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What Boston AM radio stations have a Hybrid Digital AM-HD channel?
- Thread starter thezak
- Start date
Deleted User
Star Participant
The only one I can think of is WBZ AM.... and I am not sure if it is still on
Nit-picking (1): "HD" does not stand for "hybrid digital".
iBiquity has stated that the digital signal is pure digital and the analog signal is, well, analog.
The "HD" name was picked because at the time "HD" was becoming a digital buzzword in TV.
Nit-picking (2): AM stations only can have a single digital "channel" or signal and it must, per FCC regulation, simulcast the analog AM signal. There is not enough bandwidth on AM to allow for multiple channels of HD content (although the single channel can have additional information such as metadata from the content).
Deleted User
Star Participant
Ibiquity has said HD stands for nothing, they have never said what the letters stand for, if anything. It was a marketing hook.
If you read their promotional materials and FAQ's they it stands for nothing
Mr Eduardo is correct on all points
(HD must stand for sh*tty system in some dead language)
If you read their promotional materials and FAQ's they it stands for nothing
Mr Eduardo is correct on all points
(HD must stand for sh*tty system in some dead language)
raccoonradio
Walk of Fame Participant
Supposedly, from the not always accurate HD Radio site:
Lawrence's Power 800 WNNW
WBZ 1030
WMKI 1260 Radio Disney
WKOX 1430 Mia (not sure!)
AM stations that appear as HD2 or HD3 on FM:
WRKO 680 on WEEI-FM HD2
WXKS 1200 on WJMN-FM HD2
WBZ (AM) 1030 on WBZ-FM HD3
Lawrence's Power 800 WNNW
WBZ 1030
WMKI 1260 Radio Disney
WKOX 1430 Mia (not sure!)
AM stations that appear as HD2 or HD3 on FM:
WRKO 680 on WEEI-FM HD2
WXKS 1200 on WJMN-FM HD2
WBZ (AM) 1030 on WBZ-FM HD3
raccoonradio
Walk of Fame Participant
Few years ago I tuned into WBZ (AM) on the HD3 signal of WBZ-FM, Steve Leveille show--hey, the theme was in stereo!
Eli Polonsky
Walk of Fame Participant
Not sure if 800 still is, but 1030, 1260 and 1430 are all still broadcasting in HD.
raccoonradio
Walk of Fame Participant
>> they have never said what the letters stand for, if anything
...Highly Disappointing? Well I have a couple of the portables and it makes for a fairly good FM receiver for the HD1s, reception wise, but where you are will
decide whether or not you get the HD2, HD3, or even HD4 if there is one.
I will say last yr I was in Pittsburgh for a bit over a week and the car rental didn't have XM/Siruis but it it did have a radio that got HD signals and in the city it
was fairly good.
Some of the offerings (via HD site)
WQED HD2 Concert Channel, WESA HD2 jazz, WESA HD3 BBC WS, KDKA-FM HD2 (KDKA AM),KDKA-FM HD3 CBS Sports
WWWS HD2 Real Oldies, 96.9 Bob-FM HD2 "Bob's B Sides" adult hits, Bob-FM's HD3 Malt Shop (oldies)
WDVE HD 2 All Steelers, WPGB HD2--ESPN 970, WXDX HD2 all Penguins, WDSY HD2 The Wolf (classic country), WDSY HD3 The Bull (new country)
Last August I believe iHeart killed off conservative talk on WPGB 104.7 replacing it with country as "Big 104.7"*. Hey, why didn't they use their
"Bull" brand? Well, the owners of WDSY (CBS I think) already had the Bull name...
Anyway I didn't spend too much time listening to the HD stations but if you were within a half decent range of the city you could probably get them.
Portables like the ones I have and the fact that I'm in Beverly and not closer to Boston could be why my reception is spotty. Still I do get more
than a few of our local HD2, HD3 signals, but they could drop off if they're weak.
