Spring Arbs Shockers (and AM IBOC)

[Aaron Read]

Garrett - your point about audio fidelity vs. reception quality is 
entirely true, but I wonder how relevant it is in today's age of kids 
raised on webcasts and iPods?  Bud's post below would seem to bolster my 
argument...that a consistent reception quality, even if the audio 
fidelity isn't as great...would be the ultimate winning factor.

I would think this especially true with AM while in the car.  It doesn't 
matter if the audio fidelity is fabulous or horrible when a weak signal 
is so full of noise you can't hear it at all; a common problem on 
anything but the Class A's and the better Class B's.   And after all, 
content is ALWAYS king...hence why people still listen to WBZ, WEEI-AM 
and WBUR-AM (or WJIB for that matter).  Those stations have content 
people want to hear.

Another nice bonus for AM while driving; the inherent buffer means that 
driving under a bridge usually (emphasis on usually) does not result in 
a washout of static...assuming you can get out from the under the bridge 
within 4 or 5 seconds.

I haven't listened to XM as much, but most of the news/talk channels on 
Sirius are HIGHLY compressed and sound it.  I assume XM is not 
dissimilar.  After all, the satellite system is designed for 100 
channels of "CD quality" (I use the term loosely) sound...if Sirius and 
XM are getting 125+ channels, they must be "stealing" the bits from 
somewhere...and quite a few of them.


-- 

--------------------------
Aaron Read
readaaron@friedbagels.com
www.friedbagels.com
Boston, MA 02176

http://lists.bostonradio.org/pipermail/boston-radio-interest/2006-May/008713.html

Bob Nelson wrote:
 > Doug Drown wrote:
 >>> Ask any kid nowadays whether
 > he/she listens to AM.  They barely know what AM is.
 >
 > Except for the Red Sox games on WEEI--and even then, they're on FM in
 > Gloucester,
 > Cape Cod, etc.

Yes, my son learned all about AM DXing over the past four years or so
from trying to find Red Sox games on the clock radio by his bed.  (Up
here in the Adirondacks, WTIC has been the most consistent source, but
there have been  many nights when propagation vagaries forced him to
search for alternate frequencies.)

Recently he received a portable XM radio and subscription as a gift, so
I suspect his AM DXing days are over -- at least for now.   But when I
talk about "selective fade" he knows what I'm referring to....

Bud Hippisley