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AM Band - 50kW - HD only (MA3) stations?

kfbkfb said:
Maybe it is time to clean out the AM band of AM format signals, go back to the original (IIRC, 25) clear channel frequencies and transmit HD only (MA3) on the clears at 50kW 24/7.

(found this while doing a little research about the MA3 HD format for the AM band):

I don't know if the HD MA3 signal is usable farther than AM (at 50kW day/night).


Kirk Bayne
Click to expand...

you just deprived a bunch of alaska residents of their only station.. many, in the rural areas... get only one am station, wherever they are.. and most often, its not 50kw.. and the station would never go HD only... that would be a disaster.. no one out here is going to be new radios. they 30 year old one they have works fine!
 
I've had an interest in digital and HD AM radio but two factors need to happen. One is being able to find a radio that is capable of receiving it at a price I can afford. The other is there being stations that I actually want to hear. As long as AM in my area stays with mostly talk and music formats I have no interest in, of if they have an FM translator available I don't have any need for an HD radio.
 
HD skywave reception at night is a problem. Skywave causes the sideband phases to scramble.
 
kfbkfb said:
This doesn't bode well for DRM format digital signals in the AM band.
Click to expand...
Medium wave broadcasters quit worrying about skywave listeners four or five decades ago. The only interest of broadcast entities is groundwave where DRM is just fine.
 
kfbkfb said:
This doesn't bode well for DRM format digital signals in the AM band.


Kirk Bayne
Click to expand...

Some communities in alaska depend on that skywave for service (but they dont know it, theyre not techie types)
 
kfbkfb said:
This doesn't bode well for DRM format digital signals in the AM band.


Kirk Bayne
Click to expand...
DRM on shortwave (HF) for me needs a fairly robust signal to decode. HF is much more prone fading than AM (MW). Very few HF stations target the US so it's rare I can listen to it.
It does work but expect dropouts.
 
boiseengineer said:
DRM on shortwave (HF) for me needs a fairly robust signal to decode. HF is much more prone fading than AM (MW). Very few HF stations target the US so it's rare I can listen to it.
It does work but expect dropouts.
Click to expand...

I had a DRM Radio several years ago in PA.. and while Kuwait in analog on 15540 wouldve been poretty great from their Kuwaiti site to western europe.. the DRM had issues. Yorue right.. SW DRM takes a very robust signal to decode
 
Kelly A said:
DRM wasn't selected, nor is approved for use in the U.S.
Click to expand...
The only places it has gained footage is where broadcasting is significantly controlled by the government. It seems easier to convince job-secure bureaucrats than commercial radio operators.

In Brazil it was tried as an alternative to vacating the AM band but commercial operators objected as there was no transition period. The fact that you need a new frequency and new transmitter kills the idea anywhere in this Hemisphere.
 
DavidEduardo said:
In Brazil it was tried as an alternative to vacating the AM band but commercial operators objected as there was no transition period. The fact that you need a new frequency and new transmitter kills the idea anywhere in this Hemisphere.
Click to expand...
Then along came eFM.. Known in Japan (and now in the United States) as WIDE-FM. (e.g. expanding the FM band into TV spectrum).
 
Kelly A said:
DRM wasn't selected, nor is approved for use in the U.S.
Click to expand...
DRM was chosen for FCC licensed international broadcast stations (e.g. shortwave), just not for domestic broadcasting.
 
Michi said:
DRM was chosen for FCC licensed international broadcast stations (e.g. shortwave), just not for domestic broadcasting.
Click to expand...
While on the subject, how much longer do you think private SW stations will exist in the US?

HCJB / World Radio Missionary eliminated almost all its SW except for targeting China and TWR has reduced its SW presence.

Those were the two big private SW operators, and they have almost entirely abandoned the band as have most state radio companies.
 
DavidEduardo said:
While on the subject, how much longer do you think private SW stations will exist in the US?

HCJB / World Radio Missionary eliminated almost all its SW except for targeting China and TWR has reduced its SW presence.

Those were the two big private SW operators, and they have almost entirely abandoned the band as have most state radio companies.
Click to expand...
As long as flat earthers, militia groups, white supremacists and religious organizations who fundraise by saying "look where your money goes..." continue to purchase time on domestic SW, these stations will be around. Despite the FCC rule to the contrary, most programming coming from US private SW stations are directed at a US audience.
 
Michi said:
As long as flat earthers, militia groups, white supremacists and religious organizations who fundraise by saying "look where your money goes..." continue to purchase time on domestic SW, these stations will be around. Despite the FCC rule to the contrary, most programming coming from US private SW stations are directed at a US audience.
Click to expand...
I turned in a license for a commercial SW station about 55 years ago as I thought it to be non-viable. Who the heck has SW capable radios today?
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
SW DRM takes a very robust signal to decode
Click to expand...
The only way DRM would be reliable on SW is for local or quasi-local groundwave (up to a few hundred miles) or single-hop ionospheric reception up to ~2,000 miles. Past that the signal becomes too shakey to provide a solid bitstream.

There have been plenty of reports of DRM decoding at much farther distances, but that is only under perfect reception conditions. Radio New Zealand's DRM transmissions on SW have been heard clearly in North America at times.
 
Michi said:
DRM was chosen for FCC licensed international broadcast stations (e.g. shortwave), just not for domestic broadcasting.
Click to expand...
WINB uses a DRM variant for some of its transmissions. The DRM audio programming is on the lower end of the signal, while some sort of datacasting is on the upper side. As you "tune through" the signal you will hear the familiar DRM "digital roar" but above it is a "buzzwhine" that supposedly transmits stock market data for high-frequency traders.

There are several applications in the pipeline for stations in Chicago and New Jersey that will have a similar scheme.
 
DavidEduardo said:
While on the subject, how much longer do you think private SW stations will exist in the US?
Click to expand...
Until the current fringe groups currently buying time run out of money. A topic of recent interest on SW forums is that The Overcomer Ministry (the deceased Brother Stair) has made some significant cuts to its SW output. With Ralph Stair now gone the money may no longer be flowing in.

Another consideration: Some of the people who own U.S. domestic shortwave stations are starting to get up there in age. Is there a new generation of owners willing to take on such operations? Note that WHRI has been off the air for almost two years while searching for a buyer (the FCC killed Allan Weiner's purchase attempt by not acting on it...questions about who would "really" be in control.)
DavidEduardo said:
HCJB / World Radio Missionary eliminated almost all its SW except for targeting China and TWR has reduced its SW presence.
Click to expand...
TWR still has a significant shortwave presence from its operations in Eswatini (the former Swaziland) as well as Guam and various leased sites.

The only HCJB presence in Ecuador is the 1kw shortwave transmitter on 6050 kHz (broadcasting in Spanish and various indigenous languages) along with the local FM in Quito. It appears the long time AM in Quito is gone. Haven't researched whether they have local FM in other Ecuadorian cities.

HCJB Global has been renamed Reach Beyond, and its SW operation in Kununurra, Western Australia targets South and Southeast Asia in various languages. There are also broadcasts in Japanese and Korean. China is not a target.

More info on Reach Beyond Australia here: Welcome to Reach Beyond in Australia - Reach Beyond Australia

And RBA schedules can be found here: On Air - Reach Beyond Australia
 
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