[Swprograms] Fw: FW: NXP Intros Receiver to Decode DRM, DAB, HD Radio & German Students Prototype DRM+, DAB+, VHF FM Receiver

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Joe Buch <josephbuch@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Richard Cuff <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: [Swprograms] FW: NXP Intros Receiver to Decode DRM, DAB, HD Radio & German Students Prototype DRM+, DAB+, VHF FM Receiver

Richard,

Thanks for the list of sites that may remain in another year. Your list did not include Radio Havana Cuba (RHC). I have not heard of any plan to put Arnie Corro in the unemployment line.

Tests run by RCI and others have demonstrated that DRM via shortwave is only reliable enough for drop-out-free reception on paths involving a single ionospheric hop. The maximum single-hop distance is limited by the height of the ionosphere and the curvature of the planet. That produces a maximum single-hop distance of about 2800 miles based upon an ionospheric height of 400 miles and a zero degree elevation takeoff angle. Lesser ionospheric heights or higher takeoff angles result in shorter single hop distances. (Reference: K. Davies, "Ionospheric Radio Propagation," National Bureau of Standards Monograph 80; 1 April 1966 which is reproduced in my copy of Reference Data for Radio Engineers, Figure 9 of chapter 26, in the 1968 edition published by Howard Sams.)

RHC is the only remaining broadcaster with a shortwave plant outside the USA but inside this limited range to cover North America in a single hop. Another rhetorical question: Assuming DRM shortwave receivers were available in North America, would the Cuban government want to earn some hard currency by relaying the programming of others in DRM format? They have a long history of doing it in analog format for Communist regimes desiring to reach the capitalist masses via shortwave. Maybe with the inevitable demise of the Castro brothers, Cuba might desire to broaden its philosophical emphasis in the interest of getting more hard currency. The only other broadcasters meeting the distance criterion are inside the USA and they are legally prohibited from targeting domestic listeners, but they in turn have a long history of ignoring that restriction by targeting Canadians on paper.

So possibly DRM could be an option for RHC or US domestic stations desiring to develop customers outside the bible-thumping universe.

Joe Buch

From: Richard Cuba Cuff <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Joe Buch <josephbuch@xxxxxxxxx>; Shortwave programming discussion <swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 8:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Swprograms] FW: NXP Intros Receiver to Decode DRM, DAB, HD Radio & German Students Prototype DRM+, DAB+, VHF FM Receiver

I'll be foolish enough to take the bait..

And a second question, will there any DRM-capable transmitters left
that can reliably reach North America? With the impending closure of
the Montsinéry site, that leaves only the USA's private SW
broadcasters and perhaps a half-dozen European sites as capable of
reliably reaching Eastern North America in "armchair" quality -- which
is what DRM would likely require for a casual receiver -- during most
primetime listening hours.

The European sites I can think of would include Noblejas, Spain;
Woofferton, UK; Grigoriopol, Moldova; Cerrik, Albania; Galbeni and
Tiganesti, Romania; also, Wertachtal and Nauen, Germany.

As to what's "worth listening to", that's a subjective
question...certainly a lot less than even a couple years before.

Caution...topic drift follows...

The interesting trend of the past couple years, to me anyway, has been
the widespread acceptance of the "TuneIn" station directory and
listening platform, especially on smartphones and tablet computers.
TuneIn is available on the Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and
iPhone platforms for smartphones, most Tablet platforms (iPad, Kindle,
Nook, Android), "smart" TV devices (e.g. Roku), and of course PCs. I
know my own kids have discovered radio from other countries this way.

And while that doesn't do one bit of good for someone who doesn't have
any of these devices and only has radios, the word "widespread" above
is critical for a broadcaster eager to get a message listened to here
in the USA.

Another interesting wrinkle is the "AudioNow" concept of offering
radio feeds via telephone. That's not a new concept, but my own
cellphone contract recently changed to cap my cell network data
consumption yet allow unlimited phone minutes...

Yeah, I wandered off the DRM topic by quite a bit, but -- if I'm
willing to change how I look at the world of broadcasting -- there is
still hope out there.

Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA

On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 10:31 PM, Joe Buch <josephbuch@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Rhetorical question follows: Even if the DRM radios have shortwave, will
> there still be any shortwave broadcasters worth listening to in North
> America?