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By Paul Thurst, on January 3rd, 2012
Alternate title: How Important is College Radio?
If Radio as an entertainment medium is to survive; vital. College Radio is the alternative to corporatist radio and is fertile ground for new artists and music. The big three radio groups control (Clear Channel, Cumulus, CBS) something like 75% of the radio revenue while owning 13% of the commercial radio stations. Against that wall, the remaining radio groups and independent operators hurl themselves to make a living. While there are few (precious few) commercial independent operators who do break new music, perform community service and provide a valuable asset to their city of license, the majority of the remaining 87% of radio stations run some sort of repeater/automated format.
In this risk adverse society, which large radio group willing take even small calculated risks?
Who is going to replace Dick Clark and where will that person come from? By the way, God bless Dick Clark but, man, enough already.
Where will the newest crop if disk jockeys come from?
If one wants to hear something new, or at least different, there is no better place to listen than a student run college radio station.
It was in this setting that several college boards had a Eureka! moment when they discovered that those FM licenses were actually worth money. Money! and in not so small amounts in several cases. The collective wisdom being that kids these days don’t listen to radio, nobody will miss those programs anyway. Even so, when Rice University sought to transfer KTRU there was a large backlash from Alumni and the student body. When the University of San Francisco sold KUSF to Entercom, they did so over Christmas break. At Vanderbilt University, the WRVU staff was locked out of the studio. The whole sordid tale can be found in 2011: The Year that College Radio Fought Back and College Radio’s fight for FM.
There are other stations who’s fate is less well known, no doubt.
It is disappointing to see the various college boards deciding that broadcast radio is no longer a desired and to see the campus radio station regarded as an extra curricular activity or so much excess real estate.
There are still many college radio stations in this area that are worth while to listen to, just to hear something other than blended crap, super specialized satellite radio channels, or some personality-less internet stream with computer picked songs.
So kudos to WRPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), WVKR (Vassar College), and others like them for having student run radio stations and not selling out or morphing into the borg like collective that is NPR.
By Paul Thurst, on December 27th, 2011
How effective are they at filling in or expanding coverage for FM stations? The answer is, it depends. Most have heard of the quadcast around New York City on 107.1 MHz formed in 1996-98. It was well documented in Radio World and several other publications as a cleaver way to overcome the suburban rim shot problem. Four signals on 107.1 were synchronized using GPS timing data, then fed the same program material. They were WYNY, Braircliff Manor, NY; WWXY, Hampton Bays (Long Island), NY; WWYZ, Long Branch, NJ; and WWYY Belvidere, NJ. These being four separate Class A FM stations, the 60 dBu contours did not overlap. There was some mutual interference in some areas, but there were few if any reception negative zones where the signal strength is equal between stations.
In early 2003, I was a part of the disassembly of the quadcast. In the end, it is difficult to point to any one thing that lead to the breakup. The station’s owners, Big City Radio, had filed for bankruptcy. I am not sure if the company ever had the correct formula for marketing and sales, given the strong suburban, but weak and lacking building penetration in Manhattan signal. The station initially had a country format, something that arm chair quarterbacks said would not work in New York City. After a few years, Big City had changed the format to Rumba, a Spanish/Caribbean music format, which did worse than Country. The fact is, that it never lived up to expectations and the station were worth more separately than together. Given the right circumstances, it could have worked.
The other synchronized FM broadcasts are those where boosters are employed. These are a good deal more difficult to configure because the booster signal is within the main stations 60 dBu contour. Often cases, where there is severe terrain shadowing or other limitations, a well positioned booster that is in a population center can greatly improve the signal in those areas. This was formerly the duty of an FM translator, however, those stations seem to be taking on a life of their own, without regard for the intent of the current FCC rules. Boosters can also be called a single frequency repeater or single frequency network (SFN).
The disadvantages of a SFN are the aforementioned negative reception areas. To the receiver, this will create a multipath or picket fencing situation, which is objectionable to most listeners. The advantages are, of course, better coverage in key areas, spectrum efficiency, and the ability to create a network of common frequency systems. Think of how easy it would be if all NPR stations were all on the same frequency, for example.
The key to making a booster work is to synchronize several aspects of the RF and Audio signals:
- RF carrier frequency
- Stereo pilot frequency and phase
- Audio amplitude and phase
This is best done using GPS receivers to synchronize the exciters and an AES/EBU audio path from the studio to both transmitters fed by one processor. Once this is accomplished, a certain amount of delay can be added to the audio content on either the main or booster transmitter to move the interference zones away from heavily populated or trafficked areas.
