On Oct 11, 9:25 pm, IBOCcrock wrote:


It is the music FMs that are screwed, not the 50kw AM news/talk/sports
stations.

The "HD" AM-BC crowd just don't get it..
AM radio is doing better than they think it is. I listen to AM more
than I do FM. Lots more...
I like listening to the talking heads, call in shows, etc on AM radio.
If I want music, I plop in a CD... I don't listen to much music on
the FM band, because they usually don't play what I want to hear.
I'd rather choose myself via a CD disk, and I bet many others are
the same way. Either that, or they use sat radio..
Very few people could care less about the audio quality of the
AM band. It's quite good enough for the usual purposes.
Another thing... I drive on the interstates a lot.. And I usually
listen to AM, because of the increased range. I can take my
usual 450 mile trip to Studio O, and listen to two stations the
whole trip. Both are 50k clear channels. Attempts to spice
up the audio quality will be pretty much a waste of time.
Being most of the programming is speech, who cares about
a roll off of high frequencies that aren't needed anyway...
A lot of truckers still listen to AM. A lot of WBAP's commercials
are still aimed at truckers as an example.
Most truckers couldn't care a whit if the talking head in
question was high fidelity, when that higher fidelity is overkill for
the talking head programming.
They would prefer the signal they have stays stable for a
couple of hours or more.. IE: clear channels..
I view HD-AM in a similar light as BPL... If they can't use the
technique without trashing other license holders of the
said spectrum, they should cease and desist such behavior.
It does bother me that some car companies are already
pushing these "HD" radios. It's like subsidizing the mess
in a way.
It's all about making the $$$ these days, not what people
want or need. Or should I say "hopes" of making big $$$...
I'm starting to think the head honchos at the FCC are all
surely going brain dead. They sure bend over easy for anyone
with delusions of high tech grandeur and big $$$ to be
made.