analog AM/MW Radio Station prior to IBOC.
- - - Sounds like back to Square-One at a higher cost.

For the common {average} AM/MW Radio Listener :
at Home; in their Car; or at Work in an Office. Who
lives in an Urban Area with good Signal Levels : IBOC
as a Mass Media Technology may provide a better
Radio Listening Experience.

But for those AM/MW Radio Listeners in the Suburbs
and Rural Areas with limited Listening Choices and
weak Signal Levels : IBOC as a Mass Media Technology
may prove to be a Radio Listening Experience they
find lacking.

FM "HD" Radio and the FM Radio Band Plan are a
different matter. For the common {average} FM Radio
Listener : IBOC and "HD" FM Radio should provide
them a better Radio Listening Experience in all areas :
Urban; Suburban and Rural as IBOC is fully adopted
and the HD Signal Level is increased to fill-in the
Gaps of the Digital Broadcast Signal Coverage.

that's my assessment ~ RHF
.

RHF:
HD radio is going to have to do much better than present to get me to
listen to it.
As I told Eduardo I went to the local Radio Shack for a demo, and
receiver couldn't decode it. That was the Rhapsody $100 set. The
stations were the local 1kw stations (1400 and 1450 KHZ) and all that
was shown is the blinking Blue light. The transmitters are localed about
5 and 10 miles from the Radio Shack location.
Now I regularly decode the Radio New Zealand DRM signal with few drop
outs using my TEN TEC 320D, as well as the Sackville relay in CANADA
which includes Radio Netherlands, Canada, Vatican radio, and TPD Radio
which is sent out in 20KHZ stereo! This is at my QTH in Tucson using my
home made 25 foot inverted vee.
However, DXing from 5 miles away is not a good sign. Plus there are no
truly portable HD radios for sale yet. I do most of my listening while
hiking or biking. I use a Sony radio to also receive sw while on the go
also. I won't be tether to my home or car for local radio. I go to
satellite radio first.
I have stopped regularly listening 1400 and 1450 because in analog there
signal sound terrible due to the 5kHz bandwidth. It reminds me of
listening to the telephone music while you are put on hold. In my car
(JEEP) I have a Infinity Gold AM stereo and FM stereo and the 1400
station used to sound great in AM stereo, but since they switched to HD
I can here the HASH and reduced sound, and have stopped listening. I
can't tell any difference on the FM, but I don't have to DX FM to
receive it.
Ken I