 WDBY, Patterson, NY 60 dBu contour
This is the situation with WDBY in Patterson, NY. The main transmitter site is located on a hill in Patterson and has a power level of 900 Watts at 610 feet (186 meters) HAAT. The main population area is Danbury, CT, to the south east, about 12 miles away. Between the two, there are several imposing hills, which create reception issues in Danbury. Therefore, WDBY FM1 was placed in service on the Danbury Medical Center. The booster has a power output of 1,200 Watts, at 0 feet (0 meters) HAAT (49 meters AGL).
 WDBY FM-1 signal, Danbury, CT 60 dBu contour Therefore, the southern area of the 60 dBu contour is filled in by the booster. The interference zone between the two transmitters is determined by the amount of delay in the audio between the two units. If both are time the same, the interference will occur at precisely 1/2 the distance between the transmitter sites, which in this case is 10.18 KM from booster. Looking at the population maps, it might be better to move that more toward the north, away from Danbury.
The formula for computing audio delay time is:
A-B=C where A is the distance between the transmitters and B is the distance to the interference zone from any given transmitter. The product of that is multiplied by a constant of 3.34 to obtain the time delay in micro seconds. Therefore, if the interference zone is desired to be further outside of Danbury, say 15 KM away, then the equation looks like this:
20.358 kM -15.0 kM = 5.358 KM
5.358 KM x 3.34 = 17.89 μS delay from the main transmitter site will put the interference zone out in the middle of nowhere, away from Danbury. This is total delay between the two stations, therefore any difference in STL paths needs to be included in this figure.
Nautel has a good webinar on SFNs which can be found on their website: Single Frequency Networks Webinar
Nautel equipment has most of these features built into it, therefore, the implementation of a SFN using Nautel exciters and transmitters should be relatively straight forward.
By Paul Thurst, on November 22nd, 2011
Or rather occupied bandwidth. During a recent Alternative Inspection of an FM station, there was some question as to the accuracy of the modulation monitor. Truth be told, a modulation monitor is no longer required at a radio station, so long as the station ensures that they comply with relevant FCC regulations for their service. Many modulation monitors continue on, however, as air monitor receivers.
That is all well and good, however, many modulation monitors are notoriously inaccurate and tend to the overly sensitive side of the equation. If used when setting the modulation levels, this can lead to under modulation, which, as we all know leads to disaster, destruction and bad ratings…. Because the volume knob on every radio in the entire metro, Total Survey Area (TSA), or even the whole country has been broken off and listeners are unable to compensate for the low audio levels from an under modulated FM transmitter.
But anyway.
FCC 73.1560 gives the maximum FM deviation as +/- 75 KHz from the carrier, with some allowance for SCA injection levels, up to +/- 78 KHz. This is the definition of 100 percent modulation of an FM carrier. Thus the entire occupied bandwidth is 150 KHz, leaving a guard band of 50 KHz between signals. That is, unless IBOC is employed, then the guard band is -100 KHz which is good science no matter how one looks at it. On a spectrum analyzer, it looks something like this:
 Occupied bandwidth of analog FM broadcast transmitter This shows that the 5 second average occupied bandwidth of 90 percent of the transmitted energy is within 153 KHz, which is slightly high but within the margin of error of the measurement device. The vertical lines represent the -10 dB signal level as referenced to the carrier. Thus this station is in compliance with FCC rules regarding modulation in spite of the face that the analog modulation monitor shows it being 10-20 percent over. Had it actually been 110 percent, the occupied bandwidth would have been 165 KHz and 120 percent would have read 180 KHz.
Thus, before buying the latest squash-o-matic FM processor and setting it for full tilt boogy, a good engineer may want to check the occupied bandwidth with something other than the old analog FM modulation monitor in the rack.
By Paul Thurst, on October 24th, 2011
This was in the back room of one of the radio stations we do work for:
 ERI LPX2E FM antenna with RADOMES on the ground It is a burned out ERI LPX2E antenna. The manager was complaining that it took up too much space and he didn’t know what to do with it. Could I get rid of it? Sure, no problem. I could at least cut it up and scrap it.
When I first looked at it, is seemed complete and undamaged, however, upon further examination it seemed that some of the inter bay line had over heated and one of the tuning sections that goes from the power divider out to the bay was missing. Therefore, I took it apart and separated the copper from the brass. Most of the antenna is made from yellow brass, due to it’s hardness. The inner line sections are copper and the mounting hardware is all stainless steel. I will perhaps break even time wise, but it is one of those projects that can be done on my time in between other paid work, so it will be fine.