And quality wise? "FM in CD quality, AM in FM quality"? Hmm...who knows, but heck all I have are portables. Probably better quality on a home or
car unit (and yes the HDs in the rental car did sound pretty good)
*--Rush, Hannity etc went to 7kW WJAS 1320. I took a second trip to Pitt. using my own car a couple weeks later and did listen to a bit
of Big 104.7 as well as WJAS, a more limited signal than what they had on the iHeart FM...
...Highly Disappointing? Well I have a couple of the portables and it makes for a fairly good FM receiver for the HD1s, reception wise, but where you are will
decide whether or not you get the HD2, HD3, or even HD4 if there is one.
I will say last yr I was in Pittsburgh for a bit over a week and the car rental didn't have XM/Siruis but it it did have a radio that got HD signals and in the city it
was fairly good.
Some of the offerings (via HD site)
WQED HD2 Concert Channel, WESA HD2 jazz, WESA HD3 BBC WS, KDKA-FM HD2 (KDKA AM),KDKA-FM HD3 CBS Sports
WWWS HD2 Real Oldies, 96.9 Bob-FM HD2 "Bob's B Sides" adult hits, Bob-FM's HD3 Malt Shop (oldies)
WDVE HD 2 All Steelers, WPGB HD2--ESPN 970, WXDX HD2 all Penguins, WDSY HD2 The Wolf (classic country), WDSY HD3 The Bull (new country)
Last August I believe iHeart killed off conservative talk on WPGB 104.7 replacing it with country as "Big 104.7"*. Hey, why didn't they use their
"Bull" brand? Well, the owners of WDSY (CBS I think) already had the Bull name...
Anyway I didn't spend too much time listening to the HD stations but if you were within a half decent range of the city you could probably get them.
Portables like the ones I have and the fact that I'm in Beverly and not closer to Boston could be why my reception is spotty. Still I do get more
than a few of our local HD2, HD3 signals, but they could drop off if they're weak.
And quality wise? "FM in CD quality, AM in FM quality"? Hmm...who knows, but heck all I have are portables. Probably better quality on a home or
car unit (and yes the HDs in the rental car did sound pretty good)
*--Rush, Hannity etc went to 7kW WJAS 1320. I took a second trip to Pitt. using my own car a couple weeks later and did listen to a bit
of Big 104.7 as well as WJAS, a more limited signal than what they had on the iHeart FM...
Last edited:
I believe the letters HD stand for Huge Disappointment at least to ibiquity or anyone who believes the hype. As far as I know WBZ is one of the lone holdouts still broadcasting IBOC, they must need the heat for the transmitter room. 1260 is a Disney station and will be sold along with all the rest of their AM stations except the one in LA, fat chance of the new owner keeping the IBOC on. 1430 is a CC station so they may also be wasting energy.
Eli Polonsky
Walk of Fame Participant
I've recently seen a few NYC AM stations still using IBOC HD, not strong enough to lock into the HD signal here, but strong enough for the HD indicator to blink on from WOR, WCBS, and WINS.
I believe CBS is running HD on all their signals except for KDKA and maybe WFAN-AM. They appear to have continued to remain highly committed to it. It was also one of their stations (now sold) that was used for AM full digital mode tests a couple years ago.
In Boston at the moment on AM the choices are 1030, 1260 and 1430. 1200 hundred dropped it shortly after switching to their local talk format and it has remained off ever since.
There are a couple good ways to tell if an AM is in HD - 1) with an HD receiver (obviously) 2) try tuning one channel up or down if the HD digital noise is heard you know it is on. Of course both of these are dependant on being within the HD coverage area.
In Boston at the moment on AM the choices are 1030, 1260 and 1430. 1200 hundred dropped it shortly after switching to their local talk format and it has remained off ever since.
There are a couple good ways to tell if an AM is in HD - 1) with an HD receiver (obviously) 2) try tuning one channel up or down if the HD digital noise is heard you know it is on. Of course both of these are dependant on being within the HD coverage area.
Eli Polonsky
Walk of Fame Participant
I didn't think 1200 actually ever made it on to HD. I thought they got their equipment (at least mostly) prepared for it, but never actually threw the switch. I remember hearing 1090 in HD very briefly.
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