Marty's recording sounds similar to what I hear on my local IBOC stations (WHAM 1180, WHTK 1280, WLGZ 990) when I listen on an AM stereo receiver such as my Carver TX11b tuner. It's my understanding that the envelope detection those tuners use, combined with their especially wide IF, don't phase out the IBOC sidebands the way a "normal" AM radio does.
These receivers represent a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of all the AM receivers out there, though, especially when you get beyond the hobby community. I've listened to AM stations running IBOC on a lot of other tuners, from car radios to my 2010 and R8B, and have heard no sign of the "hiss." On better radios, I can hear the bandwidth reduction that's a tradeoff of the IBOC conversions; on lousier ones, like the stock radio in my 2003 Jetta, there's no audible difference on analog. I'd bet that a sizable majority of listeners are using something closer to my crappy Jetta radio than a 2010 or R8B. Don't get me wrong here - I think the AM IBOC system (but not the FM) is significantly flawed, and probably unworkable in the long run for all but a handful of very high-powered, clear channel stations. But I don't think this particular problem will be what does it in. If it were a real problem for anyone but a small group of hobbyists using 20 year old radios, stations would take it much more seriously. The fact that they don't should tell you something. s _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