 ERI rototiller antenna bay I am going to keep one bay intact with the RADOMES on as some sort of modern art project. My daughter thinks we should install it in the yard as a part of a fountain-fish pond-bird bath contraption. The idea is to mount the bay facing up as in the picture above and run a hose up the inside of the transmission line to the T section. A hole will be drilled there and some type of fountain head installed to spray water up over the RADOME. The system will be run by a solar powered pond pump. I’ll have to take pictures when it is done.
By Paul Thurst, on September 7th, 2011
Once a bastion of the AM dial, News and or News/Talk format radio stations seem to be springing up on the FM band more and more often. The original premise for creating talk radio on the AM band was the lower bandwidth and reduced (or perception of reduced) fidelity when compared to the FM band lent itself to non-music programming. The reality is that receiver manufactures never carried through on the NRSC-2 technical improvements, and AM receivers reproduced thin, low quality audio. I digress, the story goes, the FM band was great for music and the AM band did well with information and talk.
Of course, there were always a few exceptions to those general rules, but for the most part, that pattern held true until about 2009 or 10. That is when AM station’s programming began to be simulcast again (everything old is new again) on FM stations and HD-2 subchannels. It would be interesting to examine why this is so and what it means to the radio business as a whole.
The general trend in the music industry has also been down. This is important because record labels and the radio business used to go hand in hand. Record labels had the job of separating the wheat from the chaff. Those groups or artist that had the talent would be given recording contracts and airplay. With exposure, they would become more known, sell more recordings, record more songs, etc until they peaked and began to decline. Radio stations prospered under this arrangement because they took on none of the risk while getting huge vast quantities of program material to playback, and charge advertising fees for spaces within that programming.
So far so good.
Then, two things happened:
- The communications act of 1996
- The internet
The communications act of 1996 forever changed the way the radio business was run in this country. No longer were there several thousand individual stations, the most influential of which resided in markets #1 and #2. Instead there were conglomerations of stations run out of Atlanta, Fort Worth and a dozen or so other medium sized cities. No longer were stations competing head to head and trying to be the best and serve their respective audiences; rather, station A was positioned against station B to erode some of it’s audience so that station C could get better national buys from big ad agencies. No longer would possible controversial artists like the Indigo Girls get airplay on some groups. Songs were sanitized against possible FCC indecency sanctions, morning shows became bland and safe, and radio on the whole became a lot less edgy as big corporate attorneys put the clamps on anything that would invite unwanted exposure.
The last great musical genre was the Grunge/Seattle Sound of the early 1990′s. Those bands somehow mixed heavy metal, obscure mumbled lyrics, flannel shirts and ripped jeans into something that the dissatisfied Gen Xers could understand and appreciate. By 1996, this had morphed into “Modern Rock,” and carried on for several years after that, to fade out in the early 00′s. Since that time, there has been no great musical innovations, at least on the creative side, other than the ubiquitous Apple computer and Pro Sound Tools software.
The internet greatly changed the way recording labels did business, mainly by eating into their bottom line. This had the effect of circling the wagons and throwing up a protective barrier against almost all innovation. The net result was fewer and fewer talented artists being able to record, which pushed those people into smaller, sometimes home based recording studios. While those studios can put out good or sometimes even excellent material, often the recordings lack the professional touches that a highly trained recording engineer can add. Add to this the mass input of the internet and no longer are bands or artists pre-screened. Some may point to that as a good development with more variety available for the average person. Perhaps, but the average person does not have time to go through and find good music to download from the iTunes store. Thus, a break developed in the method of getting good, talented artists needed exposure. Youtube has become one of the places to find new music, but it is still a chore to wade through all the selections.
Thus, when FM HD-2 channels came into being, there was little new programming to be put into play. HD radio was left to broadcast existing material with reduced coverage and quality than that of analog FM. That trend continues today where now analog FM channels are being used to broadcast the news/talk programming that used to reign on AM.
What will happen next? If Tim Westergren has any say, the internet (namely Pandora) will take over and terrestrial radio will cease to exist. Current trends point solidly in that direction, although I think Tim is a little ahead himself in his prediction.
News/Talk on the FM dial point not to an attempt to shift the wheezing, white, (C)onservative/(R)epublican programming to a younger demographic, who will, if I am any judge of history, remain unimpressed. No, rather, they are running out of other source material, simulcasting syndicated talk radio is cheap, lean and a good way to make money without having to pay actual salaries.
