[HCDX] my thoughts about IBOC (a closed minded anti-DX money-making strategy)

[aurel chiochiu <acq@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello to all of you !

Over the past few days, I did quite a bit of reading through past DX Listening Diggest issues about IBOC. Like most of you, I am STRONGLY against this anti-DX money-making thing.

Why ? First of all, since AM analog radios and some small stations use the AM broadcast band, why not put IBOC in a "new" band ? For exemple the 120 meters tropical band segment which range from 2300 to 2480 (2495, but 2480 is more of a safe frequency to protect WWV) would be perfect. It is obviously smaller than the MW band, but if they want to make digital transmissions in the MF range, then the problem is solved. Also it would be great for the FCC to use both the MW and the 120 m tropical bands for IBOC, but with a "wider channel spacing than the actual 10 kHz separation between the stations like maybe 30 kHz", i.e: 710, 740, 770, 800, 830, 860, 890, etc. (a station each 30 kHz instead of one each 10 kHz). Also the 1700-1800 kHz spectrum, just below the 160 meters ham band would be ideal, you could fit at least 3 stations there and since the NDBs are switching to satellite, portions of the LW spectrum could be integrated into the new IBOC band as well. When FM started, we didn't decided to use frequency modulation on the MW band which is too wide for the actual channels spacing. Doing this on MW today, just because of the "money" question makes me almost furious. If the people working at the FCC were doing more study to which part of the spectrum to allow, then all the interferences problems will be finished.

 I really think we, as DX'ers need respect as far as our hobby go and I really think my solutions are plausible enough to make room to some reflections, among pro-IBOC persons like David Gleason.

And I don't want stupid arguments like "negociating new bands and/or a different channel spacing on the actual MW broadcasting band makes us loose money". I listen to MW Venezuelans and others for the love of getting in touch with distant cultures and learning geographic and musical things. It's like making MW an automatic word and imposing a local product to a listener that cannot hear anything else because of the digital hash sound. It's the relative difficulty of foreign MW receptions that makes many of us, I'll guess, so interesed in different cultures, because it's different from the station's styles that we hear every day. Also, it has a better pedagogical effect. I want to hear for exemple Lara who's capital is Barquisimeto an inland state (didn't hear anything from Lara yet). The fact that it is so hard to log the YV estado of Lara makes me remember that Barquisimeto isn't on the north coast, because it is farther and with a less effective water path enhancing effect - logic. If I have to relay just on Internet (with MW just IBOC noise and boring locals) to hear Venezuela, then there wouldn't be nothing special anymore in learning more of it's geography, etc. The same goes for all the other interesting MW targets, not just Venezuela and Latin America, obviously.

And the same is not only avalable for IBOC, but also for DRM.

Those are my thoughts ! I'd really love to see what you guys are thinking about these ideas.

Be the good DX stuff with you !
Bogdan Chiochiu
Btw.: The DX conditions were poor, but I managed to get some of the more commun stations and a new domestic catche.
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