Re: [IRCA] Two Thoughts About IBOC

ALL DIGITAL SYSTEMS decrease coverage. You don't need any proof...it's right there on your radio dial!

Increasing modulation will produce distorted sound quality; keeping the modulation down to a point where it doesn't interfere with adjacent channel stations is best for superior AM sound quality. You're thinking of Digital TV for the "digital only" scheme; if AM and FM went digital only, then they would have to broadcast with ten times the power of analog mode. For instance, a digital-only AM station would need 500 kW to equal the coverage of 50 kW, while a digital-only FM station would need up to 1000 kW to equal the coverage of 100 kW. AM and FM frequencies are not suited for digital broadcasting because of the limited space available (1.17 MHz for AM and 20 MHz for FM), and that digital broadcasting would have to take up to 400 kHz of spectrum space; space that can be better utilized for low-power broadcasting.

I am totally against all forms of terrestrial digital audio broadcasting below 1 GHz. The sound quality is inferior. Listen to a digital cell phone in a dead signal area or an Internet radio station via dial-up connection. That is EXACTLY what digital radio sounds like on the AM and FM bands. The advantage analog broadcasting has over digital broadcasting is that you won't miss a single note of a song or a single word in analog format; in digital format, you won't get a word in edgewise. The only place that can have room for digital signals is above 1 GHz. Digital broadcasting should be confined to satellite. AM and FM broadcasting MUST REMAIN ANALOG ONLY. Digital will DESTROY AM and FM.

I would suggest opposing all efforts at digital audio broadcasting on AM and FM, and preserve proven technologies like C-QUAM AM Stereo and FM Stereo (both of which are SUPERIOR to digital-only) for future generations to enjoy. Again, I'm right and you're wrong.

73, Eric (N0UIH)