By Paul Thurst, on August 8th, 2011
There are a few FM stations around here that intentionally broadcast in mono. One is an FM talker, which from a technical standpoint makes a certain amount of sense since any particular human voice is a single point sound generator. There are some exceptions to that rule, such as those radio talk show hosts that talk out of both sides of their face, but that is an entirely different conversation.
The other FM station broadcasting in mono, WKZE, has a music format with a very eclectic play list. It is a full Class A located in north western Connecticut. The idea with this station is to garner a larger and more reliable coverage area.
It comes down to a simple physics discussion about free space loss. The basic equation for free space power loss is:
where:
That formula works for a single frequency, say the carrier frequency, for example. As the signal gets spread out by modulation, the power density on any given frequency is reduced as the energy is divided between many other frequencies.
First, free space loss takes into account the spreading out of electromagnetic energy in free space is determined by the inverse square law, i.e.
where:
 is the power per unit area or power spatial density (in watts per metre-squared) at distance  , is the total power transmitted (in watts).
Second, with Frequency Modulation (FM), the power spectral density is a function of the differences in the highest and lowest frequency:
Therefore, the narrower the bandwidth of a signal, the higher the density of the received signal will be in relation to the transmitted power. An unmodulated FM signal will have a better, more reliable coverage area than a modulated one. Of course, we need to modulate the signal, otherwise there is no point in having the transmitter on.
A baseband or composite FM signal has several components:
 FM baseband signal An FM station transmitting a mono signal will have a much lower bandwidth. With wideband FM, the modulation index is generally 2fΔ or two times the maximum audio input frequency. Thus, a mono FM station will have an approximate deviation of 20 kHz (plus any ancillary services like RDS) vs a stereo FM station, which has a 75 kHz deviation using the same carrier power.
For higher power FM stations, FCC Class C and B, this is not much of an issue. Those stations tend to have a great deal headroom when it comes to power density, building penetration, multipath (picket fencing and capture effect). For Class A and LPFM stations, it is a different situation. For those stations, unless FM stereo broadcasting is truly needed, it should be turned off. On low power stations, stereo can be a great detriment to reliable coverage.
By Paul Thurst, on July 7th, 2011
Found this 3 inch rigid elbow to be a little warm when we were removing a dividing wall as a part of an AC upgrade:
 MYAT 3 inch elbow As measured with my Fluke 62 mini IR thermometer, the temperature is 163°F (72.7°C) at the clamp and drops down in both directions.
This is at WEBE and this particular section of transmission line is running 34 KW into the analog/digital combiner in the next room. The clamps are tight, but you can see a little scorch mark on the stainless steel clamp right over the slot in the field flange. That is where there is a gap between the outer conductors, which possibly means the inner conductor was cut slightly too long during installation. I suspect this and or a problem with the bullet is causing the heating issue. I was never (and still am not) a fan of those field flange type elbows, I’d much prefer the flanged type with a field flange on the straight line section.
34 KW is getting into the semi-serious power level for FM broadcasting. At those levels, even small impedance mismatches can lead to big problems. We have a new elbow, field flanges, bullets on order. Unfortunately, we will have to take the station off the air to replace this.
 WEBE transmitter site with partition removed This is all a part of an air conditioning project. There was a plywood partition wall between the front and the back of the transmitters which was impeding air flow. All of the HVAC contractors who bid on the AC job identified it as an problem which needed to be addressed before the big 5 ton wall mount AC units were installed.
Update: Replaced elbow last night (8/4). Went off at 10pm and back on at 10:25. Found the inner conductor had been pushed out of place and was off center on the outside (toward the wall side) of the elbow. This was an older elbow that did not have the nylon inner spacers on the center conductor. The inner conductor was dark purple. Before replacement, the elbow was 138°F (59°C) under full power (34 KW). After replacement, it was 97°F (36°C) as was the rest of the transmission line. At these power levels and frequencies, even small, minor imperfections cause impedance shifts and become issues.
 Myat 3 1/8 inch elbow I cleaned up and reused the bullets and the outer conductor with scotch brite. I also used more support wires because I believe the elbow was starting to pull apart, which can sort of be seen in the first picture.
By Paul Thurst, on June 7th, 2011
I have had my HTC Android phone for just about a year now, which is enough time to learn the device’s strengths and weaknesses. I have done a fair amount of listening to audio, watching youtube videos and playing .mp3′s to give me some idea of the technical quality and operational issues. Like anything else, these are general observations. Some radio station’s streams sound better than other due to the effort those stations put into audio quality.
