[IRCA] First nighttime skywave HD

[Scott Fybush <scott@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 12:10 AM, 9/15/07, I've got WABC locked in solid with digital audio. 
I've gotta admit...it sounds GOOD. I remember how impressed I was back 
in the mid-80s when I got my first AM stereo radio and could hear WLS in 
stereo from 600 miles out. In some ways, this is better - zero noise 
floor, zero platform motion, just solidly listenable clean audio. 
(Whatever WABC is doing for processing, it works better with the AM HD 
codec than most of the other HDs I've heard, too.)

Is it worth the tradeoff, in the big picture? Probably not - but I've 
got to be even-handed here and say there IS an upside.

No HD lock, or even a flicker, on the other stations that are clearly 
running it tonight - WFAN (post-Mets), WLW, WOR, WGY, WTAM, WPHT. That's 
a bit of a disappointment.

So much for the Sangean HDT-1...on to the Drake to see what analog 
sounds like:

WFAN is definitely throwing hash on WSM and WSCR. I can clean up WSM 
just fine (very good news, as this is one of the few AM DX catches I 
still listen to for CONTENT), but WSCR is noisy no matter what I do. WGY 
is putting a big hurt on 800 and 820 with its hash. Surprised I can't 
get it to decode in digital. WJR is getting hashed by WABC, and I can't 
clean it up completely. WBBM cleans up just fine despite WABC's IBOC.

I'm hearing CBA just fine under WTIC, but WBAL's getting hammered.

Day Two conclusions?

-Propagation variations make a BIG difference from night to night, even 
in just this limited sampling.

-Decoding digital audio via skywave takes a very big, very stable signal.

-When it does work, it's cool.

-Most important...I do not wish to discuss the Red Sox right now. :-(

s
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