"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

Assuming for the moment that the radio isn't at fault, why on earth would
a
radio station run their equipment this way?

You've designed an imperfect experiment. It is unlikely that the
most-powerful station would sell advertising if their signal sounded as bad
as you describe. If the discussion is about the quality of the signal, other
causes, such as equipment, location (which could result in multipath
interference, such as is observed in urban areas with tall, steel-frame
buildings, or mixing-product intereference caused by proximity to other
strong radio emitters), and user perception must be eliminated. Eg, do other
people using other receivers in other locations in the Rochester area report
similar characteristics of this station's signal? If so, then your
conclusion is valid. I think you're going to find, though, that your
receiver is at fault. It may not be tuning to the station's frequency;
off-frequency tuning of fm signals results in distortion. As it is a car
radio, I assume you are in motion while listening, which would tend to make
multipath, front-end overload, or mixing product interference problems
intermittent and variable.

Laypersons frequently overlook the necessity for scientific rigor when
constructing hypotheses, leading to all sorts of wild ideas and stupid laws.
It may in fact be the case that your local rocker is broadcasting a
distorted signal, but you have not presented sufficient evidence to make
that assertion. Therefore, further discussion of "why" is pointless.

"PM"