 The listening test was done with a set of Sony earbuds, which sound far better than the small speaker built into the phone. For ease in streaming audio, I used the TuneIn Radio application for Android by TuneIn Inc. For this test, I only listened to FM broadcast stations, both streaming and over the air.
The over the air tuner is the stock factory radio in my 1997 Jeep Cherokee. I would rate the radio average in every way. The actual tests were done driving around on interstate highways and other major roadways. There were a few instances where I had to give up on the Android phone due to traffic and driving considerations.
My Android phone has an FM tuner installed in it, however, it is really useless. I get only local stations, and then their audio is all hissy and for the most part unlistenable. The HTC FM tuner uses the headphone wire for an antenna, which may be a part of the problem.
Here is a chart of my observations:
| Category evaluated |
Analog FM radio |
Streaming via Android |
| Overall Station Selection |
Only those stations that can be received |
Any station that is listed in TuneIn Radio App* |
| Varity of interesting programming |
Only those receivable signals which limits it to a few well programmed stations, the rest being garbage |
Almost unlimited, world wide* |
| Available formats |
Only those stations that can be received |
Any station that is listed in TuneIn Radio App* |
| Ease of use |
Can press the preset or scan buttons on radio without taking eyes off the road* |
Requires squinting at a small screen and pressing several little boxes to get to the desired station |
| Annoying commercial avoidance |
See above on preset and scan buttons* |
Very difficult to change stations quickly |
| Quality of sound |
Good to excellent, depending on the station’s signal strength* |
Fair to good, depending on the bit rate and network congestion, some stations sound very good and some can sound very bad |
| Drop outs |
Occasional picket fencing with distant stations, otherwise, non-existent* |
Varies depending on location, can be quite annoying, especially in mobile environment. App also occasionally locks up and needs to be restarted |
| Expense |
Free, radio came with the vehicle, no paid data service needed* |
Requires data plan with smart phone, some plans cap data amounts, can be fairly expensive |
| Overall enjoyment |
Good |
Good |
*Wins category.
I am having a difficult time assigning the overall enjoyment as well as an over all winner. One the one hand, it was very cool, driving down I-84 in Danbury, CT listening to Howlin’ Wolf on New Orleans’ non-commercial Jazz station, WWOZ. On the other hand, it was a right pain in the ass to get to that point, in rush hour traffic. By the way WWOZ’s web stream is excellent, audio wise.
From a safety and ease of use, the FM radio in the Jeep wins hands down, I just don’t know how many more times I can listen to the same Led Zeppelin song on i95 (that used to be I-95, frankly I thought Steve Jobs copyrighted the lower case i).
The drop outs were also a concern, mostly taking place in on the section of I-84 going through Putnam County, NY. I don’t know if my cell carrier needs to beef up it’s data coverage in that area, or if there were just a great many users on the network checking their e-mail, etc.
If they could sort out the ease of operation problem and get rid of the drop outs, streaming audio over HTC Android would win hands down.
By Paul Thurst, on November 3rd, 2010
On November 6th, 2010, WA2XMN will once again take to the airwaves from Alpine, NJ on 42.8 MHz. Beginning at 12 noon, EDT, the station will rebroadcast the 2005 commemorative broadcast. WA2XMN holds an experimental license which expires in 2015 for the purpose of recreating Armstrong’s original Yankee Network.
I am not sure if they will be using the GE Phasitron transmitter or not.
 Armstrong Tower, Alpine, NJ The Armstrong Tower is located just off of the Palisades Interstate Parkway, on a bluff west of the Hudson River. After the World Trade Center site was lost on 9/11, all of the NY City TV stations relocated there until permanent facilities could be build at the Empire State building. Empire had always been the home to most of the NYC FM’s except public station WNYC, which was also on WTC #1.
Lots of interesting pictures and history on the Columbia University blog, here, here and here.
For those interested in the history of FM broadcasting, Empire of the Air by Tom Lewis is a great read.
By Paul Thurst, on September 24th, 2010
I see this statement being made on various forums, blogs and other places. As some would like to believe, the problem with HD radio is that people don’t like change. A Look at the early days of FM radio in the 1950′s is a good example of this. FM radio took decades to catch on, HD Radio is no different. Currently, HD Radio is experiencing “growing pains” and the occasional “bump in the road.”
Except; no, not really.
