Stereo for voice (was RE: Dr. Laura anywhere in New England?)

[Peter Murray <pete@partnercomm.com>]

Why don't stations like WVOM, WTKK, WBUR and others on the FM dial that
program mostly talk programming switch off the stereo generator for those 
voice-only (stereo-irrelevant) programs? It is not that difficult to 
disable that pilot tone - is it simply impractical? As noticed by Rod, it 
makes a marked difference in Signal to noise ratio, dB of quieting 
required, etc, effectively increasing the range of the station.

WITF 89.5 in Harrisburg, PA used to do that when they switched from their 
classical programming to Morning Edition or All Things Considered years 
ago - though I don't notice them doing that now - nor does WDUQ 90.5 here 
in Pittsburgh.

-Peter Murray
Pittsburgh, PA


On Tue, 15 Jul 2003, Rod O'Connor wrote:

(snipped)
> I have noticed that WVOM has recently started broadcasting in stereo,
> even though I don't think they have any musical programming. The
> reception down here among the mountains on Mount Desert Island is
> noticeably worse, than when they were mono. The multipath is quite
> pronounced.