Re: [IRCA] Adventures in IBOC

["Craig Healy" <bubba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Here's another example of just how bad IBOC is. I was staged at a
> monitoring point 11.5 miles NW of KCKK/1510 most of the day today while
> our consultant made adjustments to the 19 kw night DA pattern. I was at
> this particular location because it is on one of the nulls (328 degrees)
> that protects the 1510 station in Spokane WA. I was reading about 3 mV
> on the field intensity meter which should present a decent signal in the
> local area. While waiting I decided to check out the signal on my car
> radio. I was surprised to find the signal on 1510 completely covered by
> the IBOC hash from 1490 in Boulder. Boulder was 11 miles west of me so I
> was almost exactly between the two stations. Boulder is two channels
> away and runs only 1 kw ND. Yet it completely obliterated the 3 mV
> signal from 1510. I wish I could have shut off 1510 long enough to read
> the signal strength of the IBOC noise on that channel.

That certainly is another reason to ban IBOC.  I can only picture what that
will do to my client on 1460 south of Boston, MA.  There are a number of
1450 stations around, but none run IBOC right now.  The lowest monitor point
has an upper limit of about 1.8mv/m if I recall correctly.  It may become
impossible to measure that if any of the 1450's start running IBOC.  One of
those 1450 is another client and there is no plan to do so.  I wonder how
the 560 stations in Springfield, MA and Portland, ME will fare if WDDZ-550
in Providence starts IBOC.  Being a Disney station, I expect that before too
long.

Between that and the potential to block EAS alerts, I'd say there are
problems that they haven't considered.

Craig Healy
Providence, RI

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