Here is a side by side comparison:
| Problem/issue |
FM radio 1950 |
HD radio 2010 |
| Implementation of technology |
A new band was created and new radios containing the old (AM) and new FM band were manufactured. During the experimental phase (1937-47), the frequencies were between 42-50 MHz. This changed to 88-108 MHz in 1947. Uptake on new radios was slow due to a frequency shift. |
Existing AM and FM frequencies were utilized using “Hybrid” mode. This entailed changing existing channel bandwidths arbitrarily |
| Funding |
FM radio was implemented by broadcasters who, for the most part, bore the brunt of the costs themselves. |
The CPB has granted millions of tax payer dollars to public radio stations to implement HD radio with most of that money going to one company, the owner of the proprietary technology. To date, NPR stations are the single largest user segment of HD radio. |
| Creation of interference |
FM broadcasting created no interference to any other broadcasting station when it was rolled out |
HD radio has created many interference problems, especially on the AM band at night, where skywave propagation makes adjacent channel stations bear the brunt of exceeded bandwidths. FM is prone to co-carrier interference from higher digital power levels created to solve poor reception issues in addition to adjacent channel interference to adjacent FM broadcasters from exceeded bandwidths. |
| Lack of consumer awareness or interest |
Consumers were generally aware of FM radio, however, the FCC created a major stir when forcing FM broadcasters to move from their original frequency band of 42-50 MHz to 88-108 MHz. This move rendered obsolete many FM radios and caused hard feelings amount early FM radio fans. |
Consumers generally unaware of HD. Those that are become disappointed with the lack of additional programming choices and poor receiver performance |
| Technical reception problems |
FM stations began broadcasting with low power levels and horizontally polarized antennas. Radio was not yet a mobile medium. Many FM listeners needed to install outdoor antennas on their homes to get reception. Radio listeners were willing to undertake this for good reception. |
HD power levels are less than needed to have reliable reception in buildings and mobile listening environments. A 6 to 10 dB increase has not effectively been implemented nor solved the problem |
| Audio quality |
FM broadcasting is markedly superior to AM broadcasting in the areas of noise reduction and fidelity. |
HD radio offers a slight improvement to “CD quality” which is hard for the average listener to tell apart from typical analog FM. AM offers increased audio quality over analog, however, due to reception problems, AM receivers often loose data synchronization and return to the analog signal, creating up/down listening experience most find annoying. |
| Auxillary services, additional channels |
FM broadcasting did not have any such features in 1950 |
HD radio offers the choice of 2 additional channels for programming. These channels are taken from the existing bandwidth/bit rate of the digital carrier and are a lower quality than the main channel. In addition to that, there is a data channel that can be used to display song titles and such |
| Programming |
FM broadcasting began by offering programming unique from AM stations. The programming often consisted of classical music networks, educational programs, news programs and other such things. Additionally, commercial FM broadcasting often had fewer commercials than it’s AM counterpart |
HD radio main channel is the exact duplicate of its analog signal. HD-2 and HD-3 channel offer a variety of programming choices including simulcasts of AM stations, retransmissions of co-owned out of market stations, syndicated satellite programs, and occasionally a niche format. |
| Electronic Media availability |
During the early FM development and implementation the only competing electronic medium was AM radio |
The choices of electronic media are wide and diverse. These include TV, satellite radio, internet, 3G wireless, mp3 players, AM and FM radio |
| Regulatory environment |
The FCC staff was filled with ex or future RCA employees, who were interested in the status quo, thus keeping FM from becoming too big too fast and competing with the roll out of RCA’s television technology. Therefore it was hobbled with low power levels and a bizarre station class structure |
HD radio has enjoyed a rubber stamp environment where large businesses and the FCC work together to re-write interference regulations with no regard for technical consequences. |
The FM roll out in the late forties and early fifties is vastly different from the HD Radio rollout in the zero zeros. Due to fear of competition and patent disputes, RCA in conjunction with the FCC did all they could to squash the new technology. That is why FM radio took so long to be accepted by the general public. For those not versed with the history of FM development and FM broadcasting in the US, see Empire of the Air, by Tom Lewis. See also: Edwin H. Armstrong. It is a good read for those radio obsessed.
HD Radio is failing because the consumer is not buying it, I see little to change their mind.
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Axiom
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~1st amendment to the United States Constitution
Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
~Benjamin Franklin
...radio was discovered, and not invented, and that these frequencies and principles were always in existence long before man was aware of them. Therefore, no one owns them. They are there as free as sunlight, which is a higher frequency form of the same energy.
~Alan Weiner
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers
~Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Article 19
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is the signal wavelength (in metres),
is the signal frequency (in 
is the 
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