Let Go of Ancient Modulation!

[lefty]

AM seems to have this weird hiss. It occurs on either side of some strong
radio stations. Fortunately the source of this hiss has been going away,
kind of like they flipped a switch to off.

Keeping AM without that 'hiss' hasn't worked too well either. Listeners are
turning off AM in droves.

In the late '70s, after FM had established a stronghold on listeners, AM
still could claim 50 percent of radio listening. Now, AM is at about 15
percent. (and the >vast majority of that 15% is 65+ years old.
But what if the best content goes to where the action appears to be - on
FM, satellite and online? "Then AM will die."

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/radiowaves/article/AM-radio-in-decline-but-still-has-supporters-4847618.php
And when automakers start dropping it, AM radio will be as relevant as
shortwave.
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/blogs/automakers-may-kill-am-and-fm-radio-in-two-years
The 'hiss' is the least of AM's problems.

Geez, some people have issues with recognizing snark.

Regarding dropping AM/FM radios in cars, the good news is the people
that have a vested interest in AM, namely TIS, will probably mandate
that cars have AM radios. Not all of Ca. has those freeway signs. TIS is
still useful.

[sms]

On 1/20/2014 10:38 PM, Farce-Watch Inc. wrote:

<snip>

And have been stating it over and over again to somehow disqualify other
opinions.
But you have no proof....and most likely will never find any.

It's his schtick and it's all he has. So he repeats it over and over
again. It makes him happy and that's what's important.

[James Duncan]

On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 01:38:49 -0500, "Farce-Watch Inc."

But you have no proof....and most likely will never find any.

There has been widely publicized proof of shills in other venues
however, so it's at least reasonable to wonder.

You'll notice it's a question that is never ever answered with a
denial. Plus the promoters evidently have zero prior radio industry
employment history to speak of.

[sms]

It's become common to have paid shills in Internet venues, and it's
possibly/likely the case here.

In my own mind, I jumped to that

conclusion long ago and go with it..

And have been stating it over and over again to somehow disqualify other
opinions.
But you have no proof....and most likely will never find any.

It's his schtick and it makes him happy to keep repeating it, that's
what's important.

[Phil Kane]

On Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:51:13 -0500, "Farce-Watch Inc."

It's a cheap debating technique.
Question someone's motives, with nothing to back it up, nor any way to prove
it.
It's a distraction.

That works wonders in cross-examination. It's called "impeachment".
Juries eat it up. :)

Phil Kane
Beaverton, OR

[James Duncan]

On Wed, 22 Jan 2014 12:16:10 -0500, "HD Radio Fartz"

I have run many stations, owned a couple, and am now running a group.

Such as ??

And you?

I'm an SBE Certified Professional Broadcast Engineer (CPBE) which
means I've had 20+ years of industry experience. What is your
certification??

I was a contract engineer for numerous San Francisco Bay Area
commercial FM radio stations and chief engineer of a few such as KWSS
and KUFX.

What a maroon you are Dunc.

Talk about cheap debating tactics. Name calling drags the bottom.

Thats where you've brought this discussion. Want to lift it out of the
gutter?

Nice try. Always when the name calling and personal attacks begin,
you know the folks are trying to cover their position with smoke.
There's been no proof at all so far of any industry connection, and it
is still likely that the HD Radio promoters here are paid shills.

[David Kaye]

As far as engineers...I am old enough to have had a few in my office
telling me we should turn off the Stereo Generator, because it "degrades
the signal". Others concurred, that it actually degrades the signal.
However, I didn't need to be an engineer to tell them that the benefit
outweighs whatever claim they were trying to convey.

I'm one of those folks who believes that KQED-FM should turn off its stereo
generator. Their phase problems are horrendous on a car radio, and except
for Prairie Home Companion, they don't run any music to speak of except for
a few excerpts once in awhile. There is no good reason to degrade their
signal for what is really a mono broadcast format.

Many other stations could benefit immensely by turning off their stereo
carriers because their music is so minimally stereo as to not even matter.

As to KQED above, it's interesting that KALW's signal at 1.9kw is much more
listenable over the central Bay Area than KQED's is at 115kw -- the phase
distortion is THAT bad.