I noticed considerable multipath interference on KOAS 105.7 in Vegas. Its main transmitter is in Arizona and it has a booster on top of the Stratosphere in Vegas. Within 2 miles of the Stratosphere, the signal is free of multipath, but there is a lot of multipath beyond that. Multipath was a problem on almost all stations because of the terrain. The stations that were in HD didn't have multipath. Could the main transmitter and the booster both transmit in HD to avoid multipath, or would HD reception be non-existant in the places where the main and booster interfere.
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HD radio on FM Boosters
- Thread starter nd2023
- Start date
HDTV suffers severely from multipath (ghosting) as bad or worse than ATSC TV did. "Double or nothing" would be a good analogy here: ATSC you had two images but an image - HDTV you get blocks or freeze.
With the error correction the multipath is mostly mitigated with HD, so I would think the booster could run HD and it would be pretty seamless as long as both digital feeds were in sync. The practicality of it, of course, is way out there. The cost of a second HD transmitter and associated special equipment certainly wouldn't be worth it.
Now, if they could run HD only on the booster to serve the immediate LV area, that would be a pretty smart compromise. You definitely want the weaker signal as close to population as possible. I somehow doubt the rules would allow for the HD to be located so far away from the main transmitter, though. Who knows, it would probably interfere with the main station anyway causing even more multipath.
I'm no engineer, but in my experience boosters tend to do as much harm as good when it comes to signal quality. And I certainly would not advocate putting HD on a rimshot no matter how massive its coverage area might be.
Now, if they could run HD only on the booster to serve the immediate LV area, that would be a pretty smart compromise. You definitely want the weaker signal as close to population as possible. I somehow doubt the rules would allow for the HD to be located so far away from the main transmitter, though. Who knows, it would probably interfere with the main station anyway causing even more multipath.
I'm no engineer, but in my experience boosters tend to do as much harm as good when it comes to signal quality. And I certainly would not advocate putting HD on a rimshot no matter how massive its coverage area might be.
An oddity I see WDBY/105.5 Patterson, NY.
They run HD on their booster in Danbury, CT but do not run HD on their main signal. There is a digital delay on the main signal, but no HD.
There does not seem to be any issue when jumping back and forth -- and when the HD kicks in, it's not noticeable.
So, it can be implemented well -- but it sounds like it may not be on the Vegas signal -- or there are terrain or other issues causing the multipath.
They run HD on their booster in Danbury, CT but do not run HD on their main signal. There is a digital delay on the main signal, but no HD.
There does not seem to be any issue when jumping back and forth -- and when the HD kicks in, it's not noticeable.
So, it can be implemented well -- but it sounds like it may not be on the Vegas signal -- or there are terrain or other issues causing the multipath.
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