Re: [IRCA] AM IBOC editorial update

["Craig Healy" <bubba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>..Ok, would the hash drop off that much if all stations
>went to the HD mode, dropping the analog, and the person still
>tuned across his analog receiver? In other words, what would
>the R8 sound like, 10 years from now if everyone goes digital?

Wall to wall hiss of varying levels from 540 to 1700.  Analog radio would not exist in this country.  Non-IBOC places like Canada and Mexico would find the ambient noise to increase a huge amount across their band.  One thing we have learned from this so far is that the digital carriers are quite similar to an analog station at 100% modulation of pink noise.  It carries much further than normal analog programming.  I believe that the IBOC sidebands were audible in Arizona while the associated analog on-channel audio was not during some tests.  Since more power would be used in the on-channel digital carriers, noise would probably be worse than now.

>I was wondering if DX in analog from other countries could be heard?

You may be well-positioned to null out the noise.  I'm not so sure about people like Kaz who are smack dab in the middle of the noisefest.  DXing could become primarily a coastal and rural hobby, much more than it is now.

>Presuming this takes place, which I still rather doubt. I think by 10
>years down the road if IBOC becomes a reality with hundreds of
>stations 24/7, the average "Joe" will be long gone, leaving the band
>dead for the most part.

May well be.  What I see is a parallel of sorts with AM stereo.  There was a lot of dissent which effectively killed the momentum.  With big players like GM taking a wait and see attitude on IBOC, it reduces the incentive for more stations to hop on the bandwagon.  Chicken, meet egg.  Egg, this is chicken.

I still do not think AM IBOC will survive the transition.  Just too many insurmountable problems.  Even in all-digital mode, the problem of skywave interference and lack of building penetration remains.  Some directional arrays may never be able to be made compatible.  Some stations may find themselves simply shut out.  MW is just the wrong place for this.

Were I to do a clean sheet of paper approach, I'd take the low band TV channels vacated by the HDTV transition.  I would use them with spread-spectrum technology rather than fixed frequencies.  Alternately, use some UHF TV spectrum, or try to grab some space from the military in the 250-400MHz range.  Another plan with merit mimics the cell structure with numerous small sites over an area.  I think that's how the Eureka system works, though I'm not sure.  One huge political problem with that is that it evens the playing field.  The big guys would find themselves on par with any other station in terms of coverage.  I'm sure that will never fly.

Craig Healy
Providence, RI




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