Friggin' WWJ 950

[MWmetalhead]

They've turned their IBOC HD radio noise machine back on.

Not quite as crappy sounding as the last time it was in use, but still a noticeable downgrade in analog audio quality.

Hopefully, the reactivation proves to be temporary.

[Ben Zonia]

I think Ibiquity is going to extraordinary measures to keep AM IBOC alive. Is AM IBOC like the Hotel California, "you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave"? What kind of hold over the stations do they have? The only useful service is the station call letters, and that could be done with much less bandwidth and interference. Canadian stations on adjacent channels are reportedly staying on Day power and pattern to overcome it, and the regulators are reportedly looking the other way because they agree with the station operators, resulting in cochannel interference in the US. Some US stations on 940 and 960 have given up on their PSSAs because of WWJ IBOC sidebands overwhelming them.

Even WCHB 1340, better known as WEXL for 87 years, has it back on, after a long quiet period, even though the IBOC is unusable beyond a few miles. But the sidebands interfere with adjacent channels for 30 miles or more.

Put Motorola AM Stereo back on with short packets of digital to use for ID and RDS like FM.

[Marcus]

I have one of those CCrane AM antennas with the tuning knob and the RF amp connected to a Sony S10HDiP which is the table radio that came out after the XDR-S3HD (it arrived on Saturday). In the normal AM mode this setup easily receives WWJ 950 along with 920 CKNX and 980 CFPL during the daytime. When I tuned to 950 and waited for the HD mode it did not decode. One problem is that a storm in Chatham-Kent (Ontario) was causing crackling which might have made the chances of getting a HD lock impossible. Down in the Gulf States thunderstorm interference is a very common problem.

To sum it all up the AM Ibiquity mode does not seem to be a practical mode of transmission in the 530 to 1710 spectrum.
Case closed. Try something else if you work in the technical side of the broadcast industry.

On FM it is a real DX machine using a homemade antenna. I can also decode 101 WRIF-HD-2 along with a number of other stations.

[Ben Zonia]

I bought an Asurion from Radio Shack many years ago, and noted the limited range of AM IBOC HD. I thought also I could improve reception with a tuned loop antenna. That really didn't work either. It seemed to make it worse.

The relatively flat terrain between Southfield and Sarnia favors a somewhat greater range in the WRIF HD signals. When I had HD radio on a GM car, I had problems getting any Detroit FM station in HD beyond the higher elevation terrain shield just past Clarkston traveling up I-75. That's no more than 25 or 30 miles. The analog signals were available for another30-40 miles, and then it might be lost to a first adjacent station like WILZ, WHNN, WUGN, WIOG, and WMMQ, and now there are cochannel translators in Saginaw and Lansing which would interfere with some of the Detroit stations.

WWJ and WFDF had the greatest HD range to the North when I had AM IBOC on one car. Along I-75, I lost them both around Exit 181 near Pinconning, and lost the analog for both for the most part around Exit 215 just past West Branch in the Daytime. They would occasionally display the call letters near the Straits at Night, but not really for long enough to really listen to the HD signal reliably.

[Marcus]

The toughest Detroit station to decode in HD where I am is 97-1 due to WBTI and Smile FM being either side. I tried a car radio with HD one time around here and WOMC-HD-2 would drop out from time to time.

A rental car in the Phoenix Metro also would lose HD in Fountains Hills if terrain obstructed the signal. The station I had on was a Phoenix HD-2 station.

[billmich88888]

will 1270 be next? - or has that always been on?

[MWmetalhead]

IBOC on 950 is off now. Good.

[bmw]

15 years has to be some kind of record for the longest period of time a failed technology remained in mainstream use. AM IBOC is a failed technology in every way I can think of, and its continued use at this point is baffling. Ben's question of "What kind of hold over the stations do[es Ibiquity] have?" seems like a fair question to ask, as I can't imagine that there are many engineers out there who believe that leaving the noise generator on is a good idea.

So many reasons AM radio is a disaster these days is for technical implementation reasons. IBOC is a big one. A close second is virtually unlistenable analog audio due to extreme over-modulation, such as on WJR. Another is the FCC not cracking down on interference generating devices (Chinese wall adapters being one of the biggest culprits) that are not even close to being Part 15 compliant.

[tivoking]

HD radio technology is dying or dead. You can't even buy AM HD radios for the home anymore, they only come with vehicles now. With unlimited mobile data, the younger generation just streams from their phone in the car. WWJ on the Audacy app sounds great!!

[SolidGoldDancers]

HD radio technology is dying or dead. You can't even buy AM HD radios for the home anymore, they only come with vehicles now. With unlimited mobile data, the younger generation just streams from their phone in the car. WWJ on the Audacy app sounds great!!

Next up on what mobile broadband kills is...SiriusXM.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

HD radio technology is dying or dead. You can't even buy AM HD radios for the home anymore, they only come with vehicles now. With unlimited mobile data, the younger generation just streams from their phone in the car. WWJ on the Audacy app sounds great!!

Next up on what mobile broadband kills is...SiriusXM.

With the way local radio is hiring brain dead jocks, I think you are wrong. The biggest issue I have with XM jocks is Madison's singing. Outside of that, the jocks are usually fitting well to their respective formatted channels.

[Mega Hertz]

HD radio technology is dying or dead. You can't even buy AM HD radios for the home anymore, they only come with vehicles now. With unlimited mobile data, the younger generation just streams from their phone in the car. WWJ on the Audacy app sounds great!!

Next up on what mobile broadband kills is...SiriusXM.

With the way local radio is hiring brain dead jocks, I think you are wrong. The biggest issue I have with XM jocks is Madison's singing. Outside of that, the jocks are usually fitting well to their respective formatted channels.

My wife gets legitimately angry when we talk about Madison. I could get caught banging the 18 year old neighbor girl after telling her I was at work and she STILL wouldn't get as angry as she does when Madison comes on.

I gotta have my XM radio. If FM could be even an eighth of what XM is, we wouldn't need it.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

HD radio technology is dying or dead. You can't even buy AM HD radios for the home anymore, they only come with vehicles now. With unlimited mobile data, the younger generation just streams from their phone in the car. WWJ on the Audacy app sounds great!!

Next up on what mobile broadband kills is...SiriusXM.

With the way local radio is hiring brain dead jocks, I think you are wrong. The biggest issue I have with XM jocks is Madison's singing. Outside of that, the jocks are usually fitting well to their respective formatted channels.

My wife gets legitimately angry when we talk about Madison. I could get caught banging the 18 year old neighbor girl after telling her I was at work and she STILL wouldn't get as angry as she does when Madison comes on.

I gotta have my XM radio. If FM could be even an eighth of what XM is, we wouldn't need it.

I agree with you and your wife.