FM/AM Reception

[rgallop]

Good afternoon,

I wanted to say thanks again to the TVFool side of the house for all the antenna help and suggestions.

Anyway, I have to admit that I've been Dxing AM and FM statioins for a long time. I currently have a GE Superadio 3 that pulls in channels quite well, but the volume button it very touchy. I don't know what causes the volume to do this, but it's irritating. I also have a Justice AM antenna that I don't have hooked up right now, but I may put it out outside in the future.

I ran the FM Fool report and noticed I am able to pick up one of the 2edge channels (100.3) even with my radio in the basement bathroom.

I was wondering if FM analog signal power has changed with the advent of HD radio? Also, has AM changed any? Does the Government plan to change to all HD Radio anytime soon?

Back in the 80's I had a Superadio 2 and was able to pull in many stations when I lived in Michigan. I don't know if there is much difference today.

Also, does anyone know if the CC Radio 2 is a good investment or not. I realize I can listen to most stations online today, but something about Dxing is fun.

Rob

[rgallop]

Here is the report.


http://www.fmfool.com/index.php?opti...pper&Itemid=29

[Dave Loudin]

Nope, nothing has changed with regards to analog power. You will notice extra hash on adjacent channels in the AM band from in-band-on-channel digital broadcasting. You probably notice a higher noise floor, especially on AM, these days.

[mtownsend]

Does the Government plan to change to all HD Radio anytime soon?

I don't believe they have any plans to force the issue right now. The last time I checked, going digital was up to the broadcaster. The only requirement was that IF you want to do digital, do it this way (there are no other digital formats approved by the FCC at this time).

[Dave Loudin]

Remember that the "HD" in HD Radio means "hybrid digital," not high definition. If radio broadcasting switched to digital-only, then there would be a new name for it. It would also sound a LOT better, as there would be more bandwidth to use.

[mtownsend]

Sadly, the number of HD Radio capable receivers on the market is still pretty dismal. A quick random search just now yielded about 1 HD Radio product for every 10 non-HD Radio products that came up.

I'm also wary of the wide channels that the HD Radio signals occupy. This can cause significant interference on adjacent channels, and most people probably won't even realize why their analog signal quality has gone down.

[djc]

I hope this never really gains any more momentum. The problem is that few companies own the many different radio stations in a given market so the unique formats are very limited. Due to the "all or nothing" nature of digital, the receivable distance is much less than an analog signal. For those of us who like to DX, the IBOC interference is a nightmare. Unlike 20 or so years ago, the major metros no longer have the better radio stations. That seems to have shifted to the smaller markets where smaller companies own the stations. This makes the whole DX thing more desirable.

I love the FM fool tool however with analog FM broadcasts, I can usually receive many more fringe stations than even this tool lists, especially in the car. The one thing in common with all these stations is they are analog.

Here in the twin cities metro, I can fairly regularly pick up 95.7 from Duluth even at a distance of ~160 miles in my car, especially at night. Another example is in Grand Marais MN (55604). Due to lake Superior and tropo effects, I can pick up many more stations, even from the Minneapolis - St. Paul area (~250+ mi.) than the tool indicates.

Not dissing the tool in any way, I love it! My point I am trying to make here is that I could do none of this if all stations